St Mary the Virgin and All Saints, Potters Bar

The Organ

The original organ was built in 1885 for the old St John the Baptist Church in Potters Bar by Forster and Andrews of Hull. This was a tracker action (mechanical) instrument consisting of two manuals and pedals with a total of 12 speaking stops. The hand-written specification produced by the builders is still in existence and is dated 6 March 1885. It shows that the organ contained a total of 622 pipes and space was left for the addition of an 8 foot pedal stop at a later date. The specification is typical of its period in that very little upper work is included. One interesting feature is that the builders

Open Diapason
Stopped Diapason
Dulciana
(bass from no 2)
Principal
Flauto Traverso
Swell to Great

By the early 1960s the organ was in a parlous state and the firm of Hill, Norman and Beard was entrusted with the work of rebuilding. They used all the original pipework, the Swell Open Diapason being moved to the Great to become the Geigen Diapason, and added a number of new stops. Electro-pneumatic action was installed and a new detached console provided in the north aisle with stop-keys and retracting keyboards. The cost of the work was £4,500, the console being paid for by the Owen family in memory of departed relatives. The rebuilt organ was used for the first time at a special evening service on Sunday 20 October 1963.

wanted to provide a concave, but not radiating, pedal board. However, the organist at the time crossed this out and requested a straight pedal board as was common early in the nineteenth century.

This organ was moved to St Mary’s in 1915, at which time it was still hand-blown. PCC minutes show that plans for an electric blower did not begin until the 1930s.

Original specification: