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The Organ (On the right, one of our excellent regular organists: Mr Peter Almond) |
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The present organ in St Swithun’s Church, Hither Green was built by Peter Conacher of Huddersfield, however, it did not begin life here. Sometime during the nineteenth century the organ was originally installed at Blenheim Palace in Oxfordshire, home of the Duke of Marlborough. In 1891 a larger organ was built for Blenheim, by Father Willis (of Henry Willis and Sons of London); this new organ had four manuals and pedals, with seventy stops – huge for a private residence! It was probably two years later that the Conacher organ was installed in St. Swithun’s by Father Willis. It was installed in the north east of the church (where the pipes are today), and was a three manual instrument, with nine speaking stops on the Great, ten on the Swell and six on the Choir; the Pedal organ had just three stops (which was typical of Conacher) and there were five unison couplers.
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| In 1959 Sidney George Tuddenham, then St
Swithun’s organist, paid £5000 for the rebuilding of the instrument. This
amounted to a reworking – and a pruning – of the existing pipework, with the
result that we now have a fine, healthy two-manual organ with some excellent
Solo stops - notably the Basset Horn, the Oboe, and the Tromba.
The Conacher organ is one of the boasts of St Swithun’s and is the envy of many other South London organists.
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SPECIFICATION Great Swell Gedackt 16 Open Diapason 8 Open Diapason 116 Rohr Flute 8 Open Diapason 2 16 Viola da Gamba 8 Stopped Diapason 8 Voix Celeste 8 Dulciana 8 Fugara 4 Principal 4 Comet Mixture 12 15 17 Stopped Flute 4 Contra Oboe 16 Quartane 12 15 Trumpet8 Mixture 17 1922 Basset Horn 8 Tromba 8 Clarion 4 Tremolo Swell/Great 16 Swell Sub Octave 16 Swell/Great Swell Octave 4 Swell/Great 4 Swell Unison Off
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Great+Pedal Combs. coupled
Pedal
Sub Bass 32
Open Bass 16
Bourdon 16
Gedackt 16
Principal 8
Bourdon 8
Bourdon 4
Oboe 16 Great/Pedal
Trombone 16 Swell/Pedal