The restoration of the anonymous 1740s chamber organ at Kedelston Hall in Derbyshire (National Trust)

The restoration of the anonymous 1740s chamber organ at Kedelston Hall in Derbyshire (National Trust)

The organ was made by an anonymous builder in the 1740s. It was sold secondhand to Nathaniel, Lord Curzon in 1765 by John Snetzler, for whose new organ there was no space in the scaled down design for the house. Robert Adam designed a new case to fit around the old case, a somewhat simplified version of the design originally supplied. The organ was not altered.

In 1824 Alexander Buckingham visited and made a new horizontal bellows using the leaves of the original bellows. he also raised the pitch slightly, but kept the tuning system.

The organ was restored by Dominic Gwynn in 1993

The restoration of the anonymous 1740s chamber organ at Kedelston Hall in Derbyshire (National Trust)

Open diapason treble
Stop Diapason
Flute bass
Flute treble
Sexqualtra bass 4-3 ranks
Cornet treble 3 ranks
Swell Hautboy treble

c#¹ - e³
C - e³
C - c¹
c#¹ - e³
C - c¹
c#¹ - e³
c¹ - e³

metal
stopped wood
stopped wood

metal
metal

Sexqualtra:

Cornet:

C

c#¹
d#²

1³/5
G
b

2

1¹/3
2
2

2²/3
2²/3

1
1¹/3
1¹/3

2
2

4/5
1³/5

1³/5

Shifting movement removes Open Diapason and Sexqualtra/ Cornet

Compass:

main keyboard
swell keys

C D to e³ (bass/treble c¹ - c#¹)
c¹ to e³ (29 notes)

Pitch: A433Hz (1824), originally A425 (16ºC)
Tuning: 1/4 comma meantone (1824 and originally)

Horizontal bellows 1824, made out of the original leaves.
Wind pressure 3" (76mm) in 1824 and originally.

There is a Harley Monograph on this organ.