Newsletter No.51 September 2008

In this issue ...

The President’s Column page 2

Page Three Models page 3

News from the Administrator pages 4-5

Credit where it’s due pages 5-6

Action Stations! pages 6-7

Summer Meeting Review pages 8-9

Letter & Announcements pages 10-11

Back to College page 12

This newsletter is published quarterly by the

INSTITUTE OF BRITISH ORGAN BUILDING

and edited by Geoff McMahon

Letters, news and articles to: Geoff McMahon

16 Chestnut Drive St Albans

Herts AL4 0ES geoff@mcmahonfamily.co.uk

Opinions expressed by the editor and contributors are their own, and are not

necessarily those of the Institute

Photographic Credits:

John Norman (pp.1 & 7)

Harrison & Harrison (pp.2, 5, 9 & 11)

Nicholson & Co. (pp.3 & 9)

Adrian Lucas (p.7)

Geoff McMahon (p.8)

David Wells (p.11)

The north case and console of the new Quire Organ at Worcester Cathedral by Kenneth Tickell & Co. This photograph was taken soon after the dismantling of the scaffolding in July, and a few weeks before the inaugural performance by Dame Gillian Weir on Friday 8th August as part of the Three Choirs Festival. Consultant John Norman discusses the form of electric key action chosen for the instrument on pages 6-7.

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Which Way Should We Be Looking? Which is the most important for organ builders? Past, present or future? Looking backwards with the future in mind, the recent BIOS Reporter had two articles on the current state of play. Barrie Clark mentions how vulnerable organs are in the face of progress or neglect: English Heritage does not appear to be interested in protecting them. The Reporter also had a guest editorial by Paul Tindall. He reminds us of the riches of the erstwhile Orgelstadt Preston, and what little hope there is for the future of surplus organs elsewhere: “the next destructive tidal wave threatens Brighton...”. Another good turn of phrase compares “dire and unaddressed neglect” with “furious evangelical carpeting”. Organ builders are more concerned with the present, though with an eye on the future and the likely effect of the credit crunch on our income. We can’t afford to be too altruistic, bending the ear of the government or campaigning to protect the legacy of endangered British organs; we have jobs to do and contracts to chase, and customers to keep happy. Those on the outside see the pipe organ as belonging to some kind of ideal world of yesteryear, created by craftsmen in cloth caps surrounded by the mysteries of tradition. Yes, we still use hot glue and build tracker organs in the traditional way and curve reed-tongues by hand, but the drawing board has been replaced by a computer screen, and the cloth cap by safety headgear, and we struggle like flies in the spider’s web of health and safety. Where is the future? The future is a job well done, and a pipe organ to be proud of. That instrument will be our memorial, lifting the hearts and souls of those who share its music and are inspired by its subtlety and bravura. (It can still out-stare the brass-band, if required.) The organ in the concert-hall and music room provides a pathway to some of the greatest music available, but the organ in church has a place all of its own. My sister-in-law died recently of cancer and we celebrated her life in the best possible tradition of hopefulness and joy misted by inner longing. The village church was packed with people of all ages and musical traditions. Our need to be together to say our goodbyes and to celebrate her life found release in the music we shared. No band of guitars could have encouraged us to raise the roof as we did, in traditional hymns, worship songs and the chorus of Let it be (courtesy of the Beatles). Royalty could not have been better served with the musical offerings

(ranging from Bach to Lefébure-Wély) on the 1865 Henry Jones /1908 Norman & Beard organ. The future is rooted in the people we are; and the craftsmen we train will be the organ builders of tomorrow. We have come so far, and we represent such a long tradition of organ building. Even if you are contemplating retirement, don’t forget to keep an eye on the future. Who will follow in your footsteps? A Point in Time

You may remember my referring to the clock shown above in this column exactly a year ago – as you can see it has now been handsomely restored. The expert was delighted to find the pointing finger (which had been painted out), which is likely to have originated from very early in the days of universal time (as required by the railways), and transmitted by telegraph (possibly at 3 o’clock?). The clock has the history of its cleanings hidden inside, the first from about a hundred years ago. Maybe organ builders have something to learn from clock menders, in making it easier for successive generations to chart the history of an artefact. (I'm not suggesting putting all this information on the console plate, but somewhere out of sight.) Front plate Rear of dial

F Flatchem Nov 1966 S Donath Cld Oct 28th 1921 Oil etc (O)?Cope 11.6.1977 S Donath 6-10-40 Oil etc R Shergold R Hensold (?) Cld 8 - -54 11/9/64 14-6-1977 - S Donath Cld etc Salisbury

Katherine Venning President

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We are indebted to Alan Taylor for bringing to our attention this photograph (first published on the front cover of The Model Engineer, dated 13th September 1945). It shows a one-eighth full-size organ console made by Mr Albert W. Hillman of Hailsham, Sussex. The original caption explains that “it is not an exact miniature replica of a particular prototype, but it is based upon general modern organ building practice. Made of oiled oak, it is a handsome and unusual ornament, and won a well-deserved prize at a recent exhibition of models.”

