Organ History

.


The first pipe organ installed in the church was a small single manual instrument, which was positioned in a purpose built alcove in the west gallery. From this gallery the church choir also sang.
In the mid 1960’s the single manual organ was removed in favour of a larger 2 manual instrument built by Cowin of Liverpool utilising second hand parts from other redundant organs available at the time. This instrument was again installed in the West Gallery and a detached console was positioned in the chancel. The choir also moved to the current choir stalls which originally were the Bodelwyddan Castle family seats.

By 2017, and after over 50 years service, the Cowin organ required restoration and costly repairs, so it was decided to have the organ removed and replaced with a modern up to date Allen digital instrument. This instrument is extremely versatile and is in regular use for all church services, weddings, funerals and concerts.

When the old Cowin organ was removed from the West Gallery, the space of the first original small single manual pipe organ again became available, and in 2019, a similar instrument to the original was found in a redundant Baptist Chapel at Cowling Hill, Yorkshire. This historic organ was built in 1851 by John Laycock of Glusburn, Yorkshire, and one of his earliest known examples. This beautiful organ is now sympathetically restored and installed in the West Gallery and will be used for concerts and occasional church services.