Cathedral Organs, 1185-1989
/Paul Hale studies the history of the organs of Rochester Cathedral leading to the exceptional organ over the pulpitum taking much of its current form in 1875. Publication by The Friends of Rochester Cathedral.
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The First Thousand Years
Rochester Cathedral, the seat of the second most ancient diocese in the English Church, has resounded to the singing of God's praises since 604, when Augustine appointed its first bishop, Justus. Its music has survived and flourished through the building's various physical transformations, through its transition from Cathedral to Monastery (1077) and back to Cathedral again (1540 - the last monastic house in England to surrender to the Royal Commissioners), and through changes in its fortunes, its Bishops, Priors, Deans, Organists and Choristers.
For at least eight hundred years organs have joined the voices, though details of the early instruments are scanty. In 1185 Gilbert de Glanville was consecrated Bishop of Rochester, and it was perhaps in thanksgiving that he presented an organ. The next century saw a change in the income of the cathedral as a result of the establishing of a shrine to a devout Scottish baker (William, from Perth) who had the misfortune to be murdered whilst staying at the priory, and around whose tomb miraculous happenings were said to have occurred. Perhaps the extra revenue from the subsequent pilgrims allowed a new organ to be built. If so, it was not to last long. If put up before 1215 it probably perished in the plundering of the cathedral in that year (when King John held it against the barons under William de Albinet in the castle opposite), and if put up later it is unlikely that it survived the thorough desecration on Good Friday 1264, by the troops of Simon de Montfort when they captured the city. Indeed it is recorded that on that terrible day the organs were raised in the voice of weeping'.
On April 8th 1540 the Priory of St. Andrew was dissolved, and on June 20th 1542 the cathedral was given a new Foundation by Letters Patent, the last Prior becoming the first Dean. The first Organist of the new Foundation known to us is James Plomley, appointed in 1559(?), so an organ must have existed then. In 1590 work was carried out (although it is not known whether this entailed repairs or a new instrument), and in 1621 one Ward was paid for repairs.
In 1634 the Dean & Chapter reported to Archbishop Laud that 'there hath been of late years, upon the fabric of the church and making of the organs, expended by the church above one thousand pounds' (Customale Roffense). In the same year a Visitor wrote that her organs, though small, yet they are rich and neat; her quiristers, though but few. there were only eight boys on the Foundation at that lime) yet orderly and decent. It is probably no coincidence that a new organ seems to have been built and that the choir was presentable, because John Heath was Organist at the time, having been appointed in 1614. Heath was a very accomplishes composer, as his verse service and verse anthem When Israel came out of Egypt show.
In 1637 there is a payment noted of E2 to an organ-builder called Burward, being 'his fee' In the same year is found a payment of E2 to 'Payne for blowing the organs', which does not necessarily imply that there was more than one instrument in the cathedral, for at that time the usual expression for an organ was still ‘a pair of organs.
The flourishing musical establishment under Heath was not, however, to last; Cromwell and the Puritans were to see to that. On May 6th 1644 Parliament issued two ordinances of the Lords and Commons assembled in Parliament for speedy demolishing of all organs, images and all matters of superstitious monuments in all Cathedralls, and Collegiate or Parish-Churches and Chapels, throughout the Kingdom of England and the Dominion of Wales; the better to accomplish the blessed reformation so happily begun, and to remove all offences and things illegal in the worship of God. Puritan zeal had already stretched to Rochester, for in Gilbert's Memorials of the Collegiate Church of Maidstone (published c.1850) we read the following account of the destruction wrought in the cathedral, derived from a contemporary account by one of the officers: During the Divine service at Rochester Cathedral on St.Bartholomew's Day [16421, between the hours of nine and ten in the morning, a party of soldiers entered the church and marched up to the Lord's Table; but finding that even this irreverence did not prevent the service from proceeding, they came down to the congregation, who were then kneeling, and demanded why they knelt; not receiving any answer, they returned to the altar, and seizing the Lord's Table, conveyed it to the middle of the choir; they then tore down the communion rails, mutilated the altar steps, and gave the rabble, who had followed them, the pieces of the rails to burn, and 'So left the organs to be plucked down until we come back again'; but it appears the Rochester people were a match for them, as the writer says 'before we came back they took them down for themselves.
So the organ was silent, hidden away in pieces; and it was to remain thus until happier times prevailed. On April 9th 1661, with the Coronation of Charles I in sight, the diarist Samuel Pepys had come down as Secretary to the Admiralty, to the Royal Dockyard at Chatham (the most senior of the Royal Dockyards), He observed the sale of old stores including a number of the coats of arms produced for Cromwell, which were 'to burn on Coronacion night.' That task accomplished, the next day (April 10th) he visited Rochester 'and there saw the Cathedrall, which is now fitting for use, and the organ then a-tuning.'
John Heath must have been overjoyed to see normality gradually resumed. We do not know who re-erected the organ in 1661, but in 1668 Heath (in his old age a lay clerk) or his successor William Rothwell, was perspicacious enough to have the Dean & Chapter employ Bernard Smith. The cathedral Inventories disclose a 'Bond in £214 between John Warner of Southfleet and Barnard Smith of London, gent. organ maker, to rebuild the cathedral organ as it was, colour and paint it, put it in tune, make the bellows, pipes and keys, and maintain it for 84 a year.' This was to be done by November 24th. However, the cathedral accounts show a payment to Smith of only £167 Yor the repayre of the old organ and a new choyre organ: Perhaps the difference was Mr. Warner's commission. At any rate, the historic move to give the instrument a "chaire" organ had come to pass, which decision was repeated later in 1791 and in 1989, as we shall see.
During the time of Daniel Henstridge as Organist (a remarkable career: Gloucester 1666-1673, Rochester 1673-1698, Canterbury 1698-1736) Smith returned to do further work. This was in 1677 when the account reads 'Sept.15 To Mr. B. Smith, ye organ maker, the moiety of the money agreed upon for the putting in of one furniture stop into ye Greate organ, and one flute stop into ye Chovre organ and for ye cleaning of both.. £10.' Smith remained contracted on an annual salary of £4 for 'mending, cleanyng and tuneing ye organ'. In 1679, 1683, 1684 and 1685 there are payments to Smith for tuning and repairs to the organ. In the chronology of the life of Bernard ("Father") Smith - along with Renatus Harris the most famous organ builder of his time - the Rochester work of 1668 is important. It is not clear whether Smith was a German immigrant or a native builder, but his earliest known work in this country was tuning at Westminster Abbey in 1666. His next documented job was at Rochester two years later. How was he known to the Rochester Organist? Was he recommended to him by Albertus Bryne, Organist from 1666 at the Abbey (having left Old St.Paul's at its destruction), or was the recommendation from John Warner of Southfleet? There are no receipts for repairs from this period, nor during the Organistship of Robert Bowers (1699-1704). Not until John Spain(e) was appointed in 1704 do we find a report of leatherwork repairs to the bellows. During this time Smith remained tuner at Rochester, until he died in February 1708.
Disputes and Repairs in the 18th Century
At this point a dispute broke out between the Rochester people and Smith's widow. After Smith's death his second wife, Elizabeth, married John Stockwell-who spent his time collecting debts due to his wife. One of Smith's colleagues and by then his son-in-law, Christopher Schrider, succeeded to his business. He (or, just possibly, one of Smith's organ builder nephews, Gerard) tried to collect a sum of money owing to the firm, but stirred up a hornets' nest because John Spain(e) evidently felt that the organ was in poor condition and should be repaired before any money was paid to Smith's estate. Much of the correspondence has come down to us, and makes interesting reading:
Rochester -
July the 12th - 1709
Sir, - I received your second letter and much wondered when I found you'd had none from me. I shewed Mr.Dean your letter which he read to ye Chapter, and ordered me to acquaint you of what they had concluded on, which I did the 27th of last month, and was as follows - They expect the Executrix [Smith's widow] to put the organ in order for the arrears that is due, and without she does, they won't pay a farthing, after the organ is done, if you'l accept of the same Sallary which was four pounds a year they will let you have it.
From your humble Serv t,
John Spaine
Rochester -
November 27th - 1709
Sr, - I am ordered by the Dean and Chapter to write to you to come down forthwith to repair our organ, it being altogether useless, it will be proper for you to acquaint your Aunt [in this letter Spaine gets the relationship wrong] that what arrears was due to you at the death of your Uncle, the gentlemen will pay none to her, but the overplus (if any) after the organ is mended. Be very Speedy in your journey, for there is, by a gentleman, another person recommended to do it.
