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Church Organs in Box Alan Payne January 2023 People’s lives before the 1920s were largely spent without being able to listen to music. Of course, for middle-class families the piano played at home by mothers or daughters was a source of enjoyment. But for working class families, music came from the piano in the pub, public recitals and parades at summer fetes and festive occasions. There was no concept of music on demand by flicking a switch and no background music. The scarcity of opportunity to listen to music made celebrities of the local organists who gave weekly performances at church, whether Anglican or Methodist. But church organs were sensitive instruments. To keep the organ as a vital part of people’s needs required substantial repair and maintenance and considerable fundraising. Right: The Flight & Robson organ which once stood in the Box Hill Methodist Church (courtesy Michael Rumsey) |
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Pipe organs make sounds by driving wind through different-sized pipes, causing the air to oscillate at different pitches. The longer and larger the pipe, the lower the note. The wind was traditionally pressurised into the pipe by a manually-operated bellows, sometimes steam-power and finally electricity. Pipe organs were not only masterpieces of workmanship, they were the beautiful focus of church community activities.
Martin Devon seated at the consol of the Box Church organ (courtesy Carol Payne)
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Box Church Organ: Recorded by Martin Devon Martin Devon from Middlehill kept the Box Church organ in tune and in good repair for many years. He found records about an early organ in the church and the installation of a later organ and published details in a leaflet "The Organ at St Thomas a Becket, Box".[1] It is not known when the first organ was installed in Box Church. There is nothing mentioned in the comprehensive survey or terrier of 1783. However, it is known that the then organist resigned during 1818 and this happened again in 1823. The leaflet was an abridged version of Martin's research, which was published in the parish magazine:[1a] Rev W White arrived in the middle of 1896. By the middle of 1897 the parish was committed to total reconstruction of the interior of Box Church at a cost of £6,800. The gallery and presumably the organ which stood upon it were torn out and sold as a job lot for £100. The entire existing Queen Anne fittings had acquired a fine antique patina after 180 years but, no doubt, gave grave offence to the late 19th century Gothic eye. |
When time came to pay, there was only £1,100 available. All the property owners as far as Chippenham were prevailed upon for contributions and, for three successive months, a league table was published in the parish magazine showing who had contributed and how much exactly to the last penny. Recorded contributions ranged from 1 shilling to £250. Mrs Northey promised to organise a sale of work at Ashley Manor. It must have been the very last word in sales-of-work, taking six months to organise, taking place over two days on 4 and 5 June 1897 and raising £850.
A new organ had been ordered from Messrs Griffen & Stroud of Bath to be ready by Whitsunday 1898. At that time Griffen & Stroud were newly-formed (started in 1892) and keen for new work. The organ was estimated to cost £155 in 1898 money. Unfortunately, there was nowhere to put it, having demolished the gallery upon which the Anglican organ had traditionally stood since the Reformation. An emergency meeting took place on 8 April 1897 to discuss building an organ chamber. Messrs Sawyer and Merritt, builders, were contracted to build the gallery for £145, thereby nearly doubling the cost and, at the same time, detracting from its performance. Well-founded warnings were made that making a great hole in the third side of the tower, the south side, might impair its safety, with the result that afterwards the bells could only be chimed rather than swung. That is where the organ was located to enable the congregation and the choir alike to get the benefit of the music.[2]
Martin described the organ as one of the finest built by Griffen and Stroud... Both the manual and pedal action was on the "pressure" pneumatic principle, with a mechanical drawstop action. Tonally, it was typical of the period. Its "romantic" specification incorporated a number of 8ft unison ranks and a solitary 2ft Piccolo on the swell division.
Martin described the organ as one of the finest built by Griffen and Stroud... Both the manual and pedal action was on the "pressure" pneumatic principle, with a mechanical drawstop action. Tonally, it was typical of the period. Its "romantic" specification incorporated a number of 8ft unison ranks and a solitary 2ft Piccolo on the swell division.
Pipework inside the organ (courtesy Carol Payne)
Whitsunday 1898 came and went and the organ was not ready. A firm and final date was given of July 1898 with a grand opening arranged to which the bishop had agreed to come. On the great day, all was ready except the organ which was still nearly three months from completion. It was actually first used at harvest festival 23 September 1898. Augustus Perren, the Box organist, was in charge and there was also a recital by AR New of Bath Abbey.
