History

The organ was built by William Hill & Son, most probably in 1867-8, for St. Bees Priory, where it was located at the west end. It was cleaned around 1880 but remained unaltered. Although a fine example of Hill's work, it was rather modest in size for the Priory and, in 1896, the decision was made to replace it with the 'Father' Willis instrument which remains justifiably famous to this day. The Hill organ was moved to Seascale in 1897, apparently with no more modification than the loss of two inches from the top of an ornamental pillar on the front-left of the case. It was placed in an alcove to the south of the chancel.

In 1927 the church authorities agreed a programme of refurbishment. Quotations were obtained from Norman & Beard, Gray & Davison, and Harrison & Harrison. Evidently they were somewhat bewildered by conflicting advice and turned to Colonel George Dixon for help.

Dixon was a local organ enthusiast who, together with Francis Livesey, had been responsible for the installation of the Willis organ at St. Bees, and had since become a close friend of Arthur Harrison and an acknowledged authority on organ design. Harrisons's were chosen to undertake the work and, from letters in their archives, it is clear that Dixon had a major role in the redesign. Referring to the instrument before it left St. Bees, he wrote "Like most of the organs of the period, the louder combinations were harsh, owing to the disproportionate upper work and raucous reeds. The diapasons and softer stops were, however, not unpleasing." To be fair, it must be noted that Dixon was not an admirer of Hill's work, and his opinions may not have been shared by all. However, the rebuilding gave him the opportunity to reinterpret the instrument to suit contemporary style.

The Great Trumpet was scrapped, being considered "poor and not worth retaining". The Great three-rank mixture was also removed, but the tierce rank, with the necessary new pipes for the bass, was used to provide a Fifteenth for the Swell (which had been prepared for in the original specification). The treble of the Swell Bourdon was moved to the Trumpet slide of the Great, and thirty bass pipes were placed on a new soundboard behind the Swell for use as a soft pedal stop. A new Double Clarinet to Tenor C, (a favourite of Dixon's), replaced the Bourdon on the Swell, and the two existing reeds were revoiced. The final (and current) specification had a total of eighteen stops.

At the same time, Harrison's also installed a radiating and concave pedal board with tubular pneumatic action, refurbished the manual action but retained the original design, and remade the composition pedal action. A design was also submitted for a new west front for the case to improve its appearance, but this became superfluous when it was hidden by the creation of a Lady Chapel in the south aisle. The work cost a total of £400. Dixon was clearly satisfied with the results and reported it to be "... a serviceable, effective and well-balanced two-manual instrument."

Apart from routine cleaning and tuning, the installation of an electric blower, and essential repairs to the pedal board in 1972, no further changes were made.

In 1999 the organ's condition was deteriorating and the Parish Church Council approved an ambitious refurbishment programme that eventually cost in excess of £50,000. Initial enquiries resulted in the award of a Historic Organs Certificate by the British Institute of Organ Studies. Only 400 to 500 organs, out of an estimated 40,000 in the UK, are expected to be deserving of this certificate, which confirms the importance of its musical and technical qualities. It was therefore essential to ensure the restoration work was carried out in accordance with authentic historical principles, using original techniques and materials wherever practical.

The contract was awarded to Harrison & Harrison and the work was completed in 2001. This included thorough cleaning of all the pipes, replacement of rusty tuning slides, complete overhaul of the bellows and soundboards, complete overhaul of all action, and cleaning and adjustment of the console. In addition to the work on the organ itself, significant work was undertaken on the case and the organ chamber under the direction of Peter Maitland Hood, a professional conservator.

by Samuel Carradice