- 1889: First moves
- 1890: Organ moved to Deopham
- Department and stop list:
- 1967: Electric blower
- 1979: Restoration needed
- Notes
1889: First moves
On October 29th 1889, the vicar’s daughter, Grace Wanklyn, wrote to the Ecclesiastical Commissioners asking them to support her fundraising to purchase an organ. She writes that the existing harmonium is “old and small and not nearly sufficient to fill so large a building”.
The Ecclesiastical Commissioners thanked her for her letter, but explained that “it is not the practice of the Commissioners to contribute towards the provision of organs in Parish Churches”.
Their father, the Rev. Hibbert Wanklyn, then followed up with a lengthy letter of his own on February 5th 1890. He explained how up to that point they had been concentrating on “putting our grand old Church into fairly sound and weather-tight structural repair”. That done, they were now turning their attention to the “more effective conduct of the Sacred yet simple Services therein”. He says that his wife and daughters have taken great pains with the choir, which is now a “very respectable one for a small country Parish”.
His daughters had been raising funds by the sale of their “painted things” which had realised £42. He continued that he had a friend who was Precentor of Rochester who had offered to inspect a couple of potential instruments.
Wanklyn concludes that if the Ecclesiastical Commissioners fail to respond positively, all in the parish “will be most grievously disappointed but I sincerely trust that this will not be the case”.
There is no record of the response to this appeal.
1890: Organ moved to Deopham
The organ now located in Deopham church was built in 1885 for Christ Church, Summerfield in the West Midlands.
It was transferred to Deopham in 1890 when Summerfield Church acquired a much larger instrument, also built by Nicholsons.1
Photo: Oosoom,
English Wikipedia
Photo: G. Sankey, April 2023
Photo: G. Sankey, April 2023
At some stage, possibly when the organ was moved to Deopham, the original Nicholson nameplate was covered with a plainer version that was screwed over the top of the original. The first version remains intact behind the Nicholson & Co plate. The title Nicholson & Co was used from 1888-1933.
Photos: G. Sankey, August 2014
Department and stop list:
| Stop No | Stop name | Length of longest pipe (ft) |
|---|---|---|
| Pedal | Key action: Tracker; Stop action: Mechanical | |
| 1 | Bourdon | 16 |
| Manual | Key action: Tracker; Stop action: Mechanical | |
| 2 | Open Diapason | 8 |
| 3 | Violin Diapason | 8 |
| 4 | Stopt Diapason Treble | 8 |
| 5 | Stopt Diapason Bass | 8 |
| 6 | Viola da Gamba | 8 |
| 7 | Principal | 4 |
| 8 | Flute | 4 |
| 9 | Fifteenth | 2 |
Photos: G. Sankey, April 2023
Photo: G. Sankey, April 2023
1967: Electric blower
The PCC minutes of December 8th 1967 record the first move towards the installation of an electric blower on the organ; electricity had been installed in the church in 1961:
Reproduced with permission from Deopham Church.
The minutes of April 26th 1968 record that the vicar, the Rev. Henharen, thanked Mr. A. Downes for his regular help as organist and “Andrew Mickleborough who donated his fees towards the mechanical blower to the organ which has been installed.”
1979: Restoration needed
The PCC minutes of May 13th 1979 record that the organ was in need of significant restoration work:
Al extracts from PCC minutes reproduced with permission from Deopham Church
Notes
- Source: National Pipe Organ Register
https://www.npor.org.uk/survey/N06216 (Deopham)
https://www.npor.org.uk/survey/N07298 (Replacement organ at Summerfield) ↩︎
| Date | Change |
|---|---|
| 1/12/23 | 1980 restoration |
| 28/11/23 | Wanklyn correspondence; Installation of electric blower; 1976 restoration minute |
| 20/4/23 | Published |
Deopham History 