The team and Manders Organ Restoration have been hard at work and using their skill to carefully deconstruct the organ piece by piece. Manders established in 1936 are a small team of highly skilled technical experts in their field.

Their staff include skilled craftsmen in cabinet making, organ case design, mechanical, pneumatic and electric organ action, leatherwork, tuning and voicing, as well as project management skills. They run an organ apprentice scheme, ensuring the skills are passed onto the next generation, so the the organ heritage can continue to be supported and maintained well into the future.

The work has been on going for a number of weeks now in the Chapel, the largest pipes will be cleaned in situ and all of the smaller pipes and other organ parts have been carefully dismantled, packaged and taken to the fully equipped Manders Organ Workshop (pictured below) for a full and thorough cleaning and repair before the team return it all and skilfully reassemble it.  Find out more here: mander-organs.com/

Manders Workshop

Michael Keays director of Manders Organ Builders shared some photos of the work that his team are doing to restore the Chapel organ. 

Work is well underway with the Christs Hospital Chapel organ.
The photos in the gallery below show the following:

• The new bellows  as constructed (prior to leathering), together with re-leathered concussions (which stabilise the wind in the organ when large chords are played with full organ – without them, the pitch would wobble all over the place!)
• soundboards and chests restored (new chest magnets)
• new note pallets (which admit wind into each pipe as required)
• motors re-leathered (the small square items) which work with the magnets to open and close the note pallets.