When the organ was removed from the Plymouth building it was loaded into trucks and driven all the way to Blackheath Halls, its new home. The console however is not currently at Blackheath and is in store in West London so as to make its restoration easier.

The restoration will include the following processes:

  • Re-leather, clean, repair as necessary, rewire and polish all pipe chests
  • Have any damaged pipes professionally repaired
  • Releather all traps bellows
  • Recondition the tuned percussion
  • Restore the Melotone unit
  • Clean, repair as necessary all other components such as regulators
  • Recondition the blower
  • Strip the console of old paint
  • Strip all old wiring from the console
  • Install Opus-Two digital control system to the console and chests
  • Redesign the side panels of the organ and construct the design onto the console


So far the console has been dismantled and cleaned and paint stripping has started. The new control system has been specified and the parts ordered ready for installation very soon. Two chests have been de-wired, cleaned and treated with Danish oil, designs for the new console sides have been drawn up and a lot of planning has been undertaken.

The new control system is a digital scanning type with high-speed data link between console and pipe chests. The system features state-of-the-art Hall Effect sensors instead of conventional key and pedal contacts. These ensure accurate, clean key switching, requiring no mainentance, do not deteriorate and cater for first and second touch on manuals and pedals. The system will be able to allow for numerous banks of piston memories, data recording of all notes and stop movements, MIDI output and transposing.

Click on the pics below for a larger view
The console carcase
De-wiring stops
The keyboards
Inside a cleaned chest
Two cleaned and polished chests
John Leeming working on the Melotone

Console design ideas:
Modified design 1
Design 1