The Willis Organ
The organ is situated in the nave on the south side of the chancel arch. It was built in 1880
by Henry “Father” Willis, at a cost of £1000, and is believed to be the oldest Father Willis instrument on the south coast. It is
practically unaltered since his time: electric blowing was added in 1916 and a balanced swell
pedal in 1948. In the 1975 restoration by Noel Mander, steel pins
in the mechanism, which can rust and jam, were replaced with bronze, and the case was partially
gilded by John Wood & Son; the face pipes still bear their original decoration. In 2008, Nicholsons of Worcester replaced the original electric blower, removed and repaired the main wind reservoir whose leather had cracked, and replaced the flexible tubing installed by Mander with hand-crafted soldered solid pipework. The pedalboard was repaired together with parts of the case, the balanced swell re-engineered and adjustments made to the action. Again, no tonal or specification alterations were made and the instrument is just as Willis left it.The curtains visible in the photograph were removed during the cleaning of 1998 and have not been replaced because the sound is improved without them. The picture you can see in the photograph, a reproduction of Dali’s Christ of S John of the Cross, is in memory of a previous organist.
The Organ features in the National Pipe Organ Register
We have a list of music used at Christ Church recently, together with programmes for the Summer Organ Recitals series.
Specification
Two manuals and RCO pedalboard. Great: Barker lever action. Swell and pedals: tracker action.
| Great Organ | Swell Organ | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Double Diapason | 16 | Lieblich Gedact | 16 | ||
| Open Diapason | 8 | Open Diapason | 8 | ||
| Dulciana | 8 | Lieblich Gedact | 8 | ||
| Gamba | 8 | Vox Angelica | 8 | ||
| Claribel Flute | 8 | Salcional | 8 | ||
| Principal | 4 | Gemshorn | 4 | ||
| Flute Harmonique | 4 | Hautboy | 8 | ||
| Twelfth | 3 | (actual 22/3) | Cornopean | 8 | |
| Fifteenth | 2 | ||||
| Mixture III | Couplers | ||||
| Corno di Bassetto | 8 | Great to Pedals, with reversible coupler pedal | |||
| Tromba | 8 | Swell to Pedals | |||
| Swell to Great | |||||
| Pedal Organ | Swell to Great suboctave | ||||
| Open Diapason | 16 | Swell to Great superoctave | |||
| Bourdon | 16 | Four composition pedals on Great and Pedal Organ | |||
| Octave | 8 | Three composition pedals on Swell Organ | |||
Organists
| 1881 | Mr Deane | |
| 1882 | Mr A Boyse | |
| 1883 | C Lawrence MusBac | |
| 1883–1890 | Charles Williams | |
| 1890–1911 | Stephen Sangster | |
| 1911–1923 | J H Venables | |
| 1923–1953 | W H Mills ARCO ATCL | |
| 1953–1967 | Wilfrid Harris | |
| 1967–2004 | Frederick E Ford | |
| 2005– | James L Thomas MA FRCO FTCL |
Text taken from A Short Guide to Christ Church, by F E Ford. Copyright © Christ Church PCC.
