Pipework of the Walker organ

The first mention of an organ in All Saints' Church was in 1836 when an organ was presented to the church by Philip Morres, of Matthews Green House (now known as the Cantley House Hotel) and younger brother of the incumbent, Rev. Thomas Morres. Before that, instruments accompanied the singing, as they did in many other churches in England. Canon Bertram Long wrote in 1937, "James Wynn, who died at the Wokingham Infirmary in 1912, aged 90 years, used to say that he turned the hurdy-gurdy in the old Church in his youth." Of another, older, James Wynn he said that, "he was a member of the choir at a time when the accompaniment to the voices was provided by clarionet, bassoon, and bass viol."

After restoration work on the church in 1864 it was felt that Philip Morres' organ was no longer sufficient and so it was replaced in 1870 by an instrument by Henry Bevington & Sons of Soho, London. No record of this instrument survives apart from the fact that it cost £400.

In 1895 J.W.Walker & Sons were contracted to rebuild and enlarge the Bevington organ though this turned out to be virtually a new organ incorporating only the best bits of the Bevington organ and cost just over £1,000, to which Queen Victoria contributed £10. It had three manuals and 28 speaking stops: the specification may be found here on the National Pipe Organ Register web site.

In 1954, the organ was cleaned and overhauled but by 1965 it was again causing much concern.  The church would have preferred to buy an electronic organ but the Diocesan Organ Adviser would not support this proposal so the organ was renovated, retuned and placed on a platform in the choir vestry with a detached console located in the Lady Chapel. The work was carried out by Alfred E. Davies & Son of Northampton and dedicated by the Bishop of Reading on 7^th December, 1968.

Left stop jamb
(Hover to enlarge)

In 1987 the organ failed completely and this time the church's proposal for a digital electronic instrument received diocesan backing, largely due to the improvement in digital instruments in the intervening years. Several firms were approached but the contract was finally awarded to Messrs. Copeman Hart. According to Ernest Hart, the managing director, this was their first medium-sized instrument and, of course, it generated a lot of interest from all over the country.

The new electronic organ was installed in 1988. Again it is a three manual instrument but with a rather larger specification than the old Walker organ with sixty speaking stops. Two large column speakers either side of the chancel provide most of the sound. There are further speakers for the positive organ housed in the former organ chamber, just behind the old organ pipes. There are two speakers at the west end of the church for the Tuba Mirabilis and Festival Trumpet. Finally there are two massive brick columns, finished to blend in with the decor, to produce the sound for the 32' stops on the pedal organ. The organ console itself is situated in the north aisle, some twenty feet or so from the old organ chamber.

The old pipe organ was removed in the early 1990s apart from the Open Diapason show pipes which can still be seen facing west into the north aisle. The old organ chamber now houses the choir's large music library.

For the specification click here.

The Copeman Hart organ has served the church well for nearly a quarter of a century (about the same length of time that the Bevington organ lasted!) but faults are now beginning to develop which will necessitate a rebuild in the near future.

With acknowledgements to:

LONG, Canon Bertram:  Records of the Parish Church and Parish of Wokingham Berks.
Oxford:  printed at University Press (privately published), 1937

CLEMETSON, John.  The Life of a Parish Church. Wokingham: 
PCC Wokingham All Saints, 1990