The console

The organ at St. James's Church is a three manual and pedal organ. It is situated in the chancel and contains hundreds of pipes of different sizes. When the organist plays a note on the keyboard, pressurised air travels by means of bellows to a particular pipe. The air vibrates in the pipe, making a sound that may be anything from a high-pitched whistle to a deep, low-pitched note, depending on the size of the pipe - the largest pipe producing the lowest note, and so on. Each organ pipe produces a single pitch so the pipes are arranged in sets called ranks, each of which has a common timbre and volume throughout the keyboard range.

Most organs have multiple ranks of pipes of differing timbre, pitch and loudness that the player can employ singly or in combination through the use of controls called 'stops'.

The 'stops' beside the keyboards control the varieties of tone so that the organ may imitate various musical instruments, both wind and string. The stops have names, like 'diapason', 'vox humana', 'flute', 'celeste'.

The organist uses his hands on the three keyboards, called manuals, and his feet on the pedalboard beneath the keyboard, each of which has its own group of 'stops'. The organ's continuous supply of wind allows it to sustain notes for as long as the corresponding keys are depressed, unlike the piano and harpsichord, the sounds of which begin to decay the longer the keys are held. The smallest portable pipe organs may have only one or two dozen pipes and one manual; the largest may have over 20,000 pipes and seven manuals.

There is a brass plaque on the top of the organ console with the inscription "This organ was reconstructed in 1951 in thanksgiving for the life of Elizabeth Ellen Gorst who died 14th September 1950." A second plaque has the inscription "This organ was rebuilt and extended in 1997 by John Males of Eastbourne. Organist Geoffrey Bower F.R.C.O. M. Mus."

Organ stops

Organ keyboard and pedals

Organ corbel

The miniature computer

Metal and wooden pipes

Members of St. James's congregation and visitors to the church will probably be familiar with a somewhat distant view of the organ on the north side of the chancel as shown above.

Only an intrepid few, however, will have ventured into the interior of the instrument, behind the console. The images below give an opportunity to see behind the console and to marvel at the God-given talents both of the designers and builders of this instrument, and also of the musicians who make it speak with such power and beauty.

Here can be seen metal and wooden pipes of many shapes and sizes the wooden louvres that open and close to change the volume and the miniature computer that is the 'brain' of the instrument.

The registration is as follows:

Six General Pre-Sets, Six Pre-sets per manual, 4 pedal, General Cancel

Historical Background to the Organ
The organ was originally built in the 1830s for St Peter's, Eaton Square. It was purchased for St. James's in 1874 for £150 and installed in the new organ chamber. A year later an organ-blower was appointed at a salary of £6 a year. The organ has undergone a series of renovations and improvements over the years. A Pedal Bourdon stop was added in 1885 and it was completely rebuilt in 1912 as a three manual with an adequate pedal organ and new pnuematic actions, with Hale’s patent key stops.

Mrs. Isdell-Carpenter, whose father was the first warden of St. James’s and whose husband was vicar’s warden for fourteen years, with her sister painted lilies and foliage in cream and gold on the pedal pipes in 1894. The real gold leaf used was specially supplied by the Admiralty. The pipes originally formed the frontage in the west arch of the organ chamber. During a further rebuild in 1916, these wooden pipes were, unfortunately, moved to the rear of the organ chamber and substituted by the cold looking silvered metal open diapason pipes which now fill the arch. The action was renewed in 1931 and the organ was again rebuilt in 1951 with the leather work and action motors being replaced. The organ was restored in 1972 by Bishop and Sons, the original builders, who incorporated a new electric action replacing the old pneumatic mechanism. In 1997, it was refurbished again with the addition of clarinet and trumpet stops, the pipes being salvaged from a neighbouring church. In 2006 work was done in the organ chamber to prevent the further entry of dust particles from the original mortar into the operating mechanism, a problem that had plagued the instrument over many decades.

For a more detailed account, read the page The History of St. James's Church Organ.