However, by Christmas all sources of funds had been exhausted. To paraphrase from the vicar’s letter of December 1898:
If anyone has an odd £150 not needed, a cheque would oblige. Meanwhile the architect was pressing for his fees of £200 which were a year overdue.
However, by Christmas all sources of funds had been exhausted. To paraphrase from the vicar’s letter of December 1898:
If anyone has an odd £150 not needed, a cheque would oblige. Meanwhile the architect was pressing for his fees of £200 which were a year overdue.
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The variety of pipes in Box Church organ (courtesy Carol Payne)
The work in the 1800s was far from the end of the story. The organ was cleaned and overhauled in 1939 but little else was done. By June 1992, the action had deteriorated to the extent that many notes had become unplayable.[3] A quote of £60,000 for restoring it to what would have been in effect a completely new organ was deemed to be both unachievable and unnecessary,
so after a good deal of discussion and negotiation, an agreement was reached with Robin Winn, an organ builder in Bath, to retain all the existing pipes and structural parts but to fit an electro-mechanical action, i.e. to operate the pallet valves directly with electro-magnets to give a reliable, fast response to the keyboards. This involved the organ being laid on sheets of plywood over the south aisle pews for about six months. A new (second hand) console was placed in the organ chamber facing west.
A trumpet stop by Brindley and Forster, taken from a redundant church in Wales, and a nice diapason 12th stop were added.
The old oboe stop was transposed down an octave to form a contra-oboe giving substance to the lower parts. This required twelve new pipes which could just be carried in a Volvo estate. Martin told of the memorable time when he was stopped by the police en route from Leeds with the 12 new Contra Oboe pipes, of shiny new pipe metal, up to 2m in length and 10cm in diameter. Apparently, the anti-terrorist police thought they were rocket launchers.
The organ worked well for some years in this form, but there remained two major shortcomings which were all too evident by the early 2000s. Firstly, in Robin Winn’s scheme. the stops were operated by a reversed pneumatic system, which used air pressure to hold stops off. If several stops were cancelled together, the pressure dropped and stops came on again randomly. Secondly, the console had been raised on blocks to allow a rather primitive system of wooden levers to operate the swell box. This was never very good and by 2010 had become impossible to operate.
Robin Winn had retired some years previously so Martin resolved to do the work himself along with helpers Robin Parry and Robert Mullins. The group devoted 420 hours of free labour to the task and brought the cost down to a mere £4,000. It was an incredible achievement which repaired defective pipes, replaced the pneumatic stop action entirely with electro-magnets made for the purpose by Kimber-Allen, moved the console into the body of the church, (taking it off the blocks), and replacing the crude swell linkage with a stepless electric swell engine by Otto Heuss of Germany. The Swell, which had never worked properly since first installed, was now perfect.
However, in recent years, liturgical ideas at St Thomas a Becket have changed. During 2018 two minor electrical faults appeared in the organ and it was put out of use. Organs deteriorate unless used, especially the leather parts, so it is open to doubt whether this organ will be heard again.
so after a good deal of discussion and negotiation, an agreement was reached with Robin Winn, an organ builder in Bath, to retain all the existing pipes and structural parts but to fit an electro-mechanical action, i.e. to operate the pallet valves directly with electro-magnets to give a reliable, fast response to the keyboards. This involved the organ being laid on sheets of plywood over the south aisle pews for about six months. A new (second hand) console was placed in the organ chamber facing west.
A trumpet stop by Brindley and Forster, taken from a redundant church in Wales, and a nice diapason 12th stop were added.
The old oboe stop was transposed down an octave to form a contra-oboe giving substance to the lower parts. This required twelve new pipes which could just be carried in a Volvo estate. Martin told of the memorable time when he was stopped by the police en route from Leeds with the 12 new Contra Oboe pipes, of shiny new pipe metal, up to 2m in length and 10cm in diameter. Apparently, the anti-terrorist police thought they were rocket launchers.
The organ worked well for some years in this form, but there remained two major shortcomings which were all too evident by the early 2000s. Firstly, in Robin Winn’s scheme. the stops were operated by a reversed pneumatic system, which used air pressure to hold stops off. If several stops were cancelled together, the pressure dropped and stops came on again randomly. Secondly, the console had been raised on blocks to allow a rather primitive system of wooden levers to operate the swell box. This was never very good and by 2010 had become impossible to operate.
