Organ Page

Early information about musical matters at the church dates from 1870. Mr. J. Whiteman came from Brighton to be Headmaster of the Church of England School. He was offered the position of Church Organist and Choirmaster.

An old print of the church shows a gallery across the whole width of the church under the tower and the original organ was in the centre of this gallery. The choir was seated on both sides and in front of the organ.

In a booklet on sale in the church (from which many details have been taken for this web page) has in it an extract from Rex Whiteman's memories of the organ. Rex was the son of the organist and he was also the organ blower.

At the turn of the (19th) century several restorations and repairs were taking place in the church. The choir was moved to its present position in the Chancel, but the organ was in too poor a condition and was scrapped. The new organ was positioned where it is today, the Lady Chapel having been restored in 1894 and the arches opened up between the Chapel and the Chancel. The organ is near the choir and does not interfere with the view of the interior of the church from the West end. However, a lot of sound is cut off from the Nave and the instrument is best heard from the Chancel. TOP

So the present organ started life as a 2-manual in 1898 at a cost of £448 -16s - 6d. It was supplied by Messrs Wordsworth of Leeds and was tracker and hand blown. Mr. J. Whiteman died in 1906 and an inscription records that the organ lights were given in his memory by the family.

Mr. Brading became the next organist and he gave many recitals on the instrument. It was a great loss when he died in the 'flu epidemic of 1918. During his time the Choir Organ was added (1912) largely made possible by the Rev C.H. Maunsell, Rector of Thorpe Malsor, who left the sum of £1000 in November 1911 to finance it. [See details of the 1912 organ]. A brass plaque on the organ says:-

After the death of Mr. Brading, Mr. Bloodworth was appointed (1919). So high were the musical standards at Rothwell, that it was chosen to become the centre of the Diocesan Music Festivals and choristers from miles aorund gathered to sing at them. In 1932 Mr. Tom Buckby became the new organist when Mr. Bloodworth retired to the South of England. TOP

During the 1930s more improvements were made. The Choir Organ was pneumatic action and very sluggish. When coupled to the Great Organ there was a definite "following" effect [In 2002 this is once again the case!] So, by 1941 the whole instrument had been cleaned and overhauled with the Choir action altered to high wind pressure. The Clarinet was removed from the Great to the Choir and the Trumpet put in its place.

Another improvement during the 20th century, was the advent of electric light in the church to replace gas. It was thus decided that an electric blower should replace the hand-operated one. However there were problems at first. The motor whined when first turned on and the chamber in which it was placed outside the North door was very damp. By 1937, three motors had burnt out and it was decided to sink a chamber at the foot of the steps inside the front door. A 4th motor and a new fan were installed by Mr. Taylor of Leicester and these are still in use. TOP

During the was the choir fell on hard times but Mr Buckby gave 45 minutes organ recitals every Sunday evening. Mrs. Capps (daughter of Mr. J Whiteman) had been deputy organist for a long period so that, by 1964 when Mr Buckby retired, an unbroken family connection of 94 years had been completed.

The organists listed above and those who followed are shown in the list below. But what of the organ?

By 1969 the organ was in a sorry state again in particular the Choir soundboard. Many pipes were dirty and their speech was affected. The pedal board was still a straight one! Schemes to move or scrap the organ were rejected. Malcolm Spink, of Claypoles of Leeds, drew up a scheme to improve the organ in several stages.

Stage one of the scheme was completed by August 1970 at a cost of £585. The Swell Voix Celeste was replaced by a Tierce 1 3/5' the idea being to give a 4 rank mixture effect. The Choir soundboard was rectified and the Dulciana was replaced with a Dolce 4'. The Choir Clarinet was replaced by a Nazard 2 2/3' and Gamba 8' and Harmonic Flute 2', on the same manual, were revoiced. All new pipework was of spotted metal. The Swell Cornopean and Oboe were revoiced at the factory. The organ was cleaned. TOP

In 1972 further work was possible partly as a result of a gift from Marjory Osborn Cade of Johannesberg, South Africa, in memory of the Osborn family. A rediating pedalboard was fitted and the pedal action was electrified with solid state components. The original 3 stops (Bourdon 16', Bass Flute 8' and Open Diapason 16') yielded six more by derivation (see specification) and they are controlled by nine stop tabs on the left of the console. When the Swell or Great mechanical composition (combination) pedals are activated, pre-set combinations for the pedals are also activated. These can be adjusted, manually, by the setter board just to the left of the console. This work cost £1,400.

