The history of the organ is unknown further back than ca 1924. There
was evidently some work undertaken in the early 1840s, when a new roof
was sealed with newspaper. The alteration to the keys is 18th century.
Further alterations dated from 1924.
This is a late 17th
century English consort organ. A number survive in good condition. This
is likely to be a late one, perhaps as late as 1700, partly because
it has a two-rank treble mixture. It is anonymous, and likely to remain
so, but the inked note marks in German/Dutch style on the inside of
the bar-frame shows that the maker is likely to have been an immigrant,
and perhaps with a connection to Bernard Smith's workshop.
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The pitch is a¹=452 at 20ºC. The keys and pipes show that the pitch was lowered by two semitones, presumably in the 18th century. The pipes have since been moved about and cut down, but also fitted with tuning flaps. An original pitch between one and two semitones sharp seems likely. The tuning is now ¹/5th; comma meantone. Although there is no way of knowing from the organ what the original tuning was, this tuning did fit the available pipes, with one or two at the extreme edge of their tuning possibility. The compass
was originally C AA D to c³. In the 18th century the pitch
was lowered 2 semitones by moving the keys for C and AA to make
c#³ and d³. The move is still apparent in the patching
needed. The compass is now D to d³.
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