Podington (UK)
The two manual Weber organ in Podington church has had a chequered history including various moves, changes to the case, and tonal and other works started but left incomplete. In 2023 we worked on the organ to complete the voicing, as well as mending or finishing various other parts.
The front pipes had been stripped of their finish back to bare metal by another builder, so these were sprayed silver and gilded on the mouths. The otherwise empty areas above the pipes where normally pipe shades would be fitted were filled in with panels to match the pew cushions. The instrument is able to play a wide range of repertoire with a good selection of solo and chorus colours.
St Moritz, Olomouc (Czech Republic), 2022
The winter of 2022 saw another visit to Olomouc, working with my old colleague Tom Jansky on a Skrabl project… the restoration of the 1745 Engler organ, enlarged by Rieger-Kloss in the 1950’s. I worked on the historic pipework during my time there, so we mainly played from the historic console rather than the second (and also historic) 1950’s R-K console. The church is unheated and we were typically working in temperatures of around 6-7°C. Quite cold when trying to re-assemble reeds!
Fawsley (UK), 2022
During 2022 we carried out a repairs to the little one manual Walker organ (1839) following water damage. The organ had earlier been restored by Goetze and Gwynn, and the repairs needed were quite small… mainly wood pipes that had come apart due to the water and rusted tuning slides etc. The church has some very fascinating carvings, and is in a beautiful location surrounded by Capability Brown landscapes.
Various projects, 2021
2021 has seen more cleanings, tunings and voicing work.
The main project of the summer was the dismantling and reassembly of a three manual suspended action console so that the keyboards could be sent away for rebushing and refurbishment.
The photo shows the keyboards going back in, one key and one titanium wire at a time… A slow process but very satisfying when completed.
Other recent work has included two cleanings, plus the usual overhaul of reed and flue pipes, both in the workshop and on site.
Little St Mary, Cambridge (UK)
One of the first big projects for 2021 has been the cleaning of the Kenneth Tickell and Company organ at the church of Little St Mary in Cambridge.
The interior of the church was given a substantial refurbishment last year during which we covered the organ. After uncovering and cleaning the case we have now cleaned the inside of the organ.
Pipes have been removed and cleaned, and the inside of the organ is like new again. The manual reeds were dismantled and shallot faces and tongues cleaned. After cleaning we tuned through in Vallotti, the temperament we had originally tuned the organ in.
The 22-stop Tickell organ was built in 2007 and used the case from the previous organ, with all other parts being new. Great pipes and some Subbass pipes are inside the visible case with the Swell division, Pedal Posaune and the rest of the Subbass in the 2007 case the other side of the tracery. The front pipes include the Pedal Principal as well as the bass of the Great Open Diapason. The lively acoustic was a great place to voice a bright and bold organ, and the church looks fantastic following the recent refurbishment.
LSM is one of those churches that seems to be loved by all who visit, and I have enjoyed being there again. Having my daughter help with much of the work on site has made it even better. She’s taken to it like a duck to water - but I don’t think she’ll be wanting to make a full-time job out of it!
Dirty clarions… (UK)
Between larger projects I have been busy with new voicing and the overhaul of flue and reed pipes. Reeds have been arriving in various states, with some in very poor structural condition that have required work by myself or a pipe maker.
This Willis Clarion was particularly dirty, but the pipes and tongues are all in remarkably good condition with only a couple of minor repairs needed. So, after a very thorough cleaning and check on the voicing machine it was ready to go back to it’s owner…
Unfortunately I didn’t get any ‘after’ pictures of this stop - a shame as it was so well made and would have made a good contrast to the condition it arrived in!
St Wilfrids, Haywards Heath (UK)
Over the Autumn and Winter of 2020 the Tickell organ has been cleaned and overhauled.
The 1998 instrument was built a couple of years before I joined Tickell’s, so while I hadn’t been involved in the manufacture or installation I did recognise the handwriting of several colleagues on various parts. The organ was in good condition, quite dirty, and a couple of parts needing minor attention. These were mainly the pedalboard that was due for re-bushing, and the bellows that had some holes in the corners and is now re-leathered.
All the pipes were removed from the organ, the inside of the instrument cleaned and the pipes cleaned inside and out. Stoppers and tuning slides were all checked for good fit and the reeds dismantled for thorough cleaning of shallots and tongues. Minor adjustments were made to various moving parts, and the mechanical key actions reset. Some screens were added above the organ to reduce the negative impact that birds and flies have been having!
