Wells-Kennedy Partnership - Organs Rebuilt and Restored
1st Non-subscribing Presbyterian Church, Newry, Co. Down - 1979
Manual Compass: CC - f 54 notes
Pedal Compass: CCC - F 30 notes
Great
| 1. | Open Diapason | 8 | 1806, Lowest 8 pipes by Robson GG to Tenor A# in the case |
| 2. | Stopped Diapason | 8 | 1806, Stopped wood CC to Tenor B, stopped metal with chimney from middle c to top |
| 3. | Viol di Gamba | 8 | 1870, Transposed from 4' to 8' in 1979, shares bottom octave of Stop. Diap. |
| 4. | Principal | 4 | 1806 |
| 5. | Twelfth | 2 2/3 | 19th century pipes, added in 1979 |
| 6. | Fifteenth | 2 | 1806 |
| 7. | Mixture | III | 1979 |
Swell (enclosed)
| 8. | Double Diapason T.C. | 16 | 1806 middle f to top f, metal, 1857 Tenor C to mid e, stopped wood |
| 9. | Open Diapason | 8 | 1854, bottom octave ex Choir Stopped Diapason 1806 |
| 10. | Stopped Diapason | 8 | 1806, Shares bottom octave with Open Diapason, mid c to top f stopped metal with no chimney |
| 11. | Principal | 4 | much earlier than the other stops but included in 1806 organ |
| 12. | Flute T.C. | 4 | 1806 Stopped wood |
| 13. | Fifteenth | 2 | 1857 Robson, or possibly Dawes 1854, new bottom octave 1979 |
| 14. | Trumpet | 8 | 1857 Robson Cornopean, new bottom octave |
| 15. | Octave Hautboy | 4 | 1806 pipes transposed one octave down in 1979, new top octave 1979 |
Pedal
| 16. | Subbass | 16 | 1979 stopped wood |
| 17. | Bass Flute | 8 | 1979 stopped wood |
| 18. | Fifteenth | 4 | 1979 metal |
| 19. | Fagot | 16 | 1979 |
Couplers
Swell to Great
Swell to Pedal
Great to Pedal
Wind Pressure
Great 2 1/2"
Swell 2 1/2"
Pedal 3 1/2"
| Date | Builder | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 1806 | Stephen White, London | Built for Second NS Presbyterian Church, Rosemary Street, Belfast |
| 1837 | Bewsher & Fleetwood, Liverpool | Carried out repairs for 40 pounds |
| 1854 | Albert Dawes (organist) & Bevington, London | Further repairs and alterations |
| 1857 | Robson, London | Rebuilt, changed to C compass |
| 1862 | ? | Choir Stopped Diapason slide divided |
| 1870 | ? | Tonal alterations by anonymous builder |
| 1898 | W Field, Belfast | Installed in All Souls NS Presbyterian Church, Elmwood Ave, Belfast |
| 1929 | William Barr, Belfast | Installed in Newry |
| 1953 | Mr. W. Dilley, Thomas Street, Portadown | Removed 1806 Choir organ |
| 1976-79 | Wells-Kennedy Partnership, Lisburn | Rebuilt |
In November 1972 the servicing of the organ was placed in the hands of the Wells-Kennedy Partnership who found it in a sorry state. The question of rebuilding the organ was mooted in 1976 and due to the good offices of Mr Robert Mitchell J. P. various schemes for rebuilding with electric action were rejected and the contract placed with the Wells-Kennedy Partnership. They proposed to restore the organ as it stood, retaining all the pipework except the Pedal Open Wood 16' which took up a great deal of space. The area vacated allowed for a new Pedal soundboard of 4 stops and for the Swell compass to be extended from Tenor C to Bottom C, which was very important musically, bearing in mind the loss of the full compass Choir.
The building frame, casework and drawstop action were retained and new drawstops were made in the style of Thomas Robson from an original kindly lent by Kilrea Parish Church. The keyframes were copied from the originals and the new keys have moulded boxwood fronts in the early 19th century style. The building frame of the Choir Organ has been retained and the old brass department labels have been 'let in' to the new stop-jamb faciers. The casework has been cleaned down and repolished and the damaged carving and missing finials replaced. New pipe feet have replaced ones that had collapsed and the case pipes have been painted with 21 carat best gold leaf.
Tonally the organ has not undergone any major change except that the Viol di Gamba is now at 8' pitch. The new Mixture is not of the old design of the original and it was not thought feasible to restore the Trumpet to the Great Organ On account of the cramped conditions. The old Swell Oboe 8' has been revoiced as an Octave Hautboy 4', which assists the reed chorus by adding a small degree of brilliance.
It is amazing that this much travelled organ should have such an abundance of old pipework. One stop, the Swell Principal 4' seems to be very much earlier than the rest. From its tin content and style of construction it could be attributed to Renatus Harris (1650-1724). The old pipework in the organ is very mild in character, finely nicked and constructed of thin metal. Thus, it is unlikely to be by Snetzler but is consistent with the work of George Pike England.