Organ

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The organ is a rare example of an instrument following the old English tradition. It was originally built in 1819 by Thomas Elliot of Tottenham Court Road for the Chapel Royal at St James' Palace, London; this accounts for the Royal Cost of Arms at the front of the organ gallery and the crown and mitre on the rail in front of the Renaissance style organ case. Thomas Elliot had developed in the English School having joined the famous organ builder John Snetzler in 1803. Though Snetzler was Swiss, from the time he began to build organs in England in the mid l8th century he followed the English tradition. Having left Snetzler sometime previously to set up his own business, Elliot took the young William Hill into his employment in 1815. Ten years later Hill married Elliot's daughter and became a partner in the firm which he inherited after the death of Elliot in 1832.

The organ which Thomas Elliot built for St James' Palace replaced a smaller Schrider instrument but he was restricted by having to use the same chamber. This may account for Elliot's organ having been considered unsatisfactory for its function in the Chapel. It was superseded by a larger Hill and Davidson organ in a new chamber of increased size in 1837.

The Elliot organ was first moved to St James', Old Milverton near Leamington Spa but it may never have been rebuilt there. In 1841 it was installed in the west gallery of St Margaret's, Crick having been presented by John Clarke, a blind organist who was born in Crick. A brass plate on the organ case records that:
"John Clarke, a native of this Parish, desirous to promote the due performance of that part of the Divine Service which celebrate the praises of ALMIGHTY GOD, presented this organ for the use of the Parish Church - Crick, October l4th 1841."

Al1 the pipes in the three manual organ are voiced on light pressure and most of them are the originals. In 1819, the compass of all three manuals of the organ was from GG (no GG sharp) to F, 58 notes. When built the compass of the Swell was from Tenor F upwards but at some later date the compass was extended down to Tenor C with additional pipes. The Swell keys below Tenor C couple down to the Choir not having any pipes of their own. When first fitted, the Pedal pipes ranged from GG (no GG sharp) to C, 17 pipes. During the 1930's the compass of the manuals and pedals was shortened to CC in the bass.

Two removals and the passage of 160 years exacted their toll from the unique instrument. In 1978 major restoration work was carried out by Bowen Organs (Northampton Limited) with guidance from the Organs Advisory Committee of the General Synod of the Council for Places of Worship. The organ was dismantled completely, the bellows re-leathered, the sound boards repaired and re-palletted and the whole of the manual, pedal and drawstop actions refurbished. 22 pipes which were missing in the Sesquialtera and Mixture were replaced and the composition of both ranks was reassembled with breaks as customary in early l9th century organs. The Trumpet Treble pipes are original Elliot. At the 1978 restoration the previously damaged or missing Trumpet Base pipes were made up by using 24 pipes producing a sound compatible with the Trumpet Treble. Originally the Swell had an Hautboy and the Choir a Cremona but it is to be regretted that at the time of the restoration only a few pipes of each rank remained and they were damaged beyond repair. Replacements to the original specification had to be excluded due to cost. A Seventeenth was added temporarily to the Swell from middle C upwards, 30 pipes, pending restoration of the Hautboy. The Pedal Pipe (Bourdon) were extended from the then existing bottom octave by 13 new pipes to complete the full compass of the pedal board. Repairs to and refurbishing of the casework and organ chamber were carried out during the 1978 restoration by voluntary help within the Parish.

Specification after the 1978 Restoration
Great Organ	Swell Organ	Choir Organ	Pedal Organ	Couplers
(CC to F 54 Notes)	(C to F 42 Notes)	(CC to F 54 Notes)	(CC to D 27 Notes	Great to Swell
Stop diapason 8	Stop diapason 8	Stop diapason 8	Pedal Pipes 16	Pedals to Great
Open diapason 8	Open diapason 8	Dulciana 8	(Bourdon)	Pedals (to Choir)
Princiapl 4	Principal 4	Flute 4
Twelfth 2.2/3	Piccolo 2	Principal 4
Fifteenth 2	Piccolo 1
Sesquialtera 2 rks	Seventeenth 1.3/5
Mixture 2 rks
Trumpet Treble 8
Trumpet Bass 8

Below Tenor C the Swell is coupled to the Choir.

Written by Alan Shaw (deceased) Organist & co-ordinator of the volunteers during the 1978 restoration.

In 1999, the Church undertook a report about the condition of the organ and were advised at that time, that with routine maintenance the organ should continue to function into the foreseeable future.

However towards the end of 2003, it was reported by the organists that several pedals were not coupling through correctly to Choir manuals, resulting in some erratic sounds occurring or missing. Michael Chapman, our organ tuner suggested that these minor repairs might prove difficult to undertake and we should explore ways of getting the organ restored or renovated.

Two of the best known organ restorer companies in the UK have inspected our organ and have produced detailed reports with estimates for such a restoration. It looks as if we shall not be able to properly restore the Elliot organ for less than £150,000 (at 2006 prices). We are all hopeful that we will be in a good position to apply for a financial grant towards a substantial part of these costs of repairs or renovation. The balance of the money we shall have to find ourselves by organising a number of funding events and activities.

An organ restoration sub-committee has been set up to look into the setting up of a restoration project for the Elliot organ. See details of the progress made in the links above.

Michael Chapman will continue to keep the organ tuned and operating as best he can

Send mail to nigel.howard@zetnet.co.uk with questions or comments about this web site.