The Organ in St. Andrew’s Church

The present organ in St Andrew and St. Cuthman’s church was installed by Walkers in 1968 and replaced a large 3manual Spurden-Rutt instrument sited in what is now the Cuthman Chapel. The new organ was placed on the west wall of the church making it ideal for leading a congregation and recitals but less so for accompanying the church choir.

Apart from the usual tuning and maintenance no major work has been carried out on the organ since 1968 and a few years ago it was becoming apparent that some remedial work was needed to keep the instrument in good working order. In 2009, F H Browne, the present carers, undertook a clean and overhaul which required the organ to be completely dismantled.

The console was taken to Browne’s factory in Canterbury where all the electronics were renewed, a fifth thumb and toe piston were added to the Swell and Great and five general thumb pistons were installed. It was also decided to enhance the instrument tonally by the addition of electronic stops. This work was carried out most skilfully by My David Houlgate, using the Hauptwerk System.

The work to the organ is now complete and to celebrate this Brian Sawyer, the organist of St Andrew and St Cuthman’s Church, will be giving two short organ concerts.

The first will be on Saturday 9th October at 4.00pm and will include music by German, English and French composers.

The second will be on Sunday 10th October at approximately 11.00am after the morning service and will be a performance of Edward Elgar’s Organ Sonata which lasts for about 25 minutes. Entry to both concerts is free although.

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