On Thursday November 27th, 15 members of the Transport & Machinery Group paid a visit to Nicholson's Organ Works in Malvern/Leigh Sinton. Nicholson's has a long association with Worcester. John Nicholson (1815–1895) was the son of an organ builder in Rochdale and came to Worcester to build a new organ for what is now Huntingdon Hall. When this was finished he stayed on in Worcester and set up his own organ building firm in 1841. It is still one of the major organ builders/restorers in the UK, evidenced by some of their current projects - Gloucester Cathedral, Manchester Town Hall and Leeds Town Hall.

Andrew Caskie is the current Managing Director and kindly provided an excellent tour of the works. Using examples from their current projects, Andrew explained the whole process from the careful dismantling of organs to be repaired or rebuilt, to the refinement of the final sound (voice) of the pipes and the reinstallation of the organ.

Nicholson's historical reconstruction of the organ in Manchester Town Hall provides a good example of the ethos and skills of the business. The organ was originally built by the Parisian organ builder Aristide Cavaillé-Coll in 1877, arguably the world’s finest organ builder of the nineteenth century. It is the most significant surviving instrument of the few built by Cavaille-Coll in the UK.

The organ will be returned in almost every way to its 1893 condition including the re-establishment of the original pitch, the manufacture of new actions, new console, chests, and aspects of the wind system, all in a strict replica of the Cavaillé-Coll style. The casework will be returned to its original 1877 appearance with the recreation of the wooden staircases built into either side of the facade.

All in all, it was an excellent tour.

Some photographs taken by Group Members