Organ Repair Work

We’re delighted to have welcomed organ technician, Tim Trenchard, to Downside to work on the Compton organ, an instrument which is used extensively year-round. 

Earlier this week, Brother John was able to go up into the organ loft with Tim to look at the pipes during the restoration process. Whilst up there, he was able to open the roof of the swell and look out into the transcept of the church; it is estimated that there are around 2,500 pipes up there! They even photographed some graffiti etched by boys from the School as far back as the 1916. Interestingly, Dom Hubert’s ‘Downside By and Large’ mentions on p 271-2 the pre-electricity requirements of pumping the organ, and, as pointed out by an OG, it is likely that the boys who etched the graffiti were manually inflating the bellows. 

In this clip, Tim explains the process of restoring the Compton’s illuminated stops: