The Original instrument in this church was built by J.C. Bishop of London. It had been built for the Catholic Chapel in Dalton Square, Lancaster in 1841 at the cost of £290! When the new church of St Peter's was opened this organ was dismantled and rebuilt in the new church in 1859, temporarily in the South Transept, until being moved into the North Transept where it remained until 1888. At this point it was sold to St Sylvester's Church, Liverpool.
It was sold because a benefactor - Mr Richard Lemeing of Geaves House, Lancaster - had given a new 'Grand Organ' to be built on the West Gallery. This poor man lived only a few months after the new instrument was installed. The organ was blessed and opened on 6th January 1889.
This was to be the greatest achievement and finest instrument built by Henry Ainscough of Preston. The case is divided on both sides of the West Window: to the North side; the Choir and the Great divisions, to the South the Swell. The Pedal organ is divided between the two sides.
The bellows were originally blown by an hydraulic engine, which was replaced in 1905 by an electric motor.
Ainscough's did some work to the instrument in the 1950s, although there is no record of the nature of the work. The only evidence of this is work comes from a programme of an
organ recital given by Sir William Harris on Wednesday 3rd October 1956; the recital was described as 'the re-opening of the restored organ.' The specification appears the same as it was in 1889.
In 1975 Pendlebury of Cleveleys electrified the action and built a new console. There were no tonal alterations made.
At present, there are an increasing number of problems with the low-voltage transmission system put in 1975, and significant deterioration of the leather work, particularly of the bellows - after all, they have been at work since 1889! The innards of the organ are very dirty, and in need of a major clean. This amount of dirt prevents the pipes from speaking as brightly and as a clearly as they ought. The dirt also causes quite a number of problems for tuning.
In 2005, the Cathedral launched its organ restoration fund, aimed at raising about £100,000 for essential work being carried out in five phases. Currently over £60,000 has been raised, and work on phases 1-3 of the restoration programme will begin in late May.
Profits from our concerts and events at the Cathedral go towards the organ fund. Click
here to see the current schedule.
2009 sees the 150th anniversary of the opening of St Peter's. It would be so wonderful if it was also the year in which we record that organ was restored to its former glory!
