Great efforts are being made to restore the historic 1845 JW Walker barrel and finger organ at St Nicholas Church, Grosmont. It was installed in 1845 by order of the Revd. John George for the sum of £82.00. It is a unique instrument, retaining the original barrel and was given a grade 1 listing by the British Institute of Organ Studies in 2012.
However, it is in need of significant repair, with over leaning pipes inside and an entire frame that shakes when the barrel is played!
In order to restore this beautiful instrument, a series of fundraising concerts and events will be held to ensure it continues to serve our services, weddings and funerals for many years to come.
It began with a wonderful organ recital of music from eight centuries and eight countries on 22nd September by Huw Llewelyn Morgan.
Huw Llewelyn Morgan is a graduate of St Edmund Hall, University of Oxford, where he read music and was organ scholar, and of the Royal Academy of Music. Huw is currently director of the Redland Green Choir and Clifton Singers in Bristol and of Weston Choral Society. Huw is a founder member of Automatronic, a collective that seeks to create, promote and perform new music for organ with electronics.
Through his efforts, £625 has already been raised. Do keep an eye out for future fundraising concerts, or consider donating via the Justgiving page below: