The Main Organ
The first organ appears to have been in use during the early part of the 17th century and was on a gallery at the West end. ‘Father’ Smith built an organ in the same position in 1702. Work was done on the organ in 1790, 1800 – 1805, 1824 and 1846. In 1852, as part of the church’s restoration, it was moved to the Bellingham Chapel at the East end.
In 1877 the organ was removed to St. Cuthbert’s Church, Darwen, where the casework can be seen today. In the same year Henry Willis built a three manual organ which forms the basis of the present instrument. It was enlarged in 1905 when a fourth manual was prepared for and again in 1949.
In 1969, the interior of the church was reordered and the organ was again rebuilt, this time as a three manual instrument, and returned to its West end position on a new platform. The console was placed at floor level. The work was carried out by J. W. Walker and Sons. Further tonal modifications were made in 1987 by Holmes and Swift when the organ was cleaned. The instrument is now in the care of David Wells of Liverpool.
The Bevington Organ
The ‘Bevington’ organ was built some time during the 1880’s at Bevington’s factory in Soho. It has two manuals (keyboards), pedals and 10 stops. It was discovered in 1995 by Philip Wood, the Huddersfield organ builder, languishing in a disused chapel in Greaseborough, near Sheffield.
When the organ at St. Asaph Cathedral was being rebuilt in 1996 – 1998, Philip and his son David rescued this organ and built it in the Cathedral as a temporary instrument. When the Cathedral organ was complete, it was returned to the works in Huddersfield.
The plain boards at the back of the organ have been covered with the decorative front from the organ of All Hallows Church.
