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Workshop News

It has been a very busy year so far at Welbeck with a lot of ups and downs. We are coming to the end of our St John’s Chichester project now, with the voicing underway, and final finishing due to be completed in the coming month. We have not been neglecting our other projects however, …

Order of Service for Dominic’s funeral

Dominic’s funeral

The funeral is on Friday 14th June at 1pm at St Cuthbert’s , Wells and is being streamed on the St Cuthbert’s, Wells youtube channel.  It can be accessed through this link.  If you want to test it now you should see a series of videos of the church’s Sunday services and the funeral will …

Dominic Gwynn

It is with profound sadness that we announce the passing of our dear friend and colleague, Dominic Gwynn, on Friday the 24th of May 2024, after having cancer for a year and a half. He died peacefully, surrounded by his family. Dominic was a pioneer, author, historian, a doting father, grandfather and husband, an organ …

Dominic receives RCO Medal

Dominic Gwynn received a well deserved RCO medal at a ceremony at The Cathedral and Collegiate Church of St Saviour and St Mary Overie, Southwark, London on Saturday 9th March 2024 in recognition of distinguished achievement in organ-building and scholarship, in particular with respect to UK organ heritage.

Current Job Vacancies

Martin Goetze and Dominic Gwynn Ltd. are looking to recruit two full-time organ builders based at our workshops on the Welbeck estate in North Nottinghamshire. Martin and Dominic founded Goetze and Gwynn in 1980, with the aim of making authentic organs which were suitable for the music they were used for, to revive interest in …

Opening concert at Canolfan Soar

The opening concert for the Peter Conacher organ at Canolfan Soar in MT last Saturday September 23rd 2023. William Reynolds played the organ in a program including the South Wales Clarinet Choir, Con Voce Choir, the tenor Rhys Meirion and Delyth and Bethan McLean, daughters of Liesbeth, director of the centre. Excellent music making.

Italian Organ at St Andrews University

The Italian Organ has been at St Andrews University since mid July and has been used extensively for teaching and for concerts by Massimiliano Guido and Giovanna Riboli during St Andrews Organ Week in early August 2023.

The Handel House organ moves to 25 Brook Street

The Handel House organ has moved to the Handel and Hendrix Museum at 25 Brook Street, London. It is in Handel’s Fore Parlour as shown in the pictures. The link to the museum is https://handelhendrix.org/

St Teilo organ at Lincoln Cathedral

The St Teilo organ is at Lincoln Cathedral. It will be used in the upcoming festival to commemorate the 400th anniversary of the death of William Byrd (who was the organist at Lincoln between 1563 and 1572). The festival runs from 30th June to 4th July. It will also be used both for voluntaries and …

The Wingfield Organ at Bradford Cathedral

A recording of the debut live performance of “Duet, Aria and Fughetta on Bradford”, composed by Sarah MacDonald and played by Imogen Morgan, commissioned for, and recorded live, on International Women’s Day 2023. The link is as follows : https://youtu.be/0IqgQ7m6Irc The Wingfield Organ is currently at Bradford Cathedral bradfordcathedral.org.uk

Happy New Year

We at Martin Goetze and Dominic Gwynn Ltd, wish you a very happy and prosperous New Year, as we embark on a vey busy period. We welcome new staff, customers and friends to the workshop with varied projects including Georgian recreations, Victorian restorations and maintaining and restoring mighty Wurlitzers.

The Wurlitzer pedalboard completed

The restoration of the pedalboard of the Wurlitzer theatre organ of the Thursford Collection in Norfolk

Wurlitzer pedal board

The restoration of the pedalboard of the Wurlitzer theatre organ of the Thursford Collection in Norfolk

The Wurlitzer pedalboard

The restoration of the pedalboard of the Wurlitzer theatre organ of the Thursford Collection in Norfolk

Restoration of the pedalboard of the Wurlitzer theatre organ at Thursford

The restoration of the pedalboard of the Wurlitzer theatre organ of the Thursford Collection in Norfolk

The Compton Minatura chest re-leathered

A Compton Minatura chest completely re-leathered, with many of the pouch coil springs having to be replaced because the originals were rusted and brittle.

Theatre organ in Lincolnshire

Private residence Theatre organ in Lincolnshire. Restoration work after water damage. A unit chest for the Vox Humana with a new side wall

Re-leathering relays on the Wurlitzer

Most recently Chris and Rob have just returned from a week of maintenance on the famous Wurlitzer organ of the Thursford Collection in Norfolk, re-leathering the grey key relay secondary motors.

Two weeks in Geneva

Then again at the end of March, we had two weeks in Claparède College in the suburbs of Geneva in Switzerland, the home of the former Granada Cinema, Clapham Junction, 3 manual 8 rank Wurlitzer organ from 1937

Theatre organ work

So far 2022 has had quite a lot of theatre organ work, beginning in January with two weeks maintenance on the world famous 1935 Tower Ballroom Blackpool Wurlitzer organ. 

This year’s Christmas Card

LATE 1890s 87 KEY GAVIOLI This organ was built in the 1890s and was housed in the three-abreast gallopers on the sea front at Mablethorpe Lincolnshire, owned at the time by the Gray family.  These instruments were built to represent a medium-sized orchestra, the main sounds being trombones, saxophones, violins, clarinets and piccolos.  The opulent …

Access to the pallet box at Lillington

The organ had been moved to the church by John Budgen in 1998, against the wall, so the lower half of the organ had to be moved out for access, and back again to connect with the blower. 

New pallet springs fitted into the Lillington organ

New pallet springs fitted into the Lillington organ

Dominic making new springs for the Lillington organ

I enjoy making pallet springs on the jig which Martin made in 1980.  It demands a degree of dexterity and over forty years of experience…

Corrosion in the Lillington organ’s pallet box

Why some yellow pine seems to be so corrosive, and others not, is from the user’s point of view a mystery.  Presumably ‘yellow pine’ from North America, as bought from the timber merchant, is a generic term for many varieties, some corrosive, most not.

Lillington corroded pallet spring

The organ at Lillington near Sherborne in Dorset was made by T.C.Bates in about 1840.  It is a four stop organ, with swell front and short pedalboard, but most ingeniously a drop-down dumb organist to replace the human one, the barrel playing the keys.  The reason for the ciphers was the corrosion of the pallet …

Thomas Mace organ as far as it has got…

A picture of Edward’s great nephew Oscar Bennett with the wind chest and the pipes (racked in by Oscar).  Unfortunately the project has stalled, until more funding is forthcoming and a stimulus towards a different home than the flying music room, which may not now happen.

Tracker offcut Christmas trees

Christmas encourages creativity – an abundance of offcuts from the trackers for the Peter Conacher organ at Merthyr Tydfil stimulated another set of coloured Christmas trees

Swan Singers with the Wingfield Organ

At the beginning of December the traditional crib festival was held at St Cuthberts Wells (200 model cribs of varying materials and styles from round the world) with music provided by a wide variety of musicians, including a Wells chamber choir (including Antonia Gwynn and for this occasion Dominic) and with music from the Wingfield …