Albert Hillman has a contemporary counterpart in Nicholson’s keyholder Ken Gaines, seen in the photograph above. His labour of love is modelled on a Nicholson organ of ca.1880, and is complete down to the pipework on the soundboard, the blowing handle (with choirboys’ graffiti), and the hymn book on the organist’s bench. The balanced swell pedal is of course a later addition, although we note that counterweights for the trace rod and horizontal shutters have yet to be fitted! (see page 9).

Slider soundboard restoration 14th February 2009

Goetze and Gwynn workshop, Welbeck, Nottinghamshire A fairly large number of soundboards has passed though our workshop, dating from 1530 to 1896. After a brief survey of these, this practical day will focus on restoration:

• What goes wrong and why

• What can be done on site

• Workshop work

• Mistakes and learning from them

• Reports

The day will be steered by Martin Goetze, assisted by Edward Bennett, and there will be opportunities for all to get dirty hands! Watch out for further information and booking details in the December Newsletter.

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Administrator’s News Business Member Survey All Business Members will have recently received their annual survey form. Could I please ask that this is completed and returned to me as soon as possible? The Publications Group would be grateful to receive information about work completed during 2008 via email if you prefer (including specifications and photographs where possible). Many thanks! Website All professional members have access to the “Resources” area of the IBO website – please contact me for a username and password. This area includes documentation such as application forms, Working Rules Agreement, previous AGM minutes, accounts, templates, and so on. On a lighter note, it will also include photos from previous IBO Meetings. If you have photos you’d like to share with your colleagues, then please do send them to me (either by email or disc) and we will upload them. It’s always good for those who perhaps couldn’t make it to see some snaps of people/places/organs visited as well as for those who went to look back…. I look forward to receiving your pictures – thank you! Minimum Wage In October the adult rate of the minimum wage will rise from £5.52 per hour to £5.73, the youth rate for workers aged 18-21 will be increased from £4.60 to £4.77 and the rate for workers 16-17 years £3.40 to £3.53. Notes from Croner: Ladder Exchange The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) has announced that it is to launch a new Ladder Exchange campaign, starting this month. Ladder Exchange 2008 aims to highlight the risks associated with using an unsuitable ladder and provide employers with the opportunity to exchange their substandard ladders for new ones, at a discounted price. In the new campaign, the HSE will urge anyone who uses a ladder in day-to-day work always to check the ladder before use and make sure that it is right for the job. If it is not the right ladder or if it is broken or bent, the HSE is urging ladder owners to contact an approved company, such as SGB Hire and Sale, Speedy Hire, HSS Hire or Ladderstore.com, and exchange it. Further information on ladder safety and the 2008 campaign can be accessed at: http://www.hse.gov.uk/falls/ladderexchange.htm Tax Code changes Those IBO members who employ staff should have received a letter from HM Revenue & Customs

(HMRC) with advice on how to prepare for the tax code changes which will be required for many individuals following the Chancellor's announcement in May. He announced that the basic Personal Allowance will increase by £600 from £5,435 to £6,035 and the basic rate limit will decrease from £36,000 to £34,800. The new tax codes and rate bands must be used from the first payday on or after 7 September.

The HMRC letter advises employers that they can get ready in good time by:

• making sure that every employee has a P11 Deductions Working Sheet (P11) or equivalent record;

• applying any tax code changes that they get dated 23 August or earlier;

• changing the existing tax codes following the last payday on or before 6th September in line with the instructions provided in the letter.

Pensions The Government has taken action to prevent employees from being excluded from Personal Accounts – the new pensions to be introduced from 2012. Effective from that year, the Pensions Bill (2007) will require automatic enrolment into a qualifying workplace scheme, such as Personal Accounts, for all workers between 22 and state pension age who are earning more than £5035 a year (in 2006/07 earnings terms). Under the Bill, employers must automatically enrol staff into a good workplace pension scheme, and provide the employer minimum contribution of 3%.