Robin Winn had retired some years previously so Martin resolved to do the work himself along with helpers Robin Parry and Robert Mullins. The group devoted 420 hours of free labour to the task and brought the cost down to a mere £4,000. It was an incredible achievement which repaired defective pipes, replaced the pneumatic stop action entirely with electro-magnets made for the purpose by Kimber-Allen, moved the console into the body of the church, (taking it off the blocks), and replacing the crude swell linkage with a stepless electric swell engine by Otto Heuss of Germany. The Swell, which had never worked properly since first installed, was now perfect.
However, in recent years, liturgical ideas at St Thomas a Becket have changed. During 2018 two minor electrical faults appeared in the organ and it was put out of use. Organs deteriorate unless used, especially the leather parts, so it is open to doubt whether this organ will be heard again.
Methodist Church Organ by Michael Rumsey [4]
The organs at both the Box Methodist Church and the Box Hill Methodist Church were built in the early part of the nineteenth century by well-known English organ builders. The Box Hill Methodist Church received its pipe organ in 1914 from a large house in Bath. It was a beautifully-constructed mahogany Flight & Robson chamber instrument dating from circa 1800 with two manuals, a swell box and straight 24-note pedal board. On the closure of the church in November 1967, the organ was sold two years later to an organ builder in Newport, South Wales. Several ranks of pipes were incorporated into a rebuilt instrument for Oswestry Methodist Church, while the main organ was re-erected in the Holy Trinity Church, Calne. Unfortunately, this fine chamber organ was destroyed in an arson attack on the church in the early 1970s, a sad loss. The only-known photograph of this organ is shown in the headline photo.
The organ which exists today in the Box Methodist Church was built in 1850 by Walkers of London, a well known organ builder in the 19th and 20th centuries, Apart from normal repairs for wear and tear, it is virtually as built, is listed in the National Register of Church Organs and is mentioned in the latest edition of Pevsner's Buildings of Wiltshire edited by Julian Orbach. Around the year 2000 it was described as a gem of instruments In Methodist organ circles.[5] It was purchased by the church at the time of the Great War. It maintained its hand pumped wind system until this was replaced by an electric blower in 1962, the kind gift of Mr and Mrs Edward Shaw Robson of Ashley. The last people to use the hand pump were the young David Evans, later minister at Oldfield Park Baptist Church, who pumped for his mother, organist Mrs Rose Evans.
In 1986 the Frederick G Neate Organ Bequest was used to thoroughly overhaul the organ, fit a new concave pedal board with electric action and a new stop, a Twelfth, to complete the compliment of pipes. On 2002 the organ’s three-ton case and pipe work were moved to a new gallery above the vestibule and entrance to the church. The cost of this was funded by the family of Stan Rumsey, steward at Box Hill and Box Churches for 40 years. In 2017 the organ was renovated by Gary Cook, a local organ builder, for restoration at a cost of £7,000, with money raised with quizzes, an organ recital in Bath and a bequest by one of the church members, Mollie Mitford.
Fundraising
Typical of the activities needed to keep the organ in repair was the Box Church New Year’s Eve social in the Bingham Hall in 1925.[6] Popular songs and duets were presented by a variety of performers: Misses R Tucker, K Milsom and M Greenman; Master Desmond Tucker; and adults Messrs A Shaw-Mellor, W Mullins and Walter John Bradfield, choirmaster. The vicar Rev George Foster contributed humorous sketches. It was a major effort to restore the organ involving two Christmas plays, three lectures and dedicated donations. Proceedings ended with a series of tableaux by the newly-formed Box Girl Guides and a delightful farce by Mrs Kate Foster, Mrs AK Lambert and Miss Rogers.
The Box Hill Methodist church had similar needs.[7] In 1920 a concert by the Beechencliff Male Voice Choir was held to fundraise for their organ. The event was organised by CW Oatley who had invited choirmaster DT Tudor to perform popular songs including The Postman and The Storm. Resident EJ Skrine performed monologues.