From your humble Serv ',
John Spaine
The following summer, John Stockwell takes up the correspondence:-
London
Bonstreet [sic] Piccadilly
ye 28th August - 1710
Sir, - The reason of my troubling you is to desire the favour of you to lett the money as was due to Mr. Barnard Smith at his death, be payed as soone as your conveniency will permitt - I had applyed to you Sooner but was informed by Mr.Shrider that wee should have heard from you before now. I am sorry to understand that you made such an offer as you did to Mr.Shrider, (viz) to pay him for what he should do to the organ out of the money due to Mr.Smith - which I think would be doing great injustice to his Widdow (viz) now my Wife - You can tell by your booke when ye organ was Viewed and wee can make oath that noe complainte hath been made since the last time it was viewed not to Mr.Smith's Death; Sir, Noe other church has Disputed Anything of this nature, being full satisfied of the justice of our demand. Therefore I hope you'l not give us any further trouble but favour me with a line when I may Expect the money to be payed, which shall always be acknowledged as a particular favour
by your most humble servant John Stockwell
Matters evidently dragged on, as further letters from Stockwell show. One (November 20th 1710) threatens court action:- " ..you cannot in Honour or with Justice denigh paying this Money...’ On November 28th Stockwell writes to the Vice Dean, Daniel Hill, saying he knows nothing of the agreement mentioned (presumably in a letter to him from the Vice Dean in reply to his of the 20th, and fears that it was lost when Mr.Smith's house was burnt down. He is sure that he knows what is due to Smith. In one further letter, the last extant on this matter, dated December 16th, Stockwell mentions that although Schrider has received the f4 [the tuning fee], there was still £21 or £22 due at the time of Smith's death. There is no record of the debt ever being paid, and the organ passed into the hands of Gerard Smith, one of Bernard's nephews who worked with his uncle until setting up on his own around 1689.
Gerard - like his brother Christian - was never quite in the league of his celebrated uncle, but his work apparently suited Rochester well, since his name appears in the Chapter Books from 1710 to 1744. On July 15th 1715 the Chapter Minutes record that 'Mr. Lamb orders that S guineas be given to Smith for repairs' and in 1719 they note that Gerard Smith was ordered to repair the organ according to his proposals for £32' (his estimate was actually £35]. Two years later an agreement was made between the Dean & Chapter and
'Mr. Smith organ maker to look after our organ yearly, to keep it in all ordinary repair and tune: for the pension of four pounds per an. provided that if the said Mr. Smith do not every year in ye month of May, June and July or August come to the Cathedral church of Rochester himself - or at his expense send his son to perform the s« engagement, the said sallary shall not be paid him in any year in which he shall make such an omission - This agreement to continue during the pleasure of the Dean & Chapter with whom this agreement is made this 30th June 1721
Gerard Smith.
In the Cathedral accounts there are receipts for tuning and cleaning as per the contract for the years 1731, 1736, 1738, 1739, 1740 and 1741. In 1742 more major repair work was carried out, as the following account shows:
An account of work done to ye organ in ye Cathedrall Church at Rochester by Ger: Smith, organ maker. Oct 20th. 1742
For one pair of sound bellows and fixing ye conveyance thereof for ye same, and other work thereof... £10, 10s, 0d
For making two new feet, and repairing all ye front pipes of ye organ £3, 3s, 0d
For taking asunder ye inside work to clean from dust, and repairing ye work and movements, and new voice and tune the whole work... £10, 10s, 0d.
Total £24, 3s, 0d
Sallary... £2, 2s, 0d
July 3rd 1743 - Recd of ye Dean and Chapter of Rochester ye contents above in full of all demands-
pr Gerard Smith
Major reconstruction work to the steeple, outer walls of the South Quire aisle and transept were undertaken around 1749, in the latter years of Charles Peach's tenure as Organist (1721 to 1753, when he died). There is a reference to repair work to the organ in 1754, no doubt occasioned by the dust it received and by the requirements of the new Organist. The work was carried out by James Baldock.
It is hard to imagine that this work kept the instrument sound enough to do its job throughout the years that Joseph Howe was Organist (1753-1780), yet neither he nor his son Richard (chorister 1757-1766, Organist 1780-1792, lay clerk from 1792) seems to have made any complaint. Howe the elder had been recommended to the Dean & Chapter on June 11th 1753 by a group of Oxford musicians and academics which included William Hayes (Professor of Music), Richard Church (Organist of Christ Church) and William Walond, the organist and composer. It may however be conjectured that music at Rochester sank to an all-time low under the Howes. Ralph Banks, who had trained at Durham under Ebdon, was appointed in 1790 (starting as a lay clerk). In later years he wrote:
"When I came from Durham to this Cathedral in 1790, only one Lay Clerk attended during each week. The daily service was chanted. Two services (Aldrich in G and Rogers in D), and seven Anthems, had been in rotation on Sundays for twelve years!!!"
It must be remembered that the instrument was basically the old pre-Restoration organ, with the Chaire organ added by Smith. We have reports that the Great case resembled that in King's College, Cambridge (built in 1605-1606 by Robert Dallam), featuring in the centre a figure of King David playing the harp, and on the two great side towers angels with trumpets. It had not been in good health, as we know, in John Spain(e)'s time, and it is not surprising to read this report published in 1772 in The History and Antiquities of Rochester, Etc., by T.Fisher:
Over the entrance to the Choir is an ancient organ, which Browne Willis when he surveyed this cathedral termed "a sightly organ", but it now gives both visible and audible indications of its great age. By the best information I can procure, it was erected very early in the last century [or late in the previous one?], and so long since as 1668 it was styled "an old instrument", and one hundred and sixty pounds were then paid for its repair, and a new chair organ. It is much to be wished that the dean and chapter may be as fortunate as their brethren of a neighbouring cathedral [Humphrey of Canterbury had given that cathedral £400 towards a new organ] and meet with a like benefaction.
The Samuel Green Organ of 1791
It was Ralph Banks who demanded a new organ, and he got one in the year after he arrived in 1791 - the order being placed as early as March 1790, as the following from the Chapter records shows:
2nd March, 1790.
Proposal of Mr.Samuel Green of Isleworth for building a new organ was accepted. The organ to consist of 3 Setts of Finger Keys and one set of Pedal keys. The compass of Great and Choir organs to be from GG long octaves to E 57 notes in each set, the Swell to be from middle G to E in alt; - 34 notes with stops as under - the case of either Wainscot or Mahogany, and of such elegant design as shall be approved by the Rev & the Dean and Chapter.
The Choir Organ to be in a separate case.
[An addendum to a second version - discovered by Dr. Robert Ashfield, Organist 1956-1977, reads: "The organ case is meant and intended to be of elegant design, but not to have much carving or ornaments". In the event it was designed by the Revd. Ollive (Olive), Rector of Grays Thurrock, Essex, who had also designed the case for Green's 1784 organ in Canterbury Cathedral. See plate iii]
Great Organ
Open Diapason
Open Diapason
Stop Diapason
Principal
Great Twelfth
Fifteenth
Sexquialtera 3 ranks
Mixture 2 ranks
Trumpet - in halves
Cornet 4 ranks
Choir Organ
Stop Diapason
Dulciana
Principal
Fifteenth
Bassoon
Swell Organ
Open Diapason
Dulciana
Stop Diapason
Principal
Dulciana Principal
Sexquialtera 3 ranks
Trumpet
Hautboy
The front pipes to be gilt with the best gold and the whole to be completely finished and put up in the Cathedral at Rochester, carriage be included, for the sum of Six hundred guineas and the old organ, on or before June 1791.
As built, the Great Cornet was from middle C up only, the Swell Sexquialtera was called (as usual with Green's work) Cornet, and the Choir Dulciana was to gamut G only. Percy Whitlock, in his 1928 account, considers that the Swell Dulciana Principal was actually made a Fifteenth, but I can find documentary evidence only to the contrary. Green, Organ-builder to George Ill, and the most sought-after builder of his day, was notoriously bad at keeping to completion dates, so it is not surprising that we find the organ not being opened in June, but on November 28th. Banks performed the recital, during which the choir sang Purcell's Te Deum. Nineteenth century prints and early photographs show Green's case to be thoroughly in the gothic style, with pinnacles and a Chair case. The Quire arch was draped from its apex down and around the organ, no doubt to keep in whatever heat was generated for the Quire. The iron hooks may still be seen in the arch.
The Samuel Green organ photographed in the 1870s shortly before its reconstruction. Medway Archives DE/402/6/36.