The Department for Works and Pensions plans to amend the Bill to prohibit employers from offering "inducements" — such as higher salaries or one-off bonuses — which encourage workers to opt out. The amendment will also cover circumstances where employers simply try to force their workers to opt out. This will leave individuals free to decide if they want to be a member of a workplace pension scheme. Workplace injuries – consequences The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) has warned both employers and employees to ensure that machinery is properly guarded, following two recent court cases. In May 2007, an agency worker was using an unguarded circular saw to cut lengths of timber at a fence manufacturing company in Cresswell, Staffordshire. The worker suffered the loss of the index finger on his right hand, as well as damage to his little finger as the machine sliced the index finger off. The HSE investigation found that the company had failed to carry out a suitable and sufficient risk assessment of the machine that should have identified the need for guarding. In addition, adequate training had not been given for the operation of the circular saw.

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The Fence Factory Ltd was fined a total of £2,000 and ordered to pay costs of £2,645 at Stafford Magistrates' Court on 15 May 2008 after the company pleaded guilty to breaching S.3(1) of the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974. Speaking after the case, HSE investigating inspector Wayne Owen said, "Allowing machines to be operated without suitable and appropriate guards is ignoring basic safety principles, an act which cannot go unpunished". In the second case, a production operative had been made aware, before the incident, of the absence of a guard on a mixer. He was asked to ensure that this absence was rectified, but he failed in his duty, resulting in injury to one member of staff, who lost his hand in the machine. The HSE’s investigation found that the employer had also failed to protect the health and safety of the workers. As a result, the HSE prosecuted both the company and the production operative. The company was fined £20,000 and ordered to pay court costs of £1,143.20. The operative was also convicted (Croner did not publish details of his fine).

EU Working Time Directive

The Government announced in June that it has negotiated the retention of its opt-out of EU working time laws again, securing what it sees as the “right for UK workers to choose to work longer than 48 hours a week”. The new agreement in Europe was reached by Ministers on both the Working Time Directive (93/104/EC) and the Agency Workers Directive (COD 2002/0149) at the EU Employment Council. UK Ministers argued the deal was needed to maintain the UK's labour market flexibility, while ensuring workers are treated fairly. And finally … money isn’t everything!

Well-filled pay packets do not guarantee happiness and fulfilment at work and it is not the thought of more money that causes people to change jobs, according to the fifth annual City & Guilds Happiness Index published earlier in the summer. Having an interest in what you do for a living is cited as the number one factor for ensuring on-the-job contentment. Happiness levels, according to the survey, remain constant regardless of salary. A keen interest in the job not only secures workplace happiness but is the main reason for workers in the UK choosing to stay with their employer. Hope to see you in Norwich next month.

Carol Levey Administrator

∗Accreditation Committee Members from left: David Wells and David Wood have their own eponymous companies. Leslie Ross recently retired as Works Manager of Mander Organs and now works independently. Michael Latham has recently left Kenneth Tickell & Company and returned to independent work, based at his new home in Worcester. Mark Venning is Managing Director of Harrison & Harrison. Michael Blighton (not in picture) is Head Voicer for Mander Organs and represents the IBO Board on the Committee.

The Accreditation Committee Who? How? Why?

Who are we?

Despite appearances, we are six ordinary members of the human race. Leslie Ross, Mark Venning and David Wells have been on the Committee for some years, and we have recently been joined by Michael Blighton, Michael Latham and David Wood.* The Board has given us the task of implementing the IBO system of inspection and accreditation, which is a cornerstone of the Institute's Bylaws. It is not necessarily an easy or popular task: some will find the system too strict, others too easy-going. That is the nature of any system of assessment (think of comments in the press about GCSE or A-level). Our job, though, is to ensure that the IBO supports good standards of organ building in a fair and consistent way, and we take this seriously. We are answerable to the Board, and we see ourselves as representing all professional members. Most of our discussions are carried out by correspondence, but we make a point of meeting every two years or so to review our work. Our most recent meeting took place in London on 2 April 2008: the photograph shows some of us in conclave. How does the system work?

Accreditation is a condition of business membership of the IBO. The process of inspection is organised by the Administrator, Carol Levey. On receipt of an application form for accreditation, the Committee assigns one or more inspectors, experienced in that category of work, who will previously have been approved by the Committee and by the Board. The inspector visits one or more organs submitted by the candidate and provides a detailed report, which includes a standardised "tick list" covering all aspects of the work. The report is considered by the Committee and carefully reviewed to ensure a consistent approach. We then make recommendations to the Board, which makes the final decision on accreditation.