The continuous need for maintenance was explained in more detail by Rev Arthur Maltin of Box Church in 1937. The organ had been built in 1898 and was over 40-years old.[8] Woodworm had been detected in some of the mechanism which needed replacing and it was decided to introduce an electric blower since electricity had recently been installed in the building. All of this required £153 (today £12,000) and needed a major initiative on a larger scale than anything attempted in Box for some time. A two-day Coronation bazaar was held in the Bingham Hall with over a dozen stalls selling goods and attendance by a variety of local gentry including the Countesses Anaztazi and Charlotte Raben. In the evenings Mrs Courtenay Stewart of Ashley Manor organised a series of tableaux depicting Spring, Sir Walter Raleigh placing his cloak before Queen Elizabeth, Indian Princes paying homage to Queen Victoria as Empress of India, Britannia and her colonies and The Nativity. Total takings for the two days amounted to £200.
The organs at both the Box Methodist Church and the Box Hill Methodist Church were built in the early part of the nineteenth century by well-known English organ builders. The Box Hill Methodist Church received its pipe organ in 1914 from a large house in Bath. It was a beautifully-constructed mahogany Flight & Robson chamber instrument dating from circa 1800 with two manuals, a swell box and straight 24-note pedal board. On the closure of the church in November 1967, the organ was sold two years later to an organ builder in Newport, South Wales. Several ranks of pipes were incorporated into a rebuilt instrument for Oswestry Methodist Church, while the main organ was re-erected in the Holy Trinity Church, Calne. Unfortunately, this fine chamber organ was destroyed in an arson attack on the church in the early 1970s, a sad loss. The only-known photograph of this organ is shown in the headline photo.
The organ which exists today in the Box Methodist Church was built in 1850 by Walkers of London, a well known organ builder in the 19th and 20th centuries, Apart from normal repairs for wear and tear, it is virtually as built, is listed in the National Register of Church Organs and is mentioned in the latest edition of Pevsner's Buildings of Wiltshire edited by Julian Orbach. Around the year 2000 it was described as a gem of instruments In Methodist organ circles.[5] It was purchased by the church at the time of the Great War. It maintained its hand pumped wind system until this was replaced by an electric blower in 1962, the kind gift of Mr and Mrs Edward Shaw Robson of Ashley. The last people to use the hand pump were the young David Evans, later minister at Oldfield Park Baptist Church, who pumped for his mother, organist Mrs Rose Evans.
In 1986 the Frederick G Neate Organ Bequest was used to thoroughly overhaul the organ, fit a new concave pedal board with electric action and a new stop, a Twelfth, to complete the compliment of pipes. On 2002 the organ’s three-ton case and pipe work were moved to a new gallery above the vestibule and entrance to the church. The cost of this was funded by the family of Stan Rumsey, steward at Box Hill and Box Churches for 40 years. In 2017 the organ was renovated by Gary Cook, a local organ builder, for restoration at a cost of £7,000, with money raised with quizzes, an organ recital in Bath and a bequest by one of the church members, Mollie Mitford.
Fundraising
Typical of the activities needed to keep the organ in repair was the Box Church New Year’s Eve social in the Bingham Hall in 1925.[6] Popular songs and duets were presented by a variety of performers: Misses R Tucker, K Milsom and M Greenman; Master Desmond Tucker; and adults Messrs A Shaw-Mellor, W Mullins and Walter John Bradfield, choirmaster. The vicar Rev George Foster contributed humorous sketches. It was a major effort to restore the organ involving two Christmas plays, three lectures and dedicated donations. Proceedings ended with a series of tableaux by the newly-formed Box Girl Guides and a delightful farce by Mrs Kate Foster, Mrs AK Lambert and Miss Rogers.
The Box Hill Methodist church had similar needs.[7] In 1920 a concert by the Beechencliff Male Voice Choir was held to fundraise for their organ. The event was organised by CW Oatley who had invited choirmaster DT Tudor to perform popular songs including The Postman and The Storm. Resident EJ Skrine performed monologues.
The continuous need for maintenance was explained in more detail by Rev Arthur Maltin of Box Church in 1937. The organ had been built in 1898 and was over 40-years old.[8] Woodworm had been detected in some of the mechanism which needed replacing and it was decided to introduce an electric blower since electricity had recently been installed in the building. All of this required £153 (today £12,000) and needed a major initiative on a larger scale than anything attempted in Box for some time. A two-day Coronation bazaar was held in the Bingham Hall with over a dozen stalls selling goods and attendance by a variety of local gentry including the Countesses Anaztazi and Charlotte Raben. In the evenings Mrs Courtenay Stewart of Ashley Manor organised a series of tableaux depicting Spring, Sir Walter Raleigh placing his cloak before Queen Elizabeth, Indian Princes paying homage to Queen Victoria as Empress of India, Britannia and her colonies and The Nativity. Total takings for the two days amounted to £200.