David Wickens in The Instruments of Samuel Green (MacMillan, London. 1987) observes that this was the first organ by Green for which there is positive evidence that pedals (which had no pipes of their own, but probably pulled down the Great keys) were provided by him and not added at a later date. He also shows that the bottom octave on the Great and Choir had no Gt, and that the Swell ran only from "fiddle G" (G below middle C). He surmises that an original f pipe in the Swer Open Diapason (placed one note lower than the original Swell compass) indicates that, like Green's organs at Lichfield and Bolton, the stop was rescaled during construction. Leffler, whose nineteenth century notebooks of organ specifications are an invaluable source, adds that the pedals were 'up to C'.
The composition of the Great mixture stops was given by E.J.Hopkins in his classic book The Organ, its History and Construction (London; second edition 1870) as one of two examples of Green's work. Hopkins, Organist of the Temple Church. knew the organ well and was a frequent visitor; his cousin John Larkin Hopkins suceeded Banks at Rochester in 1841 and in 1856 his brother, John, became Organist in turn. Nevertheless he gets slightly confused as to exactly where the mixtures broke back. These are the compositions suggested to me by the evidence:
[TBC]
Banks must have been very happy with his fine new organ, which seems to have incorporated nothing of the old. It lasted forty-four years without alteration, but in 1835 the organ-builder William Hill was invited to work on the instrument. Hill was born in 1789, and became the most powerful influence on British organ building from the 1830s until his firm's later rivalry in popularity with that of Henry Willis.
In 1834 he built the important concert organ for Birmingham Town Hall, one of the first British organs to contain a Pedal organ with independant ranks of pipes. It was perhaps the rapidly spreading fame of this instrument which inclined Banks, by then aged seventy-two but still evidently alert and striving for the best, to invite Hill to tender for the enlarging of the Rochester organ.
Between 1835 and 1840 Hill raised the manual compass one note (to P), extended the Swell compass down to Tenor C (?), added new pedals, a Choir to Pedal coupler, and an octave and a half of pedal pipes which later formed the nucleus of the present Open Diapason Wood. The Great Cornet was removed and a 4ft Claribel Flute inserted in its place. The enlarged instrument was opened on St. Cecilia's Day, 1840, a new anthem by Banks being performed. He was not to play it for long however, because on the night of September 20th 1841 he died suddenly - apparently suffering a stroke.
Major Developments in the 19th Century
Banks' successor, J. L. Hopkins, has been mentioned already. No work to the organ seems to have been necessary during his tenure. This might have been because the organ was in perfect condition, or it might have been because he soon lost heart in trying to produce fine music at Rochester. That the latter might have been the case is illustrated by an amusing story told by Charles W.Pearce in The Life and Works of Edward John Hopkins (Musical Opinion 1910). In 1845 Hopkins (E.J., that is), Henry Smart - another highly talented organist and composer - and their colleague Dr.E.F.Rimbault (who was later the co-author with Hopkins of The Organ, its History and Construction) decided that the day was too fine to teach, so, deserting their waiting pupils (and Rimbault his waiting publisher) they took to the Thames at Westminster Bridge. After enjoying a slow trip down the river they stayed overnight at Gravesend. Pierce takes up the tale:
The next morning (being yet more genial than that of yesterday), Smart was in no humour to get back to his daily grind of piano teaching. Nor were his companions. "Have you seen your cousin John at Rochester very recently, Hopkins?" "Not for an age". "Then as you are so near Rochester as you are at this moment, you certainly ought to pay him a visit; it is quite a family duty for you to do so! And won't you take us with you?"
On they went to Rochester, where having dined at the old Bull Inn (of Pickwickian association) they played all manner of boyish pranks in the castle ruins, finally wending their way to the Cathedral, in time for the afternoon service, taking their seats in the Nave where they could obtain a full view of the Church from end to end, and hear the music well. It is unnecessary to describe the condition of any English Cathedral, nor the poverty of its musical service in the 'forties' of the nineteenth century; Dickens has done this to perfection in his "Mystery of Edwin Drood" [this, Dickens' last and unfinished book, is a tale based around Rochester Cathedral, its Precincts, clergy and organists]. The stonework crumbling and decayed - dust and dirt everywhere - no stained glass even in the great Eastern window - a poor pinched organ of GG scale containing in all some 24 sounding stops. The choir (when all were present) consisted of about 10 boys and 6 men, but upon this particular weekday two of the men were absent, a bass from one side and an alto from the other.
The three Londoners were appalled at the inefficiency and weakness of the Church service; but Hopkins' cousin, who took tea with them afterwards at the 'Bull', explained that the Dean and Canons were unapproachable persons who took absolutely no interest in the Church music, so that he ceased worrying himself, and simply made the best of the meagre resources at his command…
The result was that the three between them concocted a letter to the Editor of a London musical newspaper - a letter that was supposed to emanate from a visitor who had attended service at Rochester Cathedral - where he had found the best of Church Music and the building itself thoroughly well cared for; the East window was described at length as consisting of a remarkably fine stained glass representation of the Sermon on the mount; the floor was covered with a marvellously beautiful tessellated pavement; the choir consisted of twelve boys and eighteen men (all of whom were in regular daily attendance) whose antiphonal rendering of the service was everything that could be desired; the organ of CC compass contained no less than 85 stops; the congregation was vast and devout; and the anthem (a new composition of the organist) was described and criticised in minute detail.
This remarkable epistle, which Smart stipulated at the outset should not contain a single word of truth, ended with the following astounding intellig-ence: "It may be an additional satisfaction to all interested in the welfare and integrity of our Cathedral Establishments to learn that the Dean of Rochester, in the true spirit of patriarchal kindness, entertains at dinner all the officiating clergy, the choir, and the organist every day during his period of residence
VIATOR
This letter was actually published and can even now be seen in the Volume of the Musical World for 1845, p.555. It caused no small stir among the members of the Rochester Chapter, the Dean being very furious about it. But those were the days when ecclesiastics in high places needed more awakening than they do at the present time, and this harmless joke may have done them good.
What the Dean & Chapter's attitude to Hopkins became after this is not known. In 1856 his cousin, John Hopkins, became Organist, remaining until his death in 1900. During his years in office much major work to the organ was carried out. In 1852 Frederick Bridge, son of one of the lay clerks, was admitted as a chorister, serving under each Hopkins in turn and leaving in 1859. He in the fullness of time, went on to be the Organist of Westminster Abbey (at least five other Rochester choristers from this time proceeded to high musical office).
In Bridge's autobiography A Westminster Pilgrim (London 1919) the first section of the book is devoted to his years in the choir. It is all interesting reading, and much is amusing, one or two references being pertinent to this account. He tells of 'blind Fred' who acted as a discerning organ-blower and bell-ringer; has high praise for John Hopkins' skill in extemporising; and relates the demanding competition for the post (though, as one of the two adiudicators was the outgoing Organist - the other being John Goss - it is perhaps not surprising that one Hopkins voted for the another!). One of the clergy he remembered with affection was the Reverend T.T.Griffith, the Precentor. About Griffith he says; "Well endowed with that fine skill and adroitness which we call tact, he was enabled in his dealings with people to get them to do exactly as he wished. Canons gave way to him, and the organist was quite docile. As to the choir, they all loved him... He even got Mr. Hopkins to come out of his shell a good deal, and altogether the Rev T.T.Griffith was an ideal Precentor."
Griffith was to have a significant effect on the history of the Rochester organ. A tenter from him to the Dean & Chapter reads as follows:
There is a general wish that the Cathedral organ should be rendered more effective. It is at present, in some of its divisions, less perfect than instruments which have been erected in Parish Churches in this neighbourhood, and comparisons have been made in public print derogatory to the character of the Cathedral organ.
I will state the defects of the organ, and how I propose they should be remedied. The portion which is principally defective is the Swell organ. You are, perhaps, not aware that nearly one third of the keyboard of this organ is perfectly useless; the keys are there merely for appearance sake; They are immovable, and have no pipes whatever attached to them. [This rather suggests that Hill did not increase the swell compass from fiddle G to tenor C in 1835.] Another point in which the Cathedral organ is very deficient is in solo stops. With the exception of the hautboy there are none which can properly be so used. 'Two at least should be placed on the Choir organ, and I suggest that they be Flute and Clarionet. The pedal organ also requires additions, but these will be expensive and might be left for some future time.
The cost of enlarging the swell box and attaching pipes to all keys in the Swell organ would be about £130. The expense of the two stops for the Choir organ would be about £40, but about £17 of this sum would go towards the mechanical additions which would be necessary before adding the pipes.
I have now to mention that an offer has been made of the flute stop for the Choir organ, and should the Dean and Chapter complete the Swell organ, I believe I am authorised to beg their acceptance of the clarionet also.