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At our recent meeting, we simplified the paperwork which each organ builder has to complete when applying for accreditation. In response to a concern raised by members, we also recommended that the period before re-accreditation should be extended from five to seven years, in order to give more opportunity for members to produce fresh examples of work in a particular category. This recommendation was subsequently accepted by the Board. The category of Historic Restoration, which has now been sub-divided to cover tracker and pneumatic organs separately, imposes special conditions which have caused some comment. In addition to demonstrating strict conservation standards, candidates have to produce written and photographic reports. There is a good reason for these demanding requirements: modern conservation practice leads to high expectations among those who commission work on historic instruments, and the IBO reflects procedures elsewhere. (Guidelines can be found in Organ Building and on the website.) There is nothing grim or formidable about the actual process of inspection. All inspectors will agree that it is enjoyable and interesting to see good work. There is, of course, no personal element to the inspections, other than the exercise of professional judgement: inspectors operate within a set of guidelines which have been carefully drawn up to promote consistent, impartial assessments. Every firm is treated the same. The IBO does not make judgements on particular styles of work, nor do we erect artificial hurdles. We look only for competence, good workmanship and a sympathetic approach to each instrument. What is the point?

Accreditation goes right back to the earliest days of the IBO and forms an essential part of the constitution. The purpose is to ensure that IBO professional membership signifies a commitment to good standards. It is not exclusive or elitist – on the contrary, the IBO welcomes the widest possible range of members who do work of good quality in any style. Experience has shown very clearly that accreditation is a valuable source of reassurance to the outside world, and especially to customers and consultants. All of us are committed to making the system work fairly and consistently. Of course, accreditation is not enough in itself. Once accredited, all business members are expected to maintain good standards and to develop their knowledge and skills. Continuing Professional Development (CPD) is an accepted principle in many professions, and the Committee welcomed the recent decision that business members should be represented at IBO meetings at least once every two years, and preferably more often. These meetings are great opportunities for us all to learn from each other.

Mark Venning

The Battle of the Key Actions No, this is not the battle between tracker and electric, about which so very many pages have been written over the years. It is the much less publicised battle between electro-pneumatic actions on the one hand and key actions which are purely electric on the other. Dr Henry Gauntlett, the Victorian organ critic and hymn writer, took out a patent in 1852 which was based on magnets directly attached to the soundboard pallets. Needless to say, given the limitations on battery power at the time, no one took it up. It fell to Robert Hope-Jones to exploit the distance-conquering nature of electrical control, yet rely on well-established pneumatic mechanisms to do the actual donkey work of opening the pallets. His ideas led not only to the Wurlitzer theatre organ but also to the standard electro-pneumatic actions of the 1930s, with small chest magnets controlling a two-stage pneumatic action. The development of first the low-voltage generator (driven by a belt from the blower motor) and, later, of the transformer-rectifier overcame the limitations of current supply. As a result, the coming of the lever magnet in the 1930s, with its higher current consumption, raised issues of key-contact wear but not of power supply. Lever magnets were capable of opening a small pallet, controlling the wind of one treble pipe directly, and were much used for small unit organs in the 1950s and 60s. The poor reputation of some of these instruments rubbed off on the mechanism too and, in some quarters, “direct electric action” was damned by association. Nevertheless,

