St. Margaret's of Antioch Church, Crick, Northants

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 It was superseded by a larger Hill and Davidson organ in a new chamber of increased size in 1837.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."

All 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.

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 were asked to inspect our organ and they have produced detailed reports with estimates for such a restoration; their reports can be viewed in detail.

Goetze and Gwynn Report <--- Select here to view the Goetze and Gwynn Inspection 2003 report

Harrison and Harrison Report <--- Select here to view the Harrison and Harrison 2005 report

A later inspection was done by Nicholson & Son in order to get a further quotation for restoration, because a number of funding organisation (e.g. HLF) require a third quotation before proceeding.

Nicholson & Son Report <--- Select here to view the Nicholson & Son 2007 report

As can be seen it appeared that we would not be able to properly restore the Elliot organ for less than £150,000 (at 2006 prices). The PCC were 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 was set up to look into the setting up of a restoration project for the Elliot organ.
The committee consists of Nigel Howard (Chairman), Alan Leach and Martin Jackson and they have and will continue to meet up on a regular basis throughout the duration of the project.

The total project cost based on the highest estimate and including a 10% contingency is calculated to be £210,849 assuming a start date in late 2008 or early 2009.

• Council for the Care of Churches – Sent in application and they have offered a grant of £5,000
• The Pilling Trust Fund - Rejected
• The Diapason Trust – No response
• Foundation Sports Arts – Sent in application form but rejected
• Arts Council England – Rejected, suggested trying Heritage Lottery Fund
• National Heritage – Sent in application and they have offered a grant of up to 90% of the total project cost.
• The Leche Trust – Sent in application form but rejected.
• The Pilgrim Trust – Rejected, suggested trying Coucil for the Care of Churches.
• St.John's College, Oxford – Sent in application and they have sent us a cheque for £1,000.
• The ON Organ Fund – Sent in application they have sent us a cheque for £1,500.
• The Ousely Trust – Submitted application and we await decision.

In June 2007 we were contacted by Jeremy Fenn of the Heritage Lottery Fund to inform us that our application for funding had been successful, and that we had been awarded an amount of £184,000 towards a total project cost of £210,849.

Those Northamptonshire brides of the future who are to be married at Crick Parish Church can look forward to walking up the aisle to the much-improved stately sounds of the wedding march, thanks to a Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) award which will restore the organ and help some budding young organists to be trained as part of a larger restoration plan.

The traditional skill of organ playing is in short supply, but the recent £184,000 award to St Margaret of Antioch Church in the small village of Crick will see local talented musicians receive free organ lessons to encourage them to take up the instrument.

The bulk of the funds will be used to restore the nationally significant Thomas Elliot-built organ which is in urgent need of repair. The organ has a fascinating history, having first been built in 1819 by Elliot for the Chapel Royal at St James’s Palace. However it was actually condemned in 1834 by one of Elliot’s critics, who described it as “being extremely harsh and unmusical” and “a source of unceasing annoyance to the choir and organists.”

The sound of the organ was improved by alterations and moved to Leamington Spa before being sent in 1841 via the Grand Union Canal to Crick, where it was presented by John Clarke, a blind organist who was born in the village.

HLF’s Regional Manager Emma Sale said, “This organ is a wonderful survivor from its time and place. Thomas Elliot was one of the finest organ builders of his age, and this is a rare example to survive intact from the pre-Victorian age.”

She added, “Talented musicians of all ages will have the opportunity to learn and play on this magnificent organ, hopefully going some way to reverse this dying art. The church plans to pull out all the stops to get more people inspired to play so we will still hear the unique sound resounding into the future.”

Ex-Church warden Nigel Howard explained, “The organ is in urgent need of repair to bring it back to its 1841 standard. It’s becoming more and more difficult for organists to play but this money will allow us to preserve the historic organ and make it a more playable instrument to the benefit of future generations of musicians and congregations.

We intend to arrange more musical concerts, and start subsided music lessons using the restored organ. We will be actively encouraging children and adults with musical ability to listen to, and in some cases play in, these musical concerts. Our next musical concert is on Friday 20th July at 7.30pm in the church - no charge for admission”

For further information please contact:
Sarah Barnwell, Heritage Lottery Fund – Tel: 020 7591 6046 or 07973 401 737, email: barnwells@hlf.org.uk or Helen Griffee Tel: 0778 7793541 email heleng2@hlf.org.uk
Website: www.hlf.org.uk

The Senior Grants Officer of the Heritage Lottery Fund (Jeremy Fenn) visited our church on 4th May and met up with Alan, Martin and Nigel to review our funding application for the restoration of our Elliot Church Organ. In order to maximise the chances of getting funding approval for our scheme, Jeremy suggested that it would be a good idea to open up better access to the organ loft and also the front of the organ, for visitors and music students etc.

After further discussion with Jeremy and the organ sub-committee members, it was consider that it would be a good idea to remove the bench immediately behind the organ to open up more access to the whole area. Photographs of the bench in question are attached for identification purposes. At the same time the loft area could be tidied up and a new cupboard provided for the storage of hymn books and organ music. A set of ten chairs say, could be provided for the tutored musical students and occasional choirs that wish to perform from the organ balcony.

Provisional costs for this work have been included in the total project budget being applied for with the Heritage Lottery Fund. In order to get DAC approval for making these alterations, the PCC needs to give its approval and agree how best to dispose of the old bench. The bench could be moved to the North wall of the church and used for additional seating for meals at UBS services, or alternatively it could be stored in the sexton’s hut along with a few other similar benches.

The organ sub-committee asked the PCC to consider these alterations in a favourable light to open up better access to our newly restored organ and this was agreed at a later PCC meeting.

The planned date for this will be in July 2008.

We hope to make a visit up to the factory mid-way through the restoration process.

We are planning to arrange an inaugural concert sometime after April 2009 to celebrate the completion of restoration.

We also are planning to arrange an open day in conjunction with Council for the Care of Churches after the organ has been restored and also a number of other concerts and activities in the church

During the time when the organ has been removed for restoration, we will approaching a number of schools and other organisations in order to make widely known our offer of providing subsidises (or possibly free) organ lessons to talented musicians, of at least Grade 4 standard or above. There will be a maximum of ten subsidised lessons offered for each student and afterwards those wanting to go pursue further musical tuition will be referred to a professional tutor.

Some while ago during 2003, the PCC appointed an organ restoration sub-committee to look into all possible ways of undertaking a full restoration or repair of the Elliot organ under its care. Over the period since the sub-committee has met on a number of occasions and reported back progress to the PCC.

Select here September 2007 Organ Restoration Committee Minutes to view the minutes of the September 2007 Organ Restoration Committee Meeting.

Select here March 2008 Organ Restoration Committee Minutes to view the minutes of the March 2008 Organ Restoration Committee Meeting.

Select here June 2008 Organ Restoration Committee Minutes to view the minutes of the June 2008 Organ Restoration Committee Meeting.

The Heritage Lottery Fund has given the go ahead and the contract has been signed with Goetze & Gwynn to start the restoration work in July 2008.