The Hooglandse Kerk is already home to an exceptional Van Hagerbeer organ, however the church also wanted a large, English Romantic organ to accompany the choir (which sings much English choral repertoire) and to contribute to the promotion of Leiden as the "City of organs".
In
1991 St. Mark's Church, Claughton, Birkenhead closed and the 1892 Father Willis organ was rescued - even as the building was being demolished - by The Scottish Heritage Organs Trust following which it was put into storage and until a suitable home could be found. After two changes of storage venues the organ was purchased for use as a house organ and was moved to Holland.
This instrument is a fine example
from the period during which Father Willis brought back much of the timbre of his earlier organs, which had been suppressed through the 1880s subject to the fashions of the day: The reeds in particular are, tonally, extremely well-developed and exhibit
the 'Klang' for which the Company's reeds became well known.
The Father Willis organ has been completely restored, retaining all of the original pipework, soundboards and actions (Great & Swell actions being an early form of the 1889-Patent 'Willis Lever').The original files detailing the history of this organ shew that the specification was somewhat restricted in 1892 by financial constraints at the time which explains the
absence of a Voix Céleste and the prepared for Pedal Ophicleide: in order to address these omissions, additions to the instrument - made along standard Willis lines of the day include a new 16ft Double Open Diapason to the Great organ, a new 32ft Double Open Wood (downward extension of the original 16ft Open Wood) and a new 16ft Double Trumpet to the Great, which is also made available on the Pedal organ as a 'Trombone' in the absence of an independent Pedal reed.
The Specification of the organ is now as follows;
(Tuning: Equal Temperament - Willis Scale) Pitch: C=523Hz @ 60°F
CHOIR
Claribel Flute 8
Viola da Gamba
8
Dulciana 8
Flûte Harmonique
4
Piccolo Harmonique 2
Corno di Bassetto 8
Swell
to Choir
GREAT
Double Open Diapason 16
Bourdon 16
Open Diapason No:1
8
Open Diapason No:2 8
Hohl Flute
8
Principal 4
Twelfth
2.2/3
Fifteenth
2
Mixture
3rks
Double Trumpet 16
Trumpet
8
Clarion
4
Swell to Great
The Soundboards are stripped down in our factory
Where the Soundboards are split they are pegged and screwed
The Great Reeds Soundboard has been
badly water damaged while being stored in Holland
Buckram and Pallet Pins are applied
The Bearers are papered and the Slides & Upperboards are fitted
A Pedal Chest Action
New Valves being fitted to
the Gt. Reeds Chest
Making ribbed Pulldown Motors
Polished Upperboards
The finished
Soundboards
The Bellows are stripped, the splits are repaired
and the internal controls are remade
The ribs are taped and leathered
Nearing completion
The trackering was home-made of incorrect materials
much of which had been broken
All Trackers and Stickers have been made new
The Drawstop Mechanism had been crudely altered and broken in many places
The rods have now been re-made where they were beyond repair
The Drawstop Square Beams were broken
and split beyond repair
These have had to be made new and were designed
so each square can be removed independently
The Drawstop mechanism is re-assembled
Boards of Douglas Fir are cut for making
the 32-foot Double Open Wood
Timber is milled for the building frame
of the Double Open Wood
The Building Frame is then laid out horizontally on the floor
The timber for the chest is milled and slowly it takes shape
The Chest is attached to the Building Frame
and the pipes are offered up to it
Pipe Cleats
Pipe Feet
Tuners
Ears being fitted
The Chest and Frame
being built up vertically
Two Chests: One for the
bottom notes of the
Double Open Wood and
one for the top notes
of the Double Open Diapason
The Conveyances were badly damaged and many were missing
Seventy-five percent of the Conveyances
have had to be made new
Some pipework had been lost so replacements have to be made
The entire side front of pipes (Pedal Violone) had been
badly stored in Holland so every pipe had to be
completely cut apart and re-made
The surviving pneumatic tubing had been crushed flat in storage and much had also been replaced with oversized plastic hose.
The tubing for the Swell to Great Coupler and the Derivation Machines has therefore all now been made new
The Keyboards had been badly stored in Holland causing the
key bodies to warp and to lose their ivories
The Keys are restored and the Pedalboard is re-pieced
A new Ground Frame has been manufactured
The Swell Box shutter front was incomplete
so a new stile was manufactured
The organ begins to take shape in the Number Two Building Hall
Soudboards on the
Building Frame
Pipework on the
Soundboards
The container is loaded for shipping to Holland
The organ parts are laid out in the church
Installation of the organ begins in Holland
The Frame for the Double Open Wood is built up
Top of the new Great
Double Trumpet and
Double Open Diapason
The new front case and Façade is erected
The completed instrument