Tickell two-magnet underaction for Worcester Cathedral

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some smaller companies, attracted by its simplicity, moved after 1960 to use large lever magnets to work slider soundboard pallets directly. The results were, however, disappointing and in some cases, such as at All Saints’, Margaret Street, London (prior to its recent rebuild) quite disastrous. Why was this so? The trusty chest magnet, still around after over 100 years, has very light moving parts and very low electrical inertia. In the Wurlitzer incarnation, the two-stage pneumatics that it triggered had only to open a relatively small pallet, feeding a single pipe. The resulting action was exceptionally fast. It is otherwise, however, with slider soundboard actions, where the pneumatics have to do much more work. The exhausts from the valves make a noise, needing sound-resisting covers and, typically, such actions take 30-50 milliseconds to work. But direct action from lever magnets seemed at first to fare no better. Magnets that are, on paper, more than sufficiently powerful simply do not react very quickly. In the early 1960s Aug.Laukhuff were selling a magnet with a coil that was about 150mm long. It was as strong as an ox, but unbelievably slow. The problem is that the bigger the coil, to produce more power, the higher the electrical inductance and the more time it takes for the current to build up (and also to die away if potentially destructive electrical forces are not to be generated). The more massive the iron parts (for greater electro-magnetic efficiency) the more energy it takes to move them quickly. It was with this issue in mind that I developed the Gloucester Cathedral action in 1970, using multiple small lever magnets and round pallets for each note. The key contacts were protected by solid state circuitry from the high currents involved and the action has gained (and still retains) a wide reputation for its responsiveness. Measurements at the time indicated a response time of 15-20 milliseconds. When, in the following year, a little 6-stop Positive division was added to the organ in Bath Abbey, a simplification of the Gloucester action was devised, with one small lever magnet opening a round pallet and another lever magnet connected to a conventional long pallet. The round pallet was quite small (¾ inch) with a low-resistance magnet coil to give a wide margin of power and to make it both reliable and fast. The pluck having already been broken, the second magnet working the long pallet also had an easy task. The only problem with this action at Bath was that drawing the Choir to Great coupler showed up how much faster it was than the electro-pneumatic actions fitted to the rest of the instrument. Although the Bath Abbey organ was rebuilt by Klais in 1997 and the electric actions displaced by tracker, the reputation of this action filtered through to the

USA, where it has been adopted by Dobson for several substantial instruments. News of its success spread back to this country and when Kenneth Tickell was discussing the best action to use for the new Worcester Cathedral organ, I recognised the design and encouraged him. Dobson would typically mount the pallet magnet on the grid, behind the conventional pallet. However, lack of access to the underneath of the soundboards at Worcester prompted Ken to introduce a slight variation, in which the pallet magnets are mounted on a vertical block which also does duty as the main spring rail, with tubes fed from the block into the grid. Usefully, this also allows easy access to the pallet magnets should they need to be adjusted. Conventional Kimber-Allen pallet magnets have been used, combined with the smaller of the two standard Heuss lever magnets. The construction of a glass-sided one-note prototype confirmed the high repetition rates attainable. In the event, the actions were set up on their soundboards in the works and were just wired up at Worcester; they needed no further adjustment on site. Careful design of the main pallets (using multiple pallets for the lower basses) has allowed the actions at Worcester to work on pressures up to 170mm, and they have proved not only remarkably responsive but also amazingly silent, inaudible even when standing on the passageboard. Will this become the new standard for the best work?

John Norman

The above view of the new Quire Organ emerging from its scaffolding is part of a fascinating gallery of photographs which may be seen at: http://picasaweb.google.com/lucasorgmeister. Taken by the Master of the Choristers at Worcester Cathedral, Adrian Lucas, they chart the entire progress of the project from the dismantling of the old cases early in 2007,via the opening up of the chambers at triforium level for the enclosed divisions and the construction of new components in the workshops, to the erection of the two new cases (which are cantilevered off the internal organ structure). A dedication weekend is planned for October 4th and 5th, including a recital by Thomas Trotter at 8pm on the Saturday evening.

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Over the Border Roger Taylor attended the Summer Meeting at Usk on 14th June As far as I can recall this was the first visit of the IBO to the Principality, and what a great way to start! The visit was based at Usk, a delightful small market town situated on the river of the same name. Usk is renowned for its ‘Flowers in bloom’ during the summer months. Unfortunately we were a little early in the year to appreciate this at its best; however, flowers were not the prime purpose of the visit! Fifty members and guests met at the Three Salmons Hotel in the centre of the town for the usual registration with tea and coffee. This also gave us the customary opportunity to catch up on all the news from friends and colleagues. Following this we made our way the short distance to the ancient Priory Church of St Mary the Virgin which houses the Gray & Davison organ of 1861. This instrument was moved from Llandaff Cathedral and installed at Usk in 1900. It has now undergone an historic restoration by Nicholson’s (a full report on this work was published in Volume Seven of Organ Building.) My first encounter with this instrument was way back in about 1962 when I was a young apprentice working for Rushworth & Dreaper. The company had recently taken over the tuning connection from the Sweetland Organ Building Co and this was one of their tunings. I remember arriving in Usk, in the dark, having travelled up from Newport on the bus, to attend to some sticking keys. Although looking back I knew very little about organs at that time I did recognise that this particular instrument was something very special. It appears that Sweetland Organ Building Co put in a proposal in the 1940s to rebuild the organ on pneumatic action with a detached console. Thankfully this was never done. As has already been documented R & D carried out a restoration of the organ in 1966 and looking back I suppose they did what most other organ builders would have done at that time, i.e. balanced swell pedal, radiating and concave pedal board and bits of plastic on the console. However, if my memory serves me correctly, nothing was done with the reeds at that time and I would offer the opinion that they were softened when the instrument was relocated in the Church. I looked after the instrument from about 1986 up to the time of the recent restoration which proved to be quite a task, particularly after the PCC decided to heat the Church continually through the winter months. As you can imagine this played havoc with

