Nearly 4,000 of the Organ’s pipes – along with wind reservoirs, electrical systems and console – have been carefully removed.
Packed into 60 crates, the painstakingly dismantled organ has been transported 300 miles north to the Durham workshop of organ builders, Harrison & Harrison.
Arnold Wills, Chairman of The Friends, said: “The Friends have committed to two-thirds of the total cost and have been lead partners in getting this project initiated. We have a great working relationship with Dean Toby and the whole Cathedral team, and the project is on track to be a magnificent success. Everyone here is behind the project and we have some very special fundraising events planned. I can’t wait to play the organ when it’s returned!”
More needs to be raised in order to complete the project.
Although last rebuilt in the 1970s, when the Friends funded the Organ case, the foundations of the current Grand Organ were established in the 1850s. Records of an organ in Wells Cathedral date back as far as the early 14th century.
The restorers at Harrison & Harrison plan to preserve as much as possible of the organ’s heritage. The company’s Managing Director, Andrew Scott, explained: “We will be making careful use of much of the existing organ’s pipework, while replacing the worn mechanism and making it easier to maintain, alongside introducing some modern playing aids at the console to enhance the instrument’s versatility. Not all the organ’s pipes are to be taken to Durham. For both aesthetic and practical reasons, the largest pipes – which are about five metres in length and visible from the cathedral’s nave – will remain in place to be restored onsite.”
Until Autumn 2027, when the Grand Organ is due to be reinstalled, the cathedral’s organists will be performing on a temporary Viscount Regent 356-D organ. Commenting on the new instrument, Carolyn Craig, Assistant Director of Music at Wells Cathedral, said: “It’s a relief to play an instrument that works, and it’s great fun playing with the many sounds available, but no digital instrument can replace the body and presence of our Grand Organ. We can’t wait to have it back!”