Perhaps Hopkins had been quietly asking the Chapter, but in vain, for this work to be done and had turned to his Precentor for help. Griffith proved a great supporter of music at Rochester at that time, and a considerable number of bound volumes of choral music presented by him are at the time of writing still in the Choir Library, Thanks to him, Rochester was among the very first to introduce (in 1853) Wesley's volume of Cathedral Anthems.
The Chapter was persuaded, and the work was done in two stages. In 1865 Hill & Son extended the Swell down to bottom C (though remember that the other keyboards still went to the G below), and added three new Swell stops (Bourdon 16ft, Dulciana Mixture Irks, Horn 8ft; transposed Green's Swell Trumpet as a Clarion 4ft and fitted a Swell Tremulant. To the Choir they added a Wald Flute 4ft and a Clarionet 8ft (both to bottom C). The tenor octave of the Great 4ft flute was made open to match the remainder. A 'Swell to Octave' coupler was added, as well as a Swell to Pedal, and two composition pedals were added to work the Swell stops. All this necessitated a new drawstop action to the Swell and Choir organs.
Around 1870 a Gamba 8ft was added to the Choir organ, and the Pedal completely remade with a 30-note pedalboard, the old open wood pipes completed to the top as the Open Diapason 16f, and a Subbass 32ft (to bottom G), a Violone 16ft, a Violoncello Sft, and a Posaune 16ft installed. All these ranks were of wooden pipes.
Here is the specification as Hill left the organ in 1871, as given by E.J.Hopkins, who is reported by Bridge to have played the organ on several occasions. I have corrected details concerning the compass:
[TBC]
This work was not to remain undisturbed for long. In 1870 Dean Scott (a renowned Greek scholar) had taken office, bringing with him new Tractarian ideas from Oxford, where he had been Master of Balliol. The architect Gilbert Scott was called in to submit plans for building work around the cathedral, which were to include remodelling the Quire. The principle of being able to view an unbroken roof line from West to East was coming into vogue, and before it declined saw the destruction of many seventeenth and eighteenth century cathedral organ cases standing on screens. Rochester was not to escape, but it was luckier than most, for Scott designed a very fine Gothic double case - his first - which sits well a-top the mediaval screen, despite projecting insufficiently to allow room for the organ. The case, which was constructed by Farmer & Brindley, was paid for by Canon Griffith in memory of his wife, and the screen itself was later restored and clothed with statues of Rochester Bishops in memory of Dean Scott.
J.W.Walker & Sons were, along with Henry Willis, Gray & Davison and William Hill & Son, the leading quality organ-builders of the period. Barely had Hill finished his work when, in 1871, Dean Scott had called in Mr.G.F.Walker to report on its rebuilding into the new case. Walkers supplied a small organ on hire in March 1872, for £15 p.a. (they valued it at £170). In June they raised its pitch to correspond with the large organ, which together with regulating and tuning cost three guineas. The organ remained at Rochester until September 29th 1875, by which time we can assume the large organ was playing again. The specification of this little instrument was as follows:
[TBC]
This organ was enclosed in a general swell, except for the front pipes (presumably belonging to the Open Diapason).
Walkers may have hope to build a completely new organ, but this was not to be. The Green/Hill organ was evidently considered sound enough, and their brief was simply to fit it up in the new case. This they did, with the following alterations: there were new manual keyboards of the modern projecting kind' and a new key and drawstop action 'using the former mechanism as far as could be made available'. Pneumatic-lever action ('Barker-lever') was applied to the Great and to the manual couplers, and the Swell octave coupler thus only worked through Swell to Great.
The bellows were removed to the Crypt, a great stretch of earthenware piping being laid by Scott's workmen under the floor of the Quire to convey the wind to the organ.
The Great and Swell were put in the North case, the Choir and Pedal in the South, and the compass set at C-g3 (56 notes) for the manuals, and CC-f (30 notes) for the pedals. Many of the Samuel Green case pipes were used again, some as speaking pipes (Diapason, Gamba and Principal basses of the Great and Choir), and some having their length extended and used as dummies in the little flats and towers.
Walkers possibly even used some of the original front pipe blocks on which they stood. On all of them the original gilding was overlaid with stencilled painting and vamished. The bill was £697 plus a charge for repairing damage caused by damp to wind-trunks (September 1875). Three exiras were also mentioned. Walkers charged 56 12s for laying a floor to cover trackers running into the South case, and they also supplied two very unusual couplers. The Great and Choir soundboards retained pipework going down to bottom G, although the manuals terminated at C. To operate this pipework they added a Sub Octave Coupler Great to Pedals (for £25) and a Sub Octave Coupler Choir to Pedals (£8). Percy Whitlock records that the Green organ in St.Mary's Chatham later had two similar couplers, probably added by F.H.Browne (then of Deal) when they rebuilt that organ in 1888 to the specification of John Hopkins.
No sooner had Walkers finished than a curious thing happened. The busy Hull firm of Forster & Andrews were employed the following year (1876) to supply the large 16ft case pipes (sixty-eight of them), thus providing the Great Double Open Diapason basses and the Pedal metal Open Diapason. They also installed an hydraulic engine in the crypt to work the feeders of the bellows. This work cost the not inconsiderable sum of £601, and one wonders on just what the money was spent - especially when considering that the cost of the hydraulic engine they supplied to the Temple Church just two years later was only £36. Whitlock says of the hydraulic blowing that "This worked well for a time, but the engine got out of repair; and the bellows became rotten through damp. A gas-stove was purchased for the bellows chamber, and the whole enclosed in match-boarding; but from 1885 to 1891 the blowing arrangements were a constant source of trouble'.
One might have thought that the quiet John Hopkins would have been content with the rebuilt instrument. It seems, however, that he was rarely satisfied for long. F. H. Browne took over the tuning in 1887 and immediately added a much-needed Pedal Bourdon 16ft with its 8ft extension, on pneumatic action, and (I surmise) inside the screen on the North side. In 1888 they added a triangular wooden Piccolo to the Great, a new Tremulant to the Swell, an Orchestral Hautboy to the Choir, and a Swell to Choir coupler. A new parallel and concave pedalboard, to the then Royal College of Organists recommended dimensions, was fitted in 1889. They tuned until 1892, when Hopkins seems briefly to have returned to Forster & Andrews, who added a Choir to Great coupler in that year.
John Hopkins had no fewer than five sons in the choir between 1880 and 1897. One of these, William Glanville, became a noted organist; Deputy Organist to his father (1893-1900) and eventually Acting Sub-Organist of St. Paul's Cathedral (1918-1920). Another son, George Frederick, trained as an organ-builder upon leaving the choir in 1883, and some ten years later was employed by his father to maintain and improve the organ. John Hopkins, by then sixty-one or sixty-two years old, seems to have thought that the Cathedral could happily dispense with a professional organ-builder, but in this he was very soon to be proved misguided as we shall see.
The constant troubles with the blowing equipment called for remedial treatment. On December Sth 1893 Henry Booth of Wakefield proposed to repair the feeders and bellows for £22. Why such a distant and small organ-builder should tender is not clear; perhaps George had been an apprentice with him and could recommend him to do this work. On February 22nd 1894 there came a proposal from Philip Selfe (at that time Works Manager for the firm of Bishop & Son, a well-respected nineteenth century London company) suggesting that new engines and releathered bellows were required. Neither of these proposals was adopted; instead the local agricultural engineers (Collis) were called in during July to repair the engines, and we see George and his father submitting an account in September for repairing the wind trunks and fixing blowing handles with their own hands - no doubt to enable the organ to be blown by hand in an emergency.
The following year George was inside the organ adding couplers on pneumatic action. A Swell Sub Octave appeared, as did a Pedal Octave (which was never completed). At about this time he also transposed the Choir Fifteenth into a Tierce, placing it on the Great instead of the Piccolo. The Piccolo was removed to the Choir in place of the Fifteenth, and its pipes were replaced with chimney flutes. Neither stop-knob had its name changed (!) and the Choir Fifteenth label can be clearly read on the photograph of the console taken at this period (see plate iv). In 1896 George Hopkins made another attempt to improve the wind.
It will be obvious from the above that the organ was falling into a parlous state. Basically over 100 years old, and with all sorts of bits and pieces tacked on, it was evidently becoming a source of embarrassment to the Chapter. On April 15th 1897 Bishop & Son submitted a report on the instrument in which they say 'an experimenting amateur has half introduced new mechanisms etc.', and the Chapter in consequence suggested to Hopkins that Bishops should take over the maintenance. Hopkins was furious. In a letter he declares 'my son (a trained organ builder) has tuned it very well'. Things drag on; the organ in May is reported as ciphering throughout, and in June it is even worse. Eventually on June 21st: Bishops took over the tuning and attempted some cleaning.
[TBC]
The console in 1900.
Hopkins did not give up easily. On August 25th he writes to the Chapter that "the organ is in a disgraceful state. He declares that he cannot leave a note for the tuner because the whole organ needs attention'. On September 14th 1897 he describes in detail the unsatisfactory state of the organ once Bishops have finishe their initial work. This is followed by frequent notes of his to the Chapter Clerk saying how poor the condition of the organ is now that he and his son have effectively been forbidden from entering it. He seems to take almost malicious delight in telegraphing Bishops to come and rectify ciphers, later pointing out to the Chapter Clerk how much cheaper it would have been had his son been allowed to effect repairs.
The question of the wind was finally tackled by Bishops in 1899, when their suggestion for a new engine and bellows was adopted, at a cost of £238. The work started in June, but dragged on, and the Dean & Chapter wisely wrote to the company stipulating a penalty clause of £10 per week if the work was not finished on time. Aithough the company wrote on October 13th saying that 'everything is ready and admitting delay, while hoping that the penalty would not be invoked as the work had taken longer than expected, the apparatus was apparentiy not fully operational until December.
The two hydraulic engines fitted were manufactured by Watkins & Watson, a firm started in 1890 which soon won a high reputation through excellence of design, manufacture and installation. They were later to fit, in 1914, the electric blowing apparatus still in use today (1990) and still maintained by its makers. The wind system of the organ at this stage consisted of: (light wind) four 4' 6" square-drop feeders and a combined reservoir area of 90 square feet, producing 4" pressure; (heavy wind) two 2' 6" square-drop feeders producing 6'" pressure. The Great pipework was on 3 3/4”, the Swell and Choir on 3½", the Pedal on 4" and the action on 6 1/8”.
The Walker Organ of 1905
Hopkins died on August 22nd 1900, and with him closed an era in the story of music at Rochester. Bertram Luard Selby swept in with a new broom, and in November he wrote the Chapter a strong letter. The organ, he said, was 'ruinous", Bishops were 'hopeless', Brownes had 'tinkered with it and the console was 'Antiquated'. His point was reinforced when, in July 1901, there was a major water leak from the pumping mechanism and the Bourdon chest was damaged, which suggests that the leak originated in the console area where there was a tap to turn on the engines. In 1902 Walkers visited the instrument, doubtless at Luard Selby's request, but Bishops - anxious not to lose the job - submitted a report first, on November 3rd. This makes interesting reading, as it approaches the instrument in some ways more colourfully than Walkers eventually did, but perhaps Walkers' bright tone and proven workmanship appealed to Luard Selby more than Bishops' more conservative voicing and slightly less prestigious reputation. He was used to the brilliance of the Willis at Salisbury (where he had been Organist from 1881 to 1883) and was a Leipzig-trained musician - wealthy (born at Ightham Mote), well-travelled, and aware of the splendour of many European organs. No doubt he wanted the best for Rochester.
Nevertheless Bishops' proposed specification makes instructive reading, and has not been printed before. The proposal was for a new action and some new pipework, with new soundboards 'where necessary' and tubular-pneumatic action.
Great Organ (C-c⁴ 61 notes)
Double Open Diapason - 16ft
Open Diapsaon - 8ft
Open Diapason - 8ft
Stopped Diapason - 8ft
Principal - 4ft
Flute (harmonic) - 4ft
Twelfth - 2 2/3 ft
Fifteenth - 2ft
Mixture - IV ranks
Trompette - 8ft
Swell Organ (C-c⁴, 61 notes)
Double Open Diapason - 16ft
Open Diapsaon - 8ft
Stopped Diapason - 8ft
Viol de Gamba - 8ft
Geigen Principal - 4ft
Flute - 4ft
Fifteenth - 2ft
Mixture - III ranks
Contra Fagotto - 16ft
Horn - 8ft
Oboe - 4ft
Clarion - 4ft
Tremulant
Choir Organ (C-c⁴, 61 notes)
Dulciana - 8ft
Gamba - 8ft
Stopped Diapason - 8ft
Wald Flute - 4ft
Harmonic Flute - 2ft
Orchestral Oboe (ten C) - 8ft
Clarinet - 8ft
Solo Organ (C-c⁴, 61 notes)
Harmonic Flute - 8ft
Viola - 8ft
Flauto Traverso - 4ft
Tuba Major - 8ft
Pedal Organ (CC-F, 30 notes, all ranks independent)
Subbass - 32ft
Open Diapason (metal) - 16ft
Open Diapason (wood) - 16ft
Violone - 16ft
Bourdon - 16ft
Violoncello - 8ft
Flute - 8ft
Trombone - 16ft
Couplers
Solo to Great
Swell to Great
Swell Octave
Swell Sub Octave
Swell to Choir
Solo to Swell
Solo to Pedal
Swell to Pedal
Great to Pedal
Choir to Pedal
Accessories
Three pistons to Swell Organ
Three pistons to Great Organ
Two pistons to Choir Organ
Three toe pistons to Great Organ
Reversible pedal to Swell to Great
Reversible pedal to Great to Pedal
The cost would have been £1,500, including the new Solo Organ, whose cost was given as £200.
On November 24th 1902 Luard Selby officially asked the Chapter for permission to proceed with the organ project, and J.W.Walker & Sons submitted a report early the following year in which they stated:
1) That the old soundboards, obsolete in 1875 but retained for economy's sake, were now practically useless.
2) That the action was worn out and very noisy.
3) That the pipes required cleaning and the reeds renewing.
4) That it was an impossibility for tuning to be done properly, and for the pipes to be able to speak properly, owing to the crowded state of the interior of the organ, resulting from the various kinds of mechanism employed by the builders who had added to it from time to time.
5) That an extra case should be added on the East side of the screen to accomodate the Choir Organ. [This was not carried out until 1989, but a drawing of the choir case proposed by Walkers still exists in the archives].
The Chapter evidently felt in need of outside advice, so they turned to a distinguished old chorister - Bridge, now Sir Frederick, who had been Organist at Westminster Abbey from 1875 (and was popularly known as "Westminster Bridge"). Bridge's fee was £25. After further discussion Walkers submitted their estimate and specification in February 1904. The organ was to cost £1594 10s., and certain new ranks were costed extra:-
Swell Contra Fagotto - £65 plus £10 for' ‘making space for it’
Great Wald Flute - £35
Great Open Diapason - £10
Tuba - £95
Tremulant (Swell) - £10
Alterations to the casework were charged at £75. These were necessary to create more space for the Great and Choir soundboards, which was achieved by adding a little depth to the sections projecting South and North, by skilful rearrangement of the woodwork and pipes. The small inside towers facing West originally contained three flats of pipes each (matching the similar arrangement on the outer edges of the case). These were replaced by one flat of longer pipes on each side, to house the bass of the Great Gamba. The design for these alterations was made by Walkers and approved by C.Hodgson Fowler, the Surveyor to the Fabric.
Added to the two existing light-wind Watkins & Watson hydraulic blowing engines was another, a Type"A" 3%" model costing £27 10s. This must have been to supply the heavy wind for the Tuba and the pneumatic action; it apparently replaced the previous heavy-pressure engine. According to the estimate, the present gear [was] overhauled and fitted with new gun-metal crossheads to engine and lever connecting rods'. The two light-pressure engines were overhauled and fitted with new starting valves, a starter fitted up, tubes laid from the console to the valve, and a new starting cock supplied on the console. The heavy-pressure bellows in the crypt were remade and strengthened 'to permit of the necessary increased wind pressure for Pistons and Tuba'.
The old organ was taken down on Wednesday March Ist 1905, and inside the cases Walkers erected a completely new structure, with new soundboards (mahogany tables, slides and upperboards) and a new reservoir underneath each department. Of the old organ only the pipework was retained. The estimate mentions 'preserving the tone' of the old pipes, of keeping their wind-pressure much the same, and not revoicing them. This suggests the conservative hand of Bridge at work, remembering fondly the organ of his youth. The Great was arranged in the lower half of the North case, with the Swell above it, the box being built around the supporting pillar of the Quire Arch, which projected awkwardly inside. In the South case was the Choir organ, in an equivalent position to the Great. The Tuba shared a soundboard with the rest of the Choir, though on separate pallets and heavy wind, the actions being linked externally. The rest of the South case was taken up with the Pedal organ, although the old wooden Pedal Trombone was buried in the screen, possibly along with other basses. The console remained on the North side, facing North.