the old soundboards and the soundboard linings ended up like pepper pots with all the bleed holes! Much credit should be given to Gareth Williams, an IBO Member, who took up the post of Organist in 1995 and has obviously put a great deal of hard work and dedication into the restoration project. At the church we were welcomed, most entertainingly, by Guy Russell who introduced Dr Roy Massey MBE, formerly organist at Hereford Cathedral, who kindly gave a short demonstration of the instrument. He started by demonstrating almost every stop individually for us and then gave a short recital of works by Handel, Howells and Bach. Roy then expressed his delight in the way the church acoustics had been improved by the removal of the carpets and plastering of the internal walls. Members were then invited to examine the instrument; unfortunately owing to the tight access it was not possible to enter the interior, but various panels were removed to allow us to look inside.

Following this we returned to the Three Salmons Hotel where we all enjoyed a delightful buffet lunch. Personally I think it was the best lunch I have had at an IBO meeting and I believe due credit has already been given to the hotel for their excellent spread.

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After lunch the tables were cleared away and the chairs re-arranged for the afternoon session. This commenced with a talk by Andrew Moyes and Guy Russell about their recent restoration of the St Mary’s organ. They made it all sound very straightforward without too many problems, the work was an historic restoration based on the organ of 1900 together with the reversal of the R & D modifications of the 1960s. Their presentation was enhanced by some interesting photographs taken at various stages through the work (for further detailed technical information please refer to the article in Organ Building). This was followed by a very interesting talk given by Elizabeth Holford, a specialist in paint conservation, who was responsible for the restoration of the decorated front pipes and the horizontal trumpet. This is obviously a very time consuming and highly skilled operation. Elizabeth explained to us how she stabilised the existing paintwork on each pipe before individually wrapping the Trumpet pipes to prevent any further damage before the pipes went to Malvern.

When the pipes were returned she and two other colleagues spent three weeks working on site cleaning and restoring the decorative paintwork. She described in some detail the methods used. Finally, Andrew Moyes gave a very interesting talk on balancing horizontal swell shutters when the shutter centres are off-set. He illustrated his talk with

clearly defined drawings of the method he has used to overcome this problem. It involves two counterbalance weights situated on top of the swell box, one to balance the shutters and the second to balance the swell trace rod (see drawing below). Sitting and listening in a comfortable hotel conference suite it all looked fairly simple, but I must admit I had never thought of using two separate balance weights when carrying out this work. As usual at these meetings we concluded with tea and biscuits and a final opportunity of a chat with colleagues. Towards the end of the afternoon our President recommended that Members should visit the hotel car park before leaving. Three organ builders had driven to the meeting in distinctive motor cars: there was an MGB Roadster (1974, one owner) and a green Morgan Plus 8, but pride of place went to Pat Burns with his stunning replica Bugatti (1924, type 35 – see photo). Finally, thanks must go to everyone who contributed to the arrangements for an interesting and successful summer meeting.

Roger Taylor

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Letter to the Editor Dear Sir, Retirements at Peter Collins Ltd As a craft we have an aging workforce; many of the men involved were trained in the 50s & 60s, introduced to our industry from church and local choirs, career officers, boys’ clubs etc. – how the world has changed! Earlier this year we had the retirement of Gordon Goddard, a latecomer into organ building (he had been made redundant in his 50s). Since working with us he has brought a broader band of experience and made a significant contribution to our instruments. Back in 1969 a young John Harper came to see me. He was working with Peter Walker in Chesham under the late George Turner, and felt he needed to move on and gain some different experience. I, too, was young then and was naturally concerned whether our small company could employ another person. The risk was taken; what a mistake it would have been not to have had John all these years! John proved to have had a good training with George (with whom we always kept in touch). John is the man you need in every organ building workshop; he can tackle almost everything, and anything outside his experience we discussed and it was done. An early forte was his woodworking skills. He has created many of our company’s renowned cases: Henley on Thames (main case and Rückpositiv), Southampton University, St Oswald’s Durham (in mannerist style with Rückpositiv), Toorak Uniting Church, Melbourne Australia (two sixteen foot cases), St Peter Mancroft, Norwich (main case, Rückpositiv and two sixteen foot pedal cases), St Mary’s, Barnes, St David’s Hall Cardiff, St Albans Festival organ (in the style of Andreas Silbermann) – the list is long and there are others, the contribution is immense. When it was decided to move from Redbourn back in 1988 (partly because of the difficulty of finding skilled craftsmen), John did not discourage me from taking a leap in the dark despite the fact that it would change his lifestyle dramatically. The move to Melton Mowbray opened up the opportunity to find skilled woodworkers who could make cases, windchests and wood pipes; this enabled John to use some of his essentially organ building skills such as the restoration of windchests, bellows and other items that only we all know about. After many years of exclusively new work, we were able to turn our minds and skills to the very important heritage we have around us as well. Our team with John as leader has tackled some beautiful instruments including some that many condemned; it is probably this latter category that we all enjoy once the nightmares are over and we have completed the task.

