Client: St Mary Redcliffe Church, Parish Office, 12 Colston Parade, Bristol, BS1 6RA.
The organ, built in 1912 by the famous firm of Harrison & Harrison, is widely regarded as one of the most important instruments built in the early 20th century and is of international standing. A complete refurbishment now should enable the church to sustain and further develop their musical tradition for several more generations. There are over 4350 pipes in this organ which produce the variety of sounds.
During the organ’s lifetime there has been a piecemeal approach to restoration. The aim of this project is to restore the organ, with the highest standard of integrity and to ‘as new’ condition, so that it will sound as beautiful, and grace our worship for another 100 years. Although the Redcliffe organ can sound wonderful, there is significant leakage of air and some ranks of pipes and working parts do not operate. They need new blowers to power the organ. The internal mechanisms, including the delicate leather ‘motors’ inside the organ, need extensive restoration or replacement. All the pipework will be cleaned thoroughly but there are no plans to add more pipes to the instrument. The restoration of the organ is expected to take between 15 and 18 months.
Scaffolding has had to be installed in the church to allow the removal of the pipes and their subsequent reinstatement. The church is open to visitors and for services throughout.