Church Organ Appeal

Many visitors and parishioners will have seen or heard the beautiful pipe organ installed in St. Mary's.

This delightful two manual instrument was built by the respected firm of Forster and Andrews of Hull, installed in our church in 1877 and has remained almost untouched ever since, unlike many other Victorian pipe organs which have been moved, modified or replaced in the intervening time. This instrument, considered by many organists and experts to be a shining example of Forster and Andrews’ work has recently been granted Grade II* Historic Organ Listing status, as a particularly fine old building might attract listing to indicate its importance to the nation.

Sadly, after over 140 years without a major rebuild, our pipe organ is now increasingly showing signs of needing a full restoration. A combination of an accumulation of dust and wear means that it is no longer sounding its best

The organ is of sufficient significant historical importance to justify a full sympathetic restoration. Following this work, the church will possess one of the finest pipe organs in the area, which will be appreciated not only by parishioners but also the wider community. Our vision is to end up with an instrument of which the village can be justly proud of but also will attract the interest of professional musicians for recitals and concerts bringing much needed funds for other maintenance projects within the Church building. The instrument will be made available for music teachers and those wishing to learn the instrument and of course parishioners wishing to use the Church for weddings will delight in the quality of the sound on their special day

We are applying for grants from suitable for help towards the organ restoration project, but local fund-raising events will of course also be very important. We hope to invite people of all ages to take an interest in one of Glemsford's heritage assets through programmes to publicise and inform the village of this jewel in its midst.

We would very much appreciate donations to help us with this work. 

We also operate a ‘Sponsor an Organ Pipe’ scheme as well as a Gift Aid scheme which will increase your donation by 25% at no extra cost to you.

For more information, or to sponsor a pipe please contact Andrew Powell telephone 01787 280762