ORGAN NOTES
The organ is an original “Father Willis”, built by Henry Willis I. It was installed in memory of the 5th Earl Fitzwilliam as an integral part of the present magnificent Church in 1877. The organ retains most of the original actions and is faithful to the “Voice of the Maker”. It represents the finest work of Willis and is therefore of considerable historic interest.
The only significant repair work which was undertaken to date was the replacement in 1980 of worn-out wooden tracker action with a modern lightweight aluminium action. Some pipe restoration work took place.
The first major work undertaken in more than 130 years started in January 2009 and is being undertaken by Willis of Liverpool, the traditional organ builders now under new ownership. This had to be done because the bellows, which normally last only 80 years before requiring replacement, had virtually disintegrated and the leather had degraded to the point where it was more fragile than rice paper. The opportunity was taken to repair the pipes and replace where necessary : other work is also being undertaken, such as replacement of the tracker rods. However, a key feature of the work is that it is being restored as far as practically possible to the original specification, so that it can be said that Wentworth Church has to all intents and purposes a traditional Father Willis organ.
The work is now almost complete.
The organ is two manual with pedals and consists of the following:
| GREAT
56 notes C to G Bourdon 16’ Open Diapason 8’ Viola da Gamba 8’ Dulciana 8’ Claribel Flute 8’ Principal 4’ Flute Harmonique 4’ Fifteeth 2’ Trumpet 8’ Clarinet 8’ |
SWELL
56 notes C to G Lieblich gedakt 8’ Open Diapason 8’ Vox Angelica 8’ Salicional 8’ Gemshorn 8’ Hautboy 8’ Tremulant
|
| PEDALS
30 notes C to F Violone 16’ Open Diapason 16’ |
COUPLES
Swell to Great Swell to Pedals Great to Pedals 3 Combination Pedals on Great Batching Swell Pedal |