Wall plaques in Box Church (courtesy Carol Payne)
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Celebrated Box Organists: Augustus Perren
There have been many people who played the organ in the Box churches every week for several years. We focus on two; Augustus Frederick Perren at Box Church and Michael Rumsey at Box Methodist Church. Augustus Frederick Perren (1849-1923) was organist for Box Church for 54 years, appointed by Rev Horlock and buried by his grandson Rev Sweetapple-Horlock.[9] By profession, Augustus was a Colerne farmer’s son who championed a new technology, photography with a studio in Milsom Street, Bath, but it was music that captured his soul, both playing the organ and singing in the church choir. The Perren family moved to Box Mill before 1881. Augustus married Anna Rosa Lilian Barton in 1897 and they settled in Ashley Villas, Box, opposite the Northey Arms. Most fittingly, Augustus had lobbied for the new organ in 1896 and organised lantern entertainment to fundraise for it with a second sale of work in December 1897.[10] |
Augustus' funeral ceremony was attended by scores of dignitaries including Rev Vere Awdry and Rev William White and
Mr AE New, organist of Bath Abbey and numerous local civic and church leaders. The vicar wrote that one of the refining influences of Box has gone from us. The choir sang John Stainer’s extensive romantic piece What are these that are arrayed in white robes, which Augustus had been practising himself, and all processed solemnly from the church to the cemetery.[11]
A memorial tablet was installed behind the organ in Box Church donated by his widow recording his 54 years as organist. A new Cornopean organ stop was installed in his beloved Griffen & Stroud and a tablet confirming this donation by the parishioners of Box, located next to a memorial to Walter John Bradfield, choirmaster and Augustus’ successor as organist, a suitable coupling for their 45 years of friendship and dedicated service to the community.
Mr AE New, organist of Bath Abbey and numerous local civic and church leaders. The vicar wrote that one of the refining influences of Box has gone from us. The choir sang John Stainer’s extensive romantic piece What are these that are arrayed in white robes, which Augustus had been practising himself, and all processed solemnly from the church to the cemetery.[11]
A memorial tablet was installed behind the organ in Box Church donated by his widow recording his 54 years as organist. A new Cornopean organ stop was installed in his beloved Griffen & Stroud and a tablet confirming this donation by the parishioners of Box, located next to a memorial to Walter John Bradfield, choirmaster and Augustus’ successor as organist, a suitable coupling for their 45 years of friendship and dedicated service to the community.
The current organ in the gallery of the Central Box Methodist Church (courtesy Carol Payne)
Celebrated Box Organists: Michael Rumsey
Many people know Michael Rumsey as a distinguished local steam railway expert, or as the chairman of the Corsham Civic Society, or through his writings in the Box Parish Magazine of activities at both Methodist Churches.[12] Here we tell how he has been the organist at Box Methodist Church for over half a century.
Michael was born in Corsham in October 1944 and his love of Box comes from the 14 years he spent as a child and teenager living at London Terrace, Box Hill, with his parents, Stanley and Evelyn Rumsey. Michael always wanted to be a primary school teacher as a career. He trained at Newton Park College, Bath and taught at various posts in the area before spending 23 years in Devon as headteacher. After he retired, he returned to Box in 2000 and now lives in Corsham.
He has served the Methodist Church as organist since he was a young man. He recalled how he was taught to play by Mrs Ellen Head and took over shortly after her death in 1963. It was a considerable responsibility as Mrs Head was the sister of Frederick Neate, who had owned a considerable part of Box Hill and was a leading figure at Box Hill Methodist Church. There has been a long tradition of dedicated organists at the church, including for 30 years Thomas Aust from the Market Place, Box,
as well as Mrs Head.
Many people know Michael Rumsey as a distinguished local steam railway expert, or as the chairman of the Corsham Civic Society, or through his writings in the Box Parish Magazine of activities at both Methodist Churches.[12] Here we tell how he has been the organist at Box Methodist Church for over half a century.