Speaking pipes in the cases were the Pedal Open Diapason and bottom end of the Great Double Open Diapason (both divided West IC side] and East [C# sidel). The Great Gamba had ten bass pipes (C to A) facing West, divided North and South, the Great Open Diapason No.2 bass faced the player, and behind him in the North face of the South case was the Choir Open Diapason bass (possibly used in 1875 by Walker as a bass for Hill's 1870 Choir Gamba). The bottom notes of the Great and Choir Principals (GG to D) which were in the lowest flats facing East, were disconnected - the only pipes to survive from Green's old long compass.
Here is the new 1905 specification, showing the provenance of the pipework:
Great Organ (C to a³, 58 notes. Wind pressure 3 3/4”)
Double Open Diapason - 16ft - Forster & Andrews 1876
2. Large Open Diapson - 8ft - Walker 1905 (7 1/2” scale at bottom C)
3. Open Diapason - 8ft - Green 1791
5. Gamba - 8ft - Hill (Choir organ) 1870, bass Walker 1905
6. Stopped Diapason - 8ft - Green 1791 (wooden)
7. Wald Flute - 8ft - Walker 1905
8. Principal - 4ft - Walker 1905
9. Flute - 4ft - Hill 1835, bass Walker 1905
10. Fifteenth - 2ft - Green 1791
11. Sesquialtera 15.19.22. - IIIrks - Green 1791, recast
12. Trumpet - 8ft - Walker 1905Swell Organ (C to a³, 58 notes. Wind pressure 3 3/4”)
13. Double Diapason - 16ft - Hill 1865, (stopped wood)
14. Open Diapason - 8ft - Green 1791, Hill open wood bass 1865
15. Stopped Diapason - 8ft - Green 791 (metal, ear-tuned, soldered tops, no chimneys)
16. Echo Gamba - 8ft - Walker 1905, tapered
17. Voix Celestes (tenor C) - 8ft - Walker 1905, tapered
18. Principal - 4ft - Green 1791
19. Fifteenth - 2ft - Green 1791
20. Cornet 12.15.22 - IIIrks - Green 1791, recast
21 Contra Fagotto - 16ft - Walker 1905
22. Horn - 8ft - Hill 1865
23. Oboe - 8ft - Green 1791
TremulantChoir Organ (C to a³, 58 notes. Wind pressure 3 5/8” & 15” for Tuba)
24. Open Diapason - 8ft - Green 1791 (Old Choir Dulciana rescaled, using case pipes as base)
25. Stopped Diapason - 8ft - Green 1791 (wooden)
26. Dulciana 8ft - Green 1791 (old Swell Ducliana, new ‘lieblich’ bass)
27. Dulcet - 4ft - Green 1791 (old Swell Dulciana Principal)
28. Flute - 4ft - Hill 1865
29. Piccolo - 2ft - Browne 1888 (pipes altered by Hopkins)
30. Clarinet - 8ft - Hill 1865
31. Tuba - 8ft - Walker 1905Pedal Organ (CC to F, 30 notes. Wind pressure 4”)
32. Subbass - 32ft - Hill 1870 (lowest 7 notes acoustic, each playing the Bourdon with the fourth below)
33. Open Diapason (wood) - 16ft - Hill 1835 & 1870
34. Open Diapason (metal) - 16ft - Forster & Andrews 1876
35. Violone - 16ft - Hill 1870 (wooden)
36. Bourdon - 16ft - Browne 1887
37. Quint - 10 2/3 ft - Derived [1905] from Bpurdon/Bass Flute
38. Octave - 8ft - Hill 1870. Extension of Violone (not of No. 33 as shown in estimate)39. Flute - 8ft - Browne 1887. Extension of Bourdon
40. Trombone - 16ft - Hill 1870, woodenCouplers
Swell to Great
Choir to Great
Swell to Choir
Swell to Pedal
Choir to PedalAccessories
Four pneumatic pistons to Great and Pedal stops combined
Four pneumatic pistons to Swell Organ stops
Four composition pedals duplicating Great pistons
Four composition pedals duplicating Swell pistons
One double-acting pedal controlling Great to Pedal coupler (this was a ‘T’ pedal)
Lever Swell pedal (ordered by Luard Selby on September 9th 1904 to be made good with ‘good drop action’)
Radiating and concave pedalboard in birch
Tubular-pneumatic action to manuals, pedals and drawstopsWind Pressures (actions)
Key & drawstop action - 8 3/4” increased to 9 1/4” in November 1909
Combination piston pressure - 16 1/2”, reduced to 15 7/8” in November 1909
The drawstop jambs were 'to be as much at an angle as space permits", and finally built at 45°. The casework and cabinet work was of oak (the console polished) and a movable music cupboard was supplied, along with an oak panel behind the Western arcade on the screen, and an iron curtain rail and curtain to the East. The stopknobs of the Great Trumpet and the Swell Horn were later interchanged, according to Whitlock: 'as more nearly representing the character of the stops, No.12 being smooth in tone, while No.22 is very fiery’.
This instrument was essentially the one which lasted until 1989. The hydraulic blowing was replaced in 1914 by a pair of Watkins & Watson centrifugal blowers, driven by a 5 hp. 4-stage self-induction motor for which electricity was first introduced into the Cathedral. At the time of writing (1989) the blower is still in use, with some new bearings manufactured by the Royal Engineers in 1981 and 1989. Luard Selby asked for a new pedalboard on November 2ist 1915, saying that the old one was not renewed in 1905 - which is hard to understand as the old 1889 one, by Browne, was parallel and concave, and Walkers had specified radiating and concave pedals in 1904. He resigned the next month, on December 17th, so he probably never got it.
Nothing major happened to the organ for more than fifty years. Charles Hylton Stewart, a revered musician in his day, was appointed Organist in 1916. His father had been Organist of Chichester Cathedral and was, at the time Charles was born (March 22nd 1884), Precentor at Chester. The Organist at Chester was none other than Frederick Bridge's younger brother, Joseph, who had also been a chorister at Rochester (1862-1897). He trained Hylton Stewart in the organ loft, and the young man won the Stewart of Rannoch Scholarship in Sacred Music at Cambridge in 1903.
Nothing major happened to the organ for more than fifty years. Charles Hylton Stewart, a revered musician in his day, was appointed Organist in 1916. His father had been Organist of Chichester Cathedral and was, at the time Charles was born (March 22nd 1884), Precentor at Chester. The Organist at Chester was none other than Frederick Bridge's younger brother, Joseph, who had also been a chorister at Rochester (1862-1897). He trained Hylton Stewart in the organ loft, and the young man won the Stewart of Rannoch Scholarship in Sacred Music at Cambridge in 1903, becoming Organ Scholar of Peterhouse and later Assistant Organist at King's. While at Rochester he also conducted the Rochester Choral Society (founded 1873) and nurtured such talents as the young Percy Whitlock.
Within three years of his arrival Hylton Stewart had called in the Durham firm of Harrison & Harrison, who from about 1905 had established themselves as perhaps the foremost organ builders in the land, and were over the next eighty years to build or rebuild the majority of cathedral organs in the country. They began tuning at Rochester in 1919 and in 1924 recast the Mixtures and revoiced the Pedal Trombone. The Great Sesquialtera became 17.19.flat21. (presumably as near a Harrison 'Harmonics IV' as could be managed), and the Swell Cornet became 12.19.22.
Percy Whitlock started in the choir under Luard Selby, but it was Hylton Stewart who trained him from 1916 to 1930. Whitlock's great talent showed itself early, and we find Hylton Stewart writing in November 1917 to the Chapter to ask for £5 to renew Whitlock's piano lessons from Marmaduke Burton, a well-known professor in London. Whitlock, he declares, had done 'splendid work in the choir', had played for services, and was unquestionably 'a very great genius. Whitlock's interest in organ 'insides' no doubt grew, and while he was, from 1920-1930, Assistant Organist to Hylton Stewart, the Choir Flute 4ft mysteriously became a Flute Twelfth 2½ft! Later, as Bournemouth Municipal Organist, Whitlock was to do similar things within the Compton organ in the Pavilion.
Hylton Stewart left in 1930 to return briefly to his roots as Organist of Chester Cathedral, shortly afterwards moving to Windsor as Organist of St.George's Chapel. He was to die all too early, on November 14th 1932. Whitlock - doubtless disappointed at not replacing his mentor as Organist at Rochester - moved to Bournemouth, having married Edna May Kingdom, a singer in the Rochester Choral Society who he met through being accompanist (and to whom he dedicated his Paan). The climate in Bournemouth was better for his health (always fragile, and ultimately leading to high blood pressure, blindness and an early death in 1946), and for few years he combined a church post - St.Stephen's - with his Municipal work, all the while composing the organ music for which he became famous. He was replaced at Rochester by Joe Levett, son of the Head Verger, who gave loyal and continuing service for the remarkable period of 1930-1976, playing for many great events and becoming a well-known local figure, teacher and choir-trainer.
