For the full history, get the guidebook!
The
organist, Jeffrey Williams, has produced a guide to the organs that detail
their history in greater depth than the abstract on this page. If you
are interested in purchasing a copy – price: £2.50 – e-mail
us with your contact details and we will pass your details to the
Abbey Shop.
The Organ
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The
organ console
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We are very fortunate to be accompanied in our worship by a remarkable instrument built by J.W. Walker and Sons in 1858. Our relationship with Walkers, founded in London but now located in Suffolk, continues to the present day because their tuners still pay regular visits to Romsey to maintain the organ. Major restoration work was carried out in 1995/96, restoring the old mechanical actions and overhauling much of the pipework to its former glory.
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The
Nave Organ
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1998 saw the construction by Walkers of a completely new organ in addition to the 1858 original. Its pipework is located, somewhat unusually, on the South Triforium, a gallery that runs the length of the Nave from the West End to the Crossing. This can be played either from a mobile console in the Nave or from the main console in the Choir.
The Nave organ is particularly useful, firstly, in providing the congregation with the hymn tune without the slight delay that arises from the distant location of the main organ and, secondly, as a concert instrument in its own right.
Specification of the organs
| Great (Barker Lever, 1858) |
Pedal (electro-pneumatic, 1995) |
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| Double Open Diapason | 16* | Double Open Diapason | 32* |
| Double Stopped Diapason | 16 | Open Diapason | 16 |
| Large Open Diapason | 8 | Bourdon | 16 |
| Open Diapason | 8 | Octave Wood | 8 |
| Stopped Diapason (metal, wood bass) |
8 | Mixture | 8 12 15 |
| Clarabella | 8 | Trombone | 16 |
| Principal | 4 | Trumpet | 8 |
| Stopped Flute (wood) | 4 | ||
| Twelth | 2 2/3 | Swell (Mechanical, 1995) | |
| Fifteenth | 2 | Double Stopped Diapason | 16 |
| Tierce | 1 3/5 | Open Diapason | 8 |
| Full Mixture | 15 19 22 | Stopped Diapason (wood) | 8 |
| Sharp Mixture | 26 29* | Principal | 4 |
| Trumpet | 8 | Fifteenth | 2 |
| Clarion | 4* | Mixture | 15 19 22 |
| Hautboy | 8 | ||
| Cornopean | 8 | ||
| Gamba | 8 | Clarion | 4 |
| Dulciana | 8 | Tremulant* | |
| Stopped Diapason (wood) | 8 |
Compass:
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| Principal | 4 | ||
| Stopped Flute (stopped metal) |
4 | ||
| Cremona | 8 | * added in 1888 by J.W. Walker | |
| Tuba | 8** | ** added in 1982 by N.P. Mander | |
| Nave Organ (1999) | |
| Manual | |
| Open Diapason (metal) | 8 |
| Stopped Diapason (wood & metal) | 8 |
| Octave (metal) | 4 |
| Nason Flute (metal) | 4 |
| Super Octave (metal) | 2 |
| Mixture (19 22 26 29) | IV ranks |
| Trumpet | 8 |
| Manual to Pedal | |
| Nave Organ on Great | |
| Pedal | |
| Bourdon (wood) | 16 |
| Octave (metal) | 8 |
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Couplers
Also available: ten general combination pedals and reversible pedals for Great to Pedal and Pedal Trombone; and Manual to Pedal (Nave Organ) |
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Timothy Rogerson at the main console of the organ