Michael was born in Corsham in October 1944 and his love of Box comes from the 14 years he spent as a child and teenager living at London Terrace, Box Hill, with his parents, Stanley and Evelyn Rumsey. Michael always wanted to be a primary school teacher as a career. He trained at Newton Park College, Bath and taught at various posts in the area before spending 23 years in Devon as headteacher. After he retired, he returned to Box in 2000 and now lives in Corsham.
He has served the Methodist Church as organist since he was a young man. He recalled how he was taught to play by Mrs Ellen Head and took over shortly after her death in 1963. It was a considerable responsibility as Mrs Head was the sister of Frederick Neate, who had owned a considerable part of Box Hill and was a leading figure at Box Hill Methodist Church. There has been a long tradition of dedicated organists at the church, including for 30 years Thomas Aust from the Market Place, Box,
as well as Mrs Head.
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St Christopher's Organ
To avoid any claims of predjudice or omission, a few words are needed about the organ of Ditteridge Church. The organ is much smaller and more delicate than either of the other two organs above. The organ at St Christopher's was installed in 1909 by The Positive Organ Company to a high standard with an intricate pneumatic mechanism.[13] The whole organ was rebuilt in 1992 and the action was electrified and further altered in the year 2000 when it was encased in oak to mark the millennium. Left: The Ditteridge organ in the chancel (courtesy Carol Payne) |
The role of the organ to accompany hymns is one of the great glories of the Protestant church. Luther wrote hundreds of hymns usually to accompany certain texts in the bible, the hymns and tunes of JS Bach are staples of Anglican worship and Charles Wesley wrote hymns to be sung outdoors.[14] With modern technology offering alternatives to the church organ, it is clear that we may never again see the likes of Michael Rumsey and Augustus Perren as organists and Martin Devon as the custodian of the organ in Box.
References
[1] MR Devon, The Organ at St Thomas a Becket, Box, April 2014
[1a] Parish Magazine, September 1992, reprinted April 2002 by Martin and Elizabeth Devon based on the research and text of David Ibberson. Values in the article were expressed in 1992 terms, which have been reconverted back to 1896 values.
[2] Parish Magazine, May 1898
[3] Roger Bolton, Parish Magazine, December 2010
[4] Parish Magazine, April 2002
[5] The National Church Organ Registry. The organ is listed in the 3rd edition of Buildings of England, Wiltshire, edited by Julian Orbach
[6] The Wiltshire Times. 10 January 1925
[7] The Wiltshire Times. 27 November 1920
[8] The Wiltshire Times. 20 November 1937
[9] The Bath Chronicle, 3 November 1923
[10] Parish Magazine, November 1897
[11] Parish Magazine, December 1923
[12] Corsham Spotlight, Newsletter of the Corsham Civic Society, July 2009, Volume 7, Issue 2
[13] John Ayers, One Bell Sounding, 1992
[14] See Lutheran Hymnal(complete) - Titles index page (traditionalmusic.co.uk); Johann Sebastian Bach | Hymnary.org and organ (jsbach.org)
[1] MR Devon, The Organ at St Thomas a Becket, Box, April 2014
[1a] Parish Magazine, September 1992, reprinted April 2002 by Martin and Elizabeth Devon based on the research and text of David Ibberson. Values in the article were expressed in 1992 terms, which have been reconverted back to 1896 values.
[2] Parish Magazine, May 1898
[3] Roger Bolton, Parish Magazine, December 2010
[4] Parish Magazine, April 2002
[5] The National Church Organ Registry. The organ is listed in the 3rd edition of Buildings of England, Wiltshire, edited by Julian Orbach
[6] The Wiltshire Times. 10 January 1925
[7] The Wiltshire Times. 27 November 1920
[8] The Wiltshire Times. 20 November 1937
[9] The Bath Chronicle, 3 November 1923
[10] Parish Magazine, November 1897
[11] Parish Magazine, December 1923
[12] Corsham Spotlight, Newsletter of the Corsham Civic Society, July 2009, Volume 7, Issue 2
[13] John Ayers, One Bell Sounding, 1992
[14] See Lutheran Hymnal(complete) - Titles index page (traditionalmusic.co.uk); Johann Sebastian Bach | Hymnary.org and organ (jsbach.org)