The pictures show the Swell pipework following cleaning and the Pedal Fagot before being cleaned. The half-length Fagot has wooden blocks and shallots.
Pedal Trombone re-leathering, Oakham (UK)
The Pedal Trombone has long suffered due to the damp in the church, and probably due to the position next to the outside wall it has been particularly affected. The leather on some of the shallots has been perishing especially in the bass.
A number of attempts at improving the situation has been carried out over the last ten or so years and now the time came to re-leather all shallots. A number of lead faces were crumbling badly and these were stabilised and treated.
The shallot faces were checked for flatness and new leather glued on before all the cleaned parts were reassembled.
A damp chaser has also been fitted in the organ to help prevent the return of the problem.
Medbourne (UK)
Over the summer of 2020 the three reeds on the Forster and Andrews organ at St Giles Medbourne were overhauled, and improvements made to the voicing of these stops. The organ was originally built for Hope Park and Martyrs' Parish Church (St Andrews, Scotland) and moved to Christ Church Northampton in 1925. It finally came to in Medbourne in 1962.
The reeds were very dirty and suffering badly from sugar lead on the blocks. A full cleaning included the treatment of the blocks to reduce the chance of the lead decaying further. The tongues are likely to be either from the original organ or possibly the work of HNB in 1925. Tongue thicknesses were consistent throughout the stops, and carefully cut and voiced. For this reason all tongues were preserved apart from those damaged beyond repair.
After a full cleaning and checking on the voicing machine the pipes were regulated on site. During the reed restoration the organ was overhauled by Aistrup and Hind.
Reed blocks being treated for sugar of lead.
Continuo voicing…
Spring 2020 has seen the voicing of pipes for two new chamber organs. One chamber organ for Robinson College, Cambridge (UK) and the other in the United States. Other work at this time includes the overhaul of reeds and flue pipes for a private customer in the south of England.
New 16’/8’ Tuba for Denmark
Early 2020 saw the voicing of a new Tuba at 16’ and 8’ pitch.
The pipes, made by Terry Shires in Leeds, have now gone to their new home in Denmark.
The stop features screwed on brass weights and is on 400mm w.g. pressure.
Sherborne Abbey, Dorset (UK)
Refurbishment work to the organ at Sherborne Abbey took place in early 2020.
The main instrument in the north transept is based around the original Gray & Davison material from 1854. The organ was altered in various rebuilds over the years and work by Kenneth Tickell and Company in 2004/5 aimed to bring the organ back to its original G&D character.
To address the problem of sound not reaching the Nave, Tickell’s built a new west end division and then tonally re-evaluated the transept organ. The Choir division was returned to a lower wind pressure and various new stops were made in keeping with the ethos of mid-nineteenth century organ building. This broadened the organ’s ability to properly accompany the choir, and to do justice to a wide range of repertoire.
The refurbishment work included the overhaul of keyboards and pedalboard, the re-setting of tracker actions, cleaning, and a full tuning.
Most work was carried out on site, with some parts being overhauled in the workshop in Northampton.
Church of St. Cyril and Methodius, Olomouc (Czech Republic)
Early Autumn 2019 has seen the voicing of new Trumpets at 16’ and 8’ pitches for the church of St. Cyril and Methodius in Olomouc. The 8’ is available on the main manual and is used in the pedal also - extended down to 16’
The impressive Olomouc church is built in the style of Neoclassical Modernism. Even the simple exterior shows the use of the highest quality materials, and its style contrasts with the richly decorated interior. In 1925 the Church Union approached the architect Ladislav Skřivánek, who developed an architectural and urban project. The project was processed by the architect and developer Josef Šálek from Brno, who had won the contract in an anonymous competition. Building commenced in September 1929 and was completed in 1932. The bronze statue of St. Cyril and Methodius on the forefront of the tower is 4.5 meters high.
Inside the church, the Rieger organ with thirty registers (two manuals and pedal) was built new at the same time as the church. It is installed on the west end gallery.
The organ has been restored in 2019 by the Olomouc firm Organ Service Roháč. Their website can be found here.
A YouTube video featuring photos and sounds of the restored organ, including the new reeds, can be seen here.
Ikebukuro Chapel, Rikkyo University, Tokyo (Japan)
A major maintenance and tuning visit of the 2013 Kenneth Tickell organ at Rikkyo took place in early September 2019. On this visit the mechanical actions have been reset, and all pipework checked and tuned.
The Tickell organ was built in 2013. On-site tonal finishing was completed by early Autumn that year.
