c.1878 Hele Church Organ
OUR ORGAN IS NOW UNDER CONSIDERATION BY A CHURCH ELSEWHERE AND A FACULTY HAS BEEN SUBMITTED FOR THE MOVE, THEREFORE IT IS CURRENTLY NOT AVAILABLE. (MAY 2012)
St Jude’s Church in Plymouth, UK, is needing to refurbish their buildings. As part of that refurbishment (Our Next Era Project can be seen here) the generally unused Chancel area needs to be fully utilised and our Organ sits within that area. In any future design, the Chancel will always therefore be acoustically seperate from the main assembly area of the Nave and the organ is just too large for the new seperated Chancel space to be used again.
The Organ is a large, spectacular and very early example of Hele & Co of Plymouth’s grand organ design. It is approximately 4m by 4m in plan and about 6.5m in height before any access space is required. There is not another space within our church complex it would fit! (Click here for a dimensioned sketch)
Therefore, we want to help find it a good home where its wonderful range and character can be used. So our Church organ is for sale – but where it goes and who can hear it is far more important than the price.
Among organs, this has an interesting pedigree. Its modest historicity arises from its build date. We understand that in their early years, Hele & Co of Plymouth assembled organs. Then, in 1875, they came up with their first grand design. Our organ was built in 1878 with seemingly the fullest specification they could offer.
It was originally a two manual instrument of 20 speaking stops that we understand are mechanical action. Then in 1920 a third manual was added, again by Hele’s, with their unique patented pneumatic system taking the speaking stops to 24 in total. (All of the stops and controls are listed as they appear below with photos)
The organ is built of very good materials and works beautifully – and moving it would mean it would be fully restored. It would need to be dismantled by an organ builder ready to ship and be rebuilt by them, replacing any smaller components that may need refurbishment. Once in its new situation it could be a fully restored perfectly operating organ with another 130 years ahead of it.
The Church Faculty process is now beginning with our detailed site design work initially, prior to submission around May 2012. ( A faculty is a type of Church of England Planning Application.) We were pleased to be given initial permission to find a home for the organ worldwide subject to important conditions – more information can be found here.
We would also be very pleased to work with anyone on grants to help. If you are an end user reading this, we believe you would need to engage an organ builder to dismantle, pack and rebuild it in its new location. If you are an organ builder looking at this page it is also being advertised on the Institute of British Organ Building website where some information is available and there are a few extra photographs lower on this page.
We would love to talk to anyone who thinks they can give it a good home where it will be able to be played and heard.
Any enquiries, please just contact us.
Controls Labels:
GREAT ORGAN
Trumpet 8
Mixture 2 RKS
Fifteenth 2
Twelfth 2 2/3
Flute 4
Principle 4
Viola 8
Flauto Traverso 8
Open Diapason 8
PEDAL ORGAN
Bourdon 16
Open Diapason 16
SWELL ORGAN
Tremulant
Oboe 8
Cornopean 8
Mixture 2RKS
Principle 4
Dulciana 8
Voix Celestes 8
Gedact 8
Violin Diapason 8
Double Diapason 16
CHOIR ORGAN
Viol Da Gamba 8
Lie Ged 8
Lie Flote 4
Clarinet
and
Swell to great
Swell to Pedal
Great to pedal
CH to PED Swell to CH