HA. Bennett was to replace Hylton Stewart. Fresh from York Minster (where he was assistant to Bairstow) and its superb Walker/Harrison organ, he lost no time in reintroducing Walkers at Rochester. In 1934 a limited amount of work was estimated for - mainly general repairs, but with some new pipework and revoicing The charge of £384 for a general overhaul included the cost of a new Great Tweirs. 2ft in place of the 4ft Flute. It also included remodelling the Great Sesquialtera again, to 17.19.22., and replacing the 'T' pedal to Great to Pedal with a pneumatic reversible toe piston. The organ was taken down and stored in the North Aisle of the Nave.
In addition to this work the following new replacement reed stops were supplied: Swell Trumpet (£45); Great Tromba (harmonic trebles, for £37); Choir Clarinet 'of small scale' (£35); and Swell Oboe (£42). The Contra Fagotto and Tuba were revoiced (£30), and the still-buried Pedal Trombone rescaled and revoiced with some new pipes - but as it still proved feeble in tone, it was renamed Fagotto! The Choir Flute 4ft and Piccolo 2ft were softened (£10). The Choir under-action was divided to provide the Tuba with a completely separate mechanism, and the pallets to the Tuba were re-covered in an attempt to quieten the action (£62 10s). A concussion bellows was fitted to each of the Swell and the Great (€22 10s). The job was complete and paid for by the end of 1935. The adviser for this work was Sir Walter Alcock, a notable organist at the time, who before moving to Salisbury Cathedral had been Sub Organist to Sir Frederick Bridge at Westminster Abbey for many years.
The 1905 console, with H.A. Bennett
The Walker Rebuild of 1957
The view had been expressed by J.W.Walker & Sons Ltd in 1934 that eventually the organ should be electrified, and the Trombone once and for all replaced. This was to happen on the appointment of Dr. Robert Ashfield as Organist in 1956. Dr. Ashfield relates that when he began work there was already a rather conservative scheme under consideration, but that this was revised and expanded - eventually being carried out by Walkers in time for Easter 1957, with some 'prepared-for' registers being added later.
The whole instrument was fitted with electro-pneumatic action, the soundboards were restored and re-palletted, the Choir was enclosed, and top-notes chests (direct electric) were added to extend the compass to c4. New unit chests were of Roosevelt design, though direct pallet magnets were used in the upper octaves. There was a new console with a piston selector board behind the music desk. Although the estimate talked of re-using the old stop-knobs, this was not in fact the case; neither was an extra Discus blower that was mentioned actually installed.
The Great reed was moved to the old Tuba slide, revoiced as a Tromba, and fitted with extra octaves of pipes at the top and bottom so that it drew at 16, 8 & 4 on the Great, Choir and Pedal. The old Swell Stopped Diapason was similarly placed in the Choir box as an extended rank (8, 4, 2% & 2). The Choir Dulciana was also put on a unit chest (16 [haskelled bass], 8, 4, 2 & 1). In the organ as opened in 1957 the Choir Dulciana drew at 8ft on the Great, on which there was also a prepared-for 2ft Flageolet, a new second Principal 4ft, and the Tromba drawing at 16, 8 & 4 with the extreme octaves prepared-for.
The Swell Cornet was recast as the Mixture, a new Twelfth 2% ft added and a new Clarion 4ft prepared-for. The Double Diapason was transposed to 8ft pitch, and the Echo Gamba revoiced. The Choir now had, in addition to the three units mentioned above, a new Gemshorn 4ft, a new bass to the Open Diapason, a new Fifteenth 2ft and Tierce 1'ft, and a 'prepared-for' Viole d'Orchestre 8ft.
The Pedal ranks were all extended (Open Wood 16 & 8; Open Metal 16, 8 & 4; Bourdon 32, 16, 10%, 8 & 4) the Dulciana borrowed at 16ft, the Trombas at 16, 8 & 4, and a new mighty Ophicleide/Posaune rank added at 16 & 8. The Bourdon from 16ft up was placed in the screen on the North side (the bottom octave hanging upside down), as were the trebles of the Pedal Principal/Fifteenth rank. The Choir Dulciana unit, along with the 16ft octave of the Tromba unit, was placed on the floor inside the South Screen, in a swell-box with two shutters pointing up the stairs and several more up into the underaction of the main Choir soundboard overhead. The bottom octave of the Open Wood was haskelled to get it in - bottom C# standing on the floor by the door to the organ-loft. The Tuba and Ophicleide ranks were placed in commanding positions above the main Choir swell-box, which had shutters in its roof and in its West face.
Before the 'prepared-for' registers were added, Dr.Ashfield had second thoughts; so the Choir 1ft and Viole d'Orchestre 8ft disappeared, to be replaced by a 1'4 ft derivation from the Dulciana and a new Cymbal III ranks (29.33.36.). An unenclosed Flate à Cherrinde Bit Blue appeared (squeezed into various gaps within une south case). On the Great the Dulerana and flageolet disappeared to be replaced the 3 4f extension of the Fiste all heron de and a few Furniture Il ranks (26.29). bye Swell Trumpet 8ft (of small scale) was made into a Clarion 4ft and a new Thumpet installed, while the Oboe was replaced by a new Horn Bf. A unit chest was suspended from the roof of the swell-box carrying the Twelfth 2% ft rank, from Which a Nineteenth 1' ft was now also derived.
To provide sufficient stopknobs for these changes, both tremulants were moved to rocking tablets in the treble of their respective key-cheeks. A Full Organ piston was also supplied, and in the crypt a Discus No.16 Cold Evaporation Humidifier was installed (for £328) to counter the dessicating effect of the cathedral's new heating system. Walker's bill for the 1957 rebuild was £8,292; the cost of the additions and alterations carried out in 1957-1960 was an extra £2,345.
In 1967 the Great Sesquialtera was recast as a Plein Jeu 15.19.22. (for £185), although the 15th rank eventually had to be left out because of 'robbing in the soundboard. The reversible thumb pistons to Swell to Pedal and Choir to Pedal were rewired (for £20) so as to take off any other pedal couplers when pressed. In 1969-70 the organ was cleaned and had a couple of wind trunks replaced, for £3,112. At this time, the pedal Octave Flute 4ft was disconnected and a new Pedal Mixture III ranks 22.26.29. added on two chests above the Great Organ. At some stage the Great and Choir Fifteenths were exchanged. In 1983 the reversible thumb piston originally intended for the Ophicleide but actually used for the Trombone (and so labelled) was rewired to the Ophicleide.
Here is the eventual specification of this organ, giving dates from when the main part of each rank derives, leaving aside the question of extra top notes being added at each reconstruction:
[TBC]
This scheme transformed the rather restrained old-worldy 1905 organ into a much more colourful, considerably brighter, and - when necessary - very powerful instrument. However, in trying to do so much it sowed the seeds of its ultimate demise.
The Mander Organ of 1989
Dr. Ashfield retired in 1977, having trained many choristers who were to become professional singers or arganistanisteninese aer Darid Poutier, vho took beer from Joe Levelt as Assistant Organist in 1976, after Mr. Level had recorded more than forty-five years in office - perhaps @ record for a Cathedral in the twentieth century. Barry Ferguson was installed as Organist in 1977. He was steeped twethe cathedral tradition, having been a chorister at Exeter, a Music Scholar at Clifton under the legendary Douglas Fox, and Organ Scholar at Peterhouse, Cambridge. On graduating, he moved to Peterborough Cathedral where he became Assistant Organist to the renowned choir-trainer Stanley Van, and then moved to Wimborne Minster as Organist.
It was not long after his arrival in Rochester that he began to feel that the organ was not in ideal condition. Reports were commissioned between 1980 and 1983 from J.W. Walker & Sons and from N.P.Mander Ltd. - a London company responsible for many major projects since the mid-1960s (including several Cambridge colleges, St. Paul's, Chichester and Canterbury Cathedrals, Birmingham Town Hall, the Ulster Hall, and school organs at Winchester, Eton, St.Paul's and Tonbridge). Johannes Klais of Bonn was also invited to comment. All three companies recommended the complete replacement of the organ with a new mechanical-action instrument complete with new (or reworked) case
The reasons were five-fold:
1) The working parts (soundboards, wind system etc.) of the existing organ, dating from 1905, were worn out and severely affected by the cathedral's heating system.