Organists of Holy Trinity Rothwell

1870 - 1906	Mr. J. Whiteman
1906 - 1918	Mr. ?. Brading
1919 - 1932	Mr. ?. Bloodworth
1932 - 1964	Mr. T. Buckby (Grandson of Mr. J. Whiteman Mrs Capps (daughter of Mr. J. Whiteman was deputy)
1964 - 1966	Mr Maurice Till FRCO
1966 - 1968	Mr. John Witchell
1968 - 1969	Mr. Cecil Turner FRCO
1969 - 2000	Mr. Anthony Hounsome CT, FVCM (Hons) FCV, Hon VCM
2000 - 2002	Mr. Richard Haynes
2002 - 2005	Mr. Colin Ashworth BA BSc FRCO FLCM
2005 - Present	Mr. Norman Austin

My family joined the congregation at Holy Trinity in November 2000 and I first played the organ a handful of times as a deputy. I greatly enjoyed Richard Haynes' playing and I can vouch for the fact that the tone of the organ is very fine; certainly cathedral-like. In the body of the church the organ volume is tastefully reinforced by the church sound system, but this does not offend the ear and is somewhat necessary as the pipes are not in the best position.

The console is a bit of a brute as all the Swell and Great Stops are over the Swell keys, rather like a harmonium. The Choir manual is not worth using. It sounds dreadful and speaks late. The Great keys are seriously worn although one soon gets used to this. The action is very sensitive but not in too unkind a manner; it makes one concentrate! When the couplers are used the action weight increases but a seasoned organist will not find it unduly heavy. Still, Widor's Toccata would need one to avoid the Sub- and Super- Octaves as the Swell to Great alone required a firm touch.

The console is at the East end of the instrument a long way from where the Sunday morning services actually take place. The Swell manual sounds loud at the console and the general balance of Great and Swell is not easy to hear. Nevertheless, the stops all sound as they should and, having heard the organ from the body of the church for over a year I feel I know what it is going to sound like. TOP

I played for my first 'official' service on July 7th 2002 and I did quite a bit of practice to get used to the organ. It was not long before I really fell in love with the instrument. The Swell Tierce is really useful in Chorale Preludes, although it is a shame that one only has the Great soft 8' stops for the left hand accompaniment. There are pieces which I really will have to learn because they suit the organ so well. On the other hand, I have been unable to find a satisfactory registration for Bach's "Jesu Joy" and I shall need some ears away from the console. The lack of a Celeste stop means that the 'cathedral' atmospherics of say, Howells' D flat Rhapsody are missing, but this is a small price to pay for what the organ has to offer.

The biggest challenge to any visiting organist (and I still make mistakes) is coping with the manual and pedal couplers which are placed in the keyslips between the manuals. Each 'stop' has an on and off button like a piston, but they actually move the action directly. They can only be operated when one is not playing. It is possible to add, say, the Swell octave if one is quite deliberate with phrases endings. In fact, it makes one a more thoughtful player. TOP

The organ is tuned only about once a year and holds its tuning extremely well. The reeds are a joy. The Swell 8' and 4' flute are simply splendid. The Swell pedal is in an awkward place but one does not need to use it that much. The pedal department is heavy and I have adjusted the pistons to bring on the minimum amount of pedal. There is a Quint 10 2/3 which provides acoustic 32' sound with the Bourdon 16' or the Open Diapason 16'. The 32' Harmonic Bass (created from the Open Diapason) is a stop to use with reserve.

All in all, I am lucky to be custodian of such a fine instrument. A rebuild is planned and this site will be updated when more is known.

UPDATE: I became Director of Music at Maidwell Hall in 2005 and I still play at Rothwell from time to time.

This web page was inspired by the short historical booklet available in church, written in 1995 by Tony Hounsome.

The photopraphs were taken by Colin Ashworth using a digital camera borrowed from Chris Stephenson, who is web master for the church.

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The Organs & Organists of Holy Trinity Rothwell

Organists of Holy Trinity Rothwell