Wells-Kennedy Partnership - Organs Rebuilt and Restored

Presbyterian Assembly Hall, Church House, Belfast - 1984

Great

1.	Double Diapason	16
2.	Open Diapason No. 1	8
3.	Open Diapason No. 2	8
4.	Bourdon	8
5.	Principal	4
6.	Flute Harmonique	4
7.	Twelfth	2 2/3
8.	Fifteenth	2
9.	Seventeenth	1 3/5
10.	Mixture 19.22.26.29	IV-V rks
11.	Trumpet Marcial	8
	Tremulant

Swell (Enclosed)

12.	Geigen Principal	8
13.	Cor de Nuit	8
14.	Salicional	8
15.	Voix Celestes	8
16.	Geigen Principal	4
17.	Gemshorn	2
18.	Mixture 22.26.29.33	IV rks
19.	Cremona	8
	Tremulant
20.	Contra Fagotto	16
21.	Trumpet	8
22.	Clarion	4

Pedal

23.	Open Diapason	16
24.	Great Bass	16
25.	Sub Bass	16
26.	Quint	10 2/3
27.	Octave	8
28.	Bass Flute	8
29.	Superoctave	4
30.	Stopped Flute	4
31.	Mixture 19.22.26.29	IV rks
32.	Trombone	16
33.	Trumpet	8

Couplers
Swell Octave
Swell to Great
Swell to Pedal
Swell Octave to Pedal
Great to Pedal
Great to Pedal combinations
Swell to Pedal combinations

Transfers
Swell Chorus Reeds on Pedal
Great Trumpet on Swell
Generals on Swell toe pistons

Accessories
6 thumb pistons to Great
6 thumb pistons to Swell (duplicated by toe pistons)
6 toe pistons to Pedal
6 General thumb pistons
3 reversible thumb pistons to Sw/Gt, Sw/Ped, Gt/Ped (duplicated by toes)
1 reversible thumb piston to Great Trumpet transfer
1 General Cancel thumb piston
Digital memory level selector, lockable - 64 levels
Balanced Swell Pedal

1,964 pipes

Builder: Lewis & Co, London 1906
Rebuilt: Wells-Kennedy Partnership Ltd, Lisburn, 1984
Reinstalled: Wells-Kennedy Partnership Ltd, Lisburn, 1993

The Memorial Organ was built by the respected London firm of Lewis & Co in 1906. It consisted of 34 speaking stops playable over 3 manuals and pedals by tubular pneumatic action from a detached console situated on the platform below the organ loft. The instrument was inaugurated on 19th April 1906 by Alfred Hollins, the well known blind organist of St George's West Church in Edinburgh, a champion of the work of the Lewis firm and who had associations with other organs in Belfast at this period.

Comparison could be drawn with the organ in 1st Presbyterian Church, Rosemary Street, built one year later by the same firm, and to the present day in almost exactly original condition. Continuing the philosophy of its founder, T.C. Lewis, the firm was noted for excellence in tonal design, quality of materials and solidity of construction. Ease of access for maintenance and tuning was not however a strong point, leading to inherent frustration at occasional mechanical breakdown. In contrast the Assembly Hall instrument has in the course of subsequent years undergone a number of modifications including replacement of the original console, partial conversion to electro pneumatic action and unrelated alterations to the tonal specification. Its fate was finally sealed in 1981 when as a result of bomb damage to the Hall the organ suffered a major ingress of water and was rendered completely unplayable.

During subsequent deliberations a number of options were considered viz. restoration to the 1906 specification, reinstatement in its existing state, replacement with a refurbished second-hand instrument or reconstruction within economic constraints to maximise musical effectiveness and long-term reliability. On the basis of the circumstantial reduction in use of the Hall in preceding years it was felt that unlimited expenditure could not be justified, as a result of which the latter option was adopted. As the soundboards and mechanism of the organ had been damaged beyond reliable economic repair, the main surviving asset was the high quality Lewis pipework. It was realised this was an investment which could not be lightly discarded.

A proposal drawn up by the Wells-Kennedy Partnership, Organ Builders and Consultants of Lisburn, involved rationalising the instrument into a comprehensive 2-manual and pedal scheme based on a reworking of the bulk of the original pipework judiciously supplemented by new upperwork in order to develop a complete chorus structure and enhance the instrument's effectiveness for the accompaniment of large congregations as well as a musical instrument in its own right. At this time new slider soundboards were built for both manual divisions together with multi-stage electro-pneumatic action, the wind system revised and a new electric blowing plant installed. The console was refitted and sited at first gallery level to allow the player to hear the instrument to better advantage. The organ was brought back into use at the General Assembly in June 1984, Mr Stephen Hamill organist of Cooke Centenary Church presiding. The Swell Clarion 4', for which provision had been made, was subsequently added in 1986 by the Firm's senior partner Mr C J Gordon-Wells in memory of his late wife.

Following the General Assembly in 1990 the organ was dismantled and removed to store prior to commencement of the Church House redevelopment project. Although a straightforward reinstatement was planned following completion of the main building contract in 1992, certain structural alterations and changes in layout proved necessary to take account of the need to raise the level of the loft by some 18 inches from its original position. In the long term this is unlikely to prove detrimental but has involved further ingenuity on the part of the Organ Builders in order to circumvent the difficulties encountered. The mobility of the organ console came under discussion in recognition of the need to provide maximum flexibility for the instrument's use. As a result the opportunity was taken to provide a multiplex transmission system which allows a single plug-in cable link between the console and organ loft, rather than the heavy multicore cables used previously. At the same time the console has been further upgraded and fitted with a new multi channel piston combination capture system.

In conjunction with the effective and farsighted re-development of Church House, the Cuthbert Memorial Organ in the Assembly Hall now ranks as one of the most comprehensively equipped and effective instruments for its size in the City.

DHMcE 02.93