2) Access to much of the organ was impossible owing to the crowding-in of extra ranks and the Choir swell-boxes in 1957 and 1970.
3) The electrical mechanisms introduced in 1957 had reached the end of their working life, and contacts were regularly burning through.
4) The tonal design of the organ relied too much on extended ranks on the Choir and Pedal, yet the whole had insufficient soft variety.
5) The 1905 layout prevented the sound of the instrument from projecting down the Nave, where many important services were now held.
Such a major concept as an entirely new organ had not perhaps been contemplated, and time was needed for the idea to be universally accepted. By the time Paul Hale was appointed Assistant Organist in 1982, immediately taking an active part in the project, the principle of conserving the Scott cases was becoming established, although this presented great problems for the organ-builders. Constant discussion continued between 1983 and 1986 with Walkers and Manders. In addition, Plowden & Smith were invited to report on the task of restoring the decorated surfaces of the cases and case-pipes: this team had previously worked on the organs at Framingham, Gloucester Cathedral, Eton College and Birmingham Town Hall. A report was also submitted by Austin Niland on behalf of the Cathedrals Advisory Commission. In 1986 the ROCHESTER 2000 Trust and Appeal was launched to pay for restoration work to the building and for the new organ. Eventually Barry Ferguson recommended to the Dean & Chapter on November 17th 1986 that Fersusander Lid be appointed the Cathedral's organ-builders, and that a schene should be drawn up wit onmendat on was accepted old cases, using some of the old pipework. This recommendation was accepted in 1987, and discussions In time it became evident that because of the awkward layout, the lack of space and the need to use old pipework voiced on quite high wind-pressures, a mechanical. action solution must reluctantly be abandoned. Electro-pneumatic action was decided on, and this in turn produced several valuable benefits which offset its possibly shorter life-span. On October 8th 1987 Manders produced a specification embodying their thinking, and on October 22nd Paul Hale produced one which reflected the cathedral musicians' points of view; the gradual weaving together of these schemes until a contract specification was produced on December 22nd proved a stimulating and enjoyable exercise. One concept which was soon abandoned was a separate Nave division, on the grounds that intelligent tonal design and layout of the main organ should reduce the necessity for this, and in any case cost would preclude it.
On March 14th 1988 the Chapter finally agreed that work on the organ should commence in January 1989; in April the Cathedrals Advisory Commission gave their approval to the scheme, then in June it was decided to accept the tender from Anna Plowden for the casework restoration, for which it was hoped to obtain a grant. The specification and ideas about layout continued to develop throughout the year, until in the first week of January 1989 scaffolding was erected and a temporary digital electronic organ by Copeman Hart installed in the Quire. Over the next three weeks the organ was taken down. From February until October work continued in Manders' factory, with the smaller case-pipes being restored in London by Anna Plowden's team. In June restoration work to the case and larger case-pipes started in the building, being completed in September. The new pipes in the Choir case were later laid with gold leaf and decorated to match the Scott patterns in the main case; Martin Caroe, Architect to the Cathedral, was involved in the design of this work.
Assembly began in October with the new Choir case being fitted first, and continued into early 1990. the voicing and regulating work beginning in March and Assembly began in October with the new Choir case being fitted first, and continued into early 1990, the voicing and regulating work beginning in March and the organ being ready for its first public use by Easter. The Right Reverend Michael Turnbull, Bishop of Rochester, dedicated the organ on Easter Day 1990, and the opening recital was given by Simon Preston on May 12th. Later recitals in the opening series were given by Roy Massey, Barry Ferguson and Paul Hale, who on his move to Southwell Minster as Rector Chori on April Ist 1989 had remained as Consultant.
The total cost of the project was around £430,000, of which Manders' estimate was £257,750 (plus VAT) at 1987 prices. This was subiect to trade increases at the start of succeeding years. The casework restoration cost about £80,000 (inc. VAT), scaffolding charges and the multitude of other considerations contributing to the final total cost.
Structurally and mechanically the organ is new, though contained within the 1875 cases. The most obvious visual change is the addition of a "Chaire" case projecting into the Quire, and containing the Choir Organ. This is a happy retur to the precedents set in Rochester by Bernard Smith and Samuel Green. In the North Case the Great Organ is placed with elop awith the reeds on a separate chest in front.
Beneath it is the Swell Organ, with mechanically operated shutters facing South and East and optional electro-pneumatically operated shutters facing West. The Scand on the North side contains the 16ft Open Wood.
On the South side, the Screen houses the 32ft Subbass basses, and the solid-state switching and piston action. The main Pedal soundboard is at the bottom of the South case, with the 32ft reed behind. The Solo swell-box is at the top of the South case, the Tuba being between it and the fretwork of the North-facing front. The new console, in oak, remains on the North side with the player facing North. Each department is winded by a traditional reservoir beneath its slider soundboards. The blower remains in the crypt, the motor having been fully restored and various bearings replaced by the Royal Engineers - this work being conceived by Martin and Valerie Galliers, who nursed the blower from about 1980. A largely new Watkins & Watson humidifier was installed at the same time.
The 1989 console. Photograph by Paul Hale, 2023.
Paul Hale
Southwell, October 1989
The organs of Rochester Cathedral, 1989, published by The Friends of Rochester Cathedral.
Read more about the Cathedral’s chamber organs:
Paul Hale discusses the two small organs in the Nave since 1959. Featured in a publication by The Friends of Rochester Cathedral.
Acknowledgements
Material for this story has gradually accrued during my years in Rochester. In my researches I have been greatly helped by the following people:
The Very Reverend John Arnold (Dean 1977-89, and at the time of publication Dean of Durham) and Mrs.Arnold; The Very Reverend Henry Stapleton (Precentor 1979-88 and at the time of publication Dean of Carlisle); Barry Ferguson; Trevor Lee; the staff of the Kent County Records Office at Maidstone; Ian Bell (of N.P. Mander Ltd); Bruce Buchanan (of J.W.Walker & Sons Ltd); Nicholas Plumley; Dr. Watkins Shaw; and Dr.Robert Ashfield (Organist and Master of the Choristers, 1955-1977).
Without the support and encouragement of the Reverend Richard Lea (Precentor from 1988), John Melhuish and the Friends of Rochester Cathedral, this account could never have been published.
Of these secondary sources, it was Percy Whitlock's 1928 article in The Organ that so interested me that I decided to bring it up to date. In checking with primary sources I found him almost completely accurate in his account, which is largely based on the excellent article in Musical Times for March 1908 entitled "Rochester Cathedral". I dedicate this little volume to his memory.
Sources
Primary sources, all now stored in Kent County Record Office, have been:
Chapter Acts
Treasurers' Accounts
Registers of Baptisms, Marriages and Burials The Red Book (3 vols., 1660-1854 with gaps)
The Registers of the Cathedral Church of Rochester (1657-1837) ed. Thomas
Shindler (Canterbury, 1892)
Principal secondary sources have been (in chronological order):
Musical World for 1845 (p.555)
The Organ: its History & Construction (2nd ed., London 1870) by E. J. Hopkins and F.Rimbault
The Musical Times for March 1908: an article signed "Dotted Crotchet"
The Life and Works of Edward John Hopkins (London, 1910) by Charles W.Pearce
A Westminster Pilgrim (London 1919) by Sir Frederick Bridge
Cathedral Organists (London, 1921 edition) by John E. West The Organ Quarterly Magazine, No. 30 (article by Percy Whitlock); No. 94 (article by Andrew Freeman); No. 163 (article by Leslie Barnard)
Forster and Andrews, Organ Builders (Lincoln, 1968) by Laurence Elvin Organ Blowing, its History and Development (Lincoln, 1971) by Laurence Elvin
The Harrison Story (Lincoln, 1973) by Laurence Elvin
Father Smith (enlarged edition, Oxford 1977) by Andrew Freeman and John Rowntree
The British Organ (Second edition, London 1982) by Cecil Clutton and Austin Niland
Choristers of Rochester Cathedral (Second edition, Rochester 1984) by Harold Cooper, Arthur Brown M.B.E. and N.A.T. Tanner Bishop and Son, Organ Builders (Lincoln, 1984) by Laurence Elvin The Instruments of Samuel Green (London, 1987) by David C.Wickens Henry Smart (Schagen, Netherlands, 1988) by David G.Hill
Friends of Rochester Cathedral
The Friends of Rochester Cathedral were founded to help finance the maintenance of the fabric and grounds. The Friends’ annual reports have become a trove of articles on the fabric and history of the cathedral.