Great
Double Diapason 16
Open Diapason 8
Stopped Diapason 8
Gamba 8
Principal 4
Harmonic Flute 4
Fifteenth 2
Mixture III-IV
Posaune 8
Tremulant
Swell
Geigen Diapason 8
Gedackt 8
Salicional 8
Voix Céleste 8
Principal 4
Rohrflute 4
Flageolet 2
Sesquialtera II
Mixture III
Contra Fagotto 16
Cornopean 8
Oboe 8
Tremulant
Solo
Harmonic Flute 8
Clarinet 8
Tromba 8
Pedal
Open Wood 16
Sub Bass 16
Principal 8
Open Flute 8
Octave 4
Trombone 16
Posaune 8
from Great
Tracker key action : slider soundboards
Electric stop and combination actions
St Mary’s Church, Carlton, Bedfordshire (UK)
Summer 2019 has also seen the refurbishment of the 1888 one manual Nicholson organ at Carlton, Bedfordshire.
The bellows have been re-leathered, the organ cleaned and various parts mended. All pipework has been removed for cleaning and new tuning slides fitted. The organ was re-assembled and then finely regulated and tuned.
It is a typical one manual design with the front pipes forming the bass of the Open Diapason 8 bass, with the trebles on the soundboard. The rest of the manual pipes are inside the swell box. The organ has been altered very little over the years apart from the addition of a Bourdon 16 on the pedal and a Flute 4 on the manual replacing a Gamba stop.
The quality of the instrument is very high and looks splendid again, with case and front pipes restored by Jenny Duffy.
The organ will be used again at the Patronal festival on September 1st, and a recital on Saturday September 7th.
New continuo organ, Our Lady and English Martyrs, Cambridge (UK)
Early 2019 saw the voicing of a new continuo organ. Having voiced many continuo and chamber organs at Kenneth Tickell and Company it was great to be voicing a new continuo organ in the workshop. The organ was made by my old Tickell colleague Jeff Hubbard.
The metal pipes were made in Leeds by Terry Shires.
The organ has four stops.
8 Stopped Diapason
8 Salicional
4 Spitz Flute
2 Principal
The Spitz Flute on the bench ready for voicing. The photo shows the break between the canister and open pipes. With careful scaling and voicing a change in pipe construction can be well blended.
Tonal work 2019
Through late 2018 and most of 2019 Simon has been busy in the workshop overhauling many reed and flue stops.
Many have been fine Father Willis stops, such as this lovely reed.
Overhauling usually involves stripping down, cleaning shallots and tongues, re-flattening shallots and correctly setting up all parts for smooth movement before checking on the voicing machine. Resonators are cleaned, inside and out.
As well as reeds many flue pipes have been through the workshop for cleaning, putting back on correct speech or complete revoicing.
New work includes voicing new reeds for customers in the UK and Czech Republic.
Practice Organ, Wimbledon (UK)
A new practice organ for King's College School, Wimbledon - a lovely project but also a sad time. This was the last organ to leave the workshop of Kenneth Tickell and Co Ltd. It was installed in the early summer 2018. The organ has seven stops with wood pipes made by the Tickell team and metal pipes by Terry Shires.
Manual 1
8 Stopped Diapason
4 Principal
2 Fiftheenth
Manual 2
8 Chimney Flute
4 Spitz Flute
Pedal
16 Subbass
8 Open Flute
Christuskirche Mannheim (Germany)
Simon has been pleased to work on the tonal restoration of the large Steinmeyer organ in Christuskirche, Mannheim. Taking around five months, the work has involved a slight flattening of the pitch (to bring it closer to it's original state) and tonal regulation of almost 80 of the organ's 96 registers.
Five new ranks replaced stops that had been altered on a previous rebuild. Only a few changes have been made to the organ over the years, so it is largely in it's original 1911 state. The specification of the organ can be found here.
Simon has been working on site together with two German organ building firms who have been responsible for the restoration of the organ.
Manchester Cathedral (UK)
2017 saw the completion of voicing of the new 81 stop organ for Manchester Cathedral. The organ, designed and built by Kenneth Tickell and Co Ltd of Northampton, was the largest organ built by the firm.
The flue pipes of the organ, including all the display pipes were made by Shires Organ Pipes in Leeds (UK). The reed pipes were made by, and voiced in collaboration with, Killinger Pfeifen Freiberg (Germany).
The organ has a wide range of tonal colours, from soft flutes and strings through to high pressure solo reeds. A specification can be found here.