John has given extraordinary service to our company and the craft; he has also helped to ensure the continuance of our calling by training young men over the years. (We just hope young Tom, Richard and Chris have been listening as they take on more responsibility!) John Harper retired on 5 July 2008 and we wish him and his wife many happy years of seeing more of each other. Yours faithfully, Peter Collins 42 Pate Road Melton Mowbray Leicestershire LE13 0RG 1st July 2008 P.S. John does have a large and well-equipped shed where he tells me he could tackle the odd bellows…windchest…!!!

Announcements Organ Builders in the North-West will be saddened to learn of the unexpected death of Cliff Wileman at the age of 56. Cliff trained with Rushworth & Dreaper Ltd and stayed with them until they closed at the end of 2002, thereafter spending five and a half years with David Wells Organ Builders. Cliff’s specialty there was as a soundboard hand (having learnt his craft under the wings of Billy Duncan and Jack Jones at R&D) who would not have been ashamed to be described as “old school”. Big Cliff, as he was affectionately known, was a taciturn man; he had those inestimable qualities of dependability and reliability. He took a pride in his work, and time was never of the essence as he strived for a good and lasting result. As a keen sports enthusiast and Liverpool FC supporter Cliff was well in contention with Monday morning banter and took pride in his City of Liverpool. Our sympathies go out to his family and friends. We also regret to report the death this summer of Jim Birch, ten years after his retirement from Mander Organs, for whom he had acted as site foreman at Canterbury Cathedral, Bristol Cathedral and St John’s College Cambridge (amongst other installations). He began his half century in organ building in the post-war years at Henry Willis & Sons, making the move to Bethnal Green some twenty years later (wither he was followed, coincidentally, by the maintenance and rebuilding contracts for St Paul’s Cathedral!). Jim’s worldly wisdom (he was never seen in the staff canteen without that day’s copy of the Telegraph) and genial fellowship are sadly mourned by his former colleagues, and our condolences are due to his wife Molly and family.

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David Hirst has joined Harrison & Harrison Ltd as Mark Venning's assistant. His musical career started in Chichester Cathedral, where he was a chorister under John Birch. Later he was organ scholar at Emmanuel College, Cambridge, where he studied music and had organ lessons with Nicolas Kynaston. Between 1985 and 2002 he worked for major companies in London, Japan, and the United States (in which country he also gained an MBA degree). In 2002 he returned to the musical world as Assistant Organist at St Martin-in-the-Fields, London. He has studied the organ with Thomas Trotter, and recently graduated with a diploma in organ performance from the Royal Academy of Music, where his organ professor was Lionel Rogg. The plan is that after a gradual handover David will succeed Mark as Managing Director, and Mark will remain active as Chairman. Peter Collins seeks a business partner with a good practical knowledge of organ building. If you are ambitious, would like to move to a beautiful part of our country, possibly penniless, you may well have the qualifications to work with our integrated team. Please contact Peter in complete confidence by any of the following means: Tel. (01664) 410555, Fax (01664) 410535, email enquiries@petercollinsltd.com (For postal address see letters column on the previous page). Joyce Jones (Derek's widow) still has the following items from Pipecraft to dispose of : –

• A part ingot (approx 18kg) of pure tin. • A Laukhuff tin testing outfit. • Some Fry's rolled 95% tin/5% copper sheet

of about .015" thickness. • A unique five-speed woodturning lathe, built

by Derek, with clutch and various chucks, faceplates and accessories – ideal for turning small organ parts.

Details from Joyce at Goosemead, 14 Top Road, Belaugh, Norwich NR12 8XB. Tel. (01603) 782464 or elaine@goosemead.plus.com.

