“Pipe up for pipe organs” event, Broomfield Church Hall

We were delighted that George Allan, Chairman of ‘Pipe Up for Pipe Organs’ (www.pipeup.org.uk), agreed to talk to EOA members in Broomfield Church Hall in November about the somewhat depressing future for pipe organs, in a talk entitled “Getting Disorganised?”. ‘Pipe Up for Pipe Organs’ is a charity set up in 2022, which aims to save pipe organs threatened with destruction. Perhaps the most well-known organ rescued by ‘Pipe Up’ is the Henry Jones organ (known as Henry) which is available for the public to play at London Bridge Station.

George Allan is a retired solicitor and an adult learner of the organ. After many years involvement with building conservation, his passion is now for organ conservation. His excellent talk contained many depressing statistics. For example, in Victorian times there were 43,000 organs, now there are 15,000. 1,280 Anglican churches closed during the 20-year period 1969-1989 and it is estimated that 2,000 churches will close over the next 5 years. But pipe organs are being lost even when churches are not closing. It is estimated that 1,520 churches have organs in urgent need of repair, and a further 6,000 need major repairs. On top of that, it is reckoned that 20% of organ-builders will retire in the next 10 years and won’t be replaced. Longer term projections suggest that half of Britain’s remaining organs could be lost or unplayable by 2040 (i.e. in just 15 years’ time). By 2065 it is possible that there will only be a handful of playable organs (estimated to be 165 instruments) remaining outside of cathedrals, Oxbridge colleges and major parish churches.

Unfortunately, there is no easy solution. One possibility might be to train churchwardens and people with responsibility of the care for church organs as to what can be done to keep their instruments playable. Money is clearly an issue, and George explained how the National Lottery Heritage Fund now rarely provides support for organ projects. The only other thing that can be done, it seems, is to advocate for the organ, by raising public awareness and increasing appreciation of the organ, attracting new audiences and encouraging more people – young people in particular – to take up the organ.

There then followed a very stimulating discussion and refreshments.