The community at St James’ by the Park, Shirley, were delighted to have their pipe organ back in working order this Christmas, thanks to a couple of committed members of the congregation. The organ had developed a number of significant faults and had been moth-balled last year.
“It would randomly start playing notes in the middle of a funeral,” explained the Revd Dan Clark, vicar of St James’ by the Park church in Shirley, Southampton. “That was no good, so when we wanted an organ sound, we had to rely on an electric keyboard instead.”
When the PCC sought a cost for the repair they were told it would be nearly £30,000; sadly the council concluded it had come to the end of its days. However, two members of the congregation – retired engineer Gordon Cockburn, and semi-retired IBM manager Keith Watson – decided they’d have a go at repairing the organ themselves, even though they had no previous experience working with organs.
However, as it turned out they knew more than they initially thought. “When we saw that the organ was fitted with electronics from a 1980s overhaul – the same sort of technology we’d learned about when we were at university – we got excited because we knew how they worked,” said Gordon. With an occasional video call to a retired professional organ repairer, the pair worked on the organ every week for the next 6 months.
“Gradually we got the electronics working again, repaired a few sticky keys, and introduced the ability to link the organ up to a computer. That means we can potentially use the organ even on a day when we don’t have an organist available,” said Keith.
And the grand total they’ve spent on the repairs? “Under a tenner!” say Gordon and Keith. “We’ve put in a lot of time – but we’ve really enjoyed it. It’s been a cheap hobby!”
Very few people in the congregation knew the organ was even being repaired – so when it thundered out during the closing hymn of a recent service, there was great surprise and a spontaneous round of applause.
Now the church plans to use the organ on a more regular basis again. “Most of our services have band-led worship songs,” explained Dan. “But we will use the organ for our more traditional services and it’s been wonderful to welcoming people from the wider community to hear the organ at our carol services. There’s a reason the organ is sometimes called ‘the king of instruments’ – because it produces a very grand sound. Nothing beats singing ‘Hark the Herald angels sing’ with a full organ!”
