Maintenance to make Epworth organ one of the finest

A major overhaul of a 19th century church organ in the Isle should hit the right note with the congregation.
By The Newsroom
Published 25th Jan 2015, 07:00 BST
Organists of the church and the organ, pictured (from left) Daniel Fields, Rachel Bollons and Michael Bradbury.Organists of the church and the organ, pictured (from left) Daniel Fields, Rachel Bollons and Michael Bradbury.
Organists of the church and the organ, pictured (from left) Daniel Fields, Rachel Bollons and Michael Bradbury.

The organ at Wesley Memorial Methodist Church in Epworth plays a big part in worship, not only on a weekly basis but also at the numerous weddings, funerals, baptisms and civic events that happen there.

Other than regular tuning, the organ has not received any major maintenance work since 1967 and, throughout the late 2000s, became increasingly unreliable to play.

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A decision was made regarding the future of the 1891 Brindley and Foster instrument that started with discussions between the three church organists – Michael Bradbury, Rachel Bollons and Daniel Fields.

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In April 2014 Aistrup and Hind organ builders of Lincoln were commissioned to overhaul and enlarge the organ and work commenced earlier this month.

Mr Fields said: “The work includes a re-leather of the main bellows, an overhaul of electric and pneumatic systems, a thorough clean of all of the pipe work and wind chests and a small number of new stops in order to enhance the tonal qualities of the organ. Once this work is completed it is hoped that the organ will be one of the finest in North Lincolnshire.”

The work to pull out all the stops will be celebrated with a recital on Friday April 17.

Related topics:Lincoln