Having recently retired from full time employment at Mander Organs, Mike Smith would like to keep his hand in the trade and would be happy to put his 52 years’ experience at the disposal of any colleagues on a casual, as-needed basis. Mike may be contacted at smithythfc@hotmail.co.uk, or on 020 8372 7701 (H)/ 07534 730064 (M).

Our warmest good wishes go out to IBO Founding Father (and former Administrator and Newsletter Editor) Ian Bell on the occasion of his sixty-fifth birthday this month. (Rumours that a British company is about to announce the signing of a major contract in the Quatrième Arrondissement are, regrettably, unfounded.)

Star Organs of Britain Calendar 2009 will be available from October this year with what is hoped will again prove an interesting selection of organs from across the country. Highlights include All Saints’ Hove, St Giles Cripplegate (new organ by Mander) and St Mark’s Dalston. Please send remittance of £14.35 per calendar (£18.10 overseas) to Andrew Hayden, 79 The Common, Freethorpe, Norwich, Norfolk. NRl3 3TX. (Back issues from 2006 to 2008 are also still available, priced £10.50 UK and £14.25 overseas, including postage & packing.) New for Christmas 2008: packs of ten cards (A5 with envelope) with five different organs drawn from past calendars, left blank for your own greeting and use on any occasion, £7.50 per pack in UK, £10.60 overseas.

THE INSTITUTE OF BRITISH ORGAN BUILDING

PRESIDENT: Katherine Venning BOARD: Michael Blighton Andrew Fearn Martin Goetze David McElderry Andrew Moyes Alan Taylor Kenneth Tickell

0191 378 2222

020 7739 4747 07776 307535 01909 485635

028 9266 4257 01886 833338 01706 826021 01604 768188

TREASURER: Rosemary Wakeford Canal Cottage Crofton Marlborough Wiltshire SN8 3DW Tel: 01672 870956 Fax: 01672 871352 rosemary.wakeford@virgin.net

ADMINISTRATOR & SECRETARY: Carol Levey, 13 Ryefields, Thurston, Nr Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk 1P31 3TD Tel/Fax: 01359 233433 administrator@ibo.co.uk www.ibo.co.uk

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UNIT TITLE: Organ Building General Knowledge

LEARNING OUTCOMES The learner will:

ASSESSMENT CRITERIA The learner can:

1. Understand safe working practices and personal safety consideration in the workshop and on site

Prepare a risk assessment to show awareness of safety issues from the following 1.1 first-aid requirements in the workshop 1.2 manual handling 1.3 COSSH 1.4 Noise levels 1.5 Use of specified woods 1.6 Working at a height 1.7 Tuning an organ

2 Understand the principles of common organ mechanisms

2.1 Identify faults on an organ with mechanical / pneumatic / electric action.

3. Be aware of current good organbuilding practice

3.1 Describe the basic principles of historic restoration.

3.2 Describe the underlying principles to new organ design

3.3 Describe how to assess pipework, both in tuning and in rebuilding an organ

In addition to the above, TWO TOPICS to be chosen from the following options

Option A A1 Draw up the specification for a two-

manual organ A2 Design the basic layout of the above

organ

A1 Understand the choice of stops to give a balanced specification A2 Sketch out an organ layout including details of a mechanical

action

Option B Provide working drawings for parts of the

organ described in option A

B Make specified technical drawings on a computer with a CAD program

Option C Describe the action of an organ.

C1 Identify electrical or mechanical parts (major or minor components)

C2 describe their uses.

Option D Understand the characteristics of wood

and leather used in organ building

D1 identify the timber in samples provided D2 describe techniques of repair in samples provided (could be

photographic) D3 identify 3 types of leather and their uses D4 comment on different glues and why they are most suitable for

particular purposes

Option E Recognise examples of the major organ

builders in Britain

E1 Identify from photographs the age and characteristics of chosen organs

E2 Describe the probable layout from the evidence available. Include sketch of action.

Option F Understand electronic switching and

piston systems in the organ

C1 Describe the features and layout of one of the following (a) switching system (b) multilevel capture system

C2 describe how to locate and correct faults in a specified system

Shown above is the syllabus for Level Three of the Open College Network course for organ building trainees, referred to in the President’s column in the June Edition of the Newsletter (we were unfortunately unable to publish it at the time owing to lack of space). Please contact Katherine Venning at Harrison & Harrison Ltd for further information regarding this, the other levels in the course and opportunities to study for OCN accreditation at Durham or in your own workshop.