Pipe Organ Preservation Co. (of Ireland)

Preserving and rehousing redundant pipe organs from the island of Ireland


former Convent Chapel, Naas, Co. Kildare

former Convent of Mercy chapel St David's Church beside convent organ on gallery with detached console downstairs gap where original console used to be electric slide motors cut into side case no shutter mechanism had been fitted so shutters remained closed console installed in 1960s? using original keyboard & stop knobs

amateur way of operating stop contacts original keyboard cut short & contacts fitted pipes all cone tuned pipes showing missing top rank of Mixture conveyances from soundboards to Bourdon off note block bellows in base of organ patched and cracked leather in corner of bellows

Organ as found before dismantling (above)

building frame, soundboard & keyboard soundboard table planed and black-leaded side of soundboard showing releathered pallets, new springs, leather hangers and pulldowns original keyboard now extended for mechanical action (had previously been cut short to fit electric contacts) underside of bellows with feeders removed new backflaps being fitted to bellows feeder ribs being fitted to bellows feeder ribs being fitted to bellows feeder

case stripped and repairs to damaged wood case stripped and repairs to damaged wood case stripped and repairs to damaged wood new 22 note pedal backfall beam new pedalboard new 54 note manual backfall beam new 54 note manual backfall beam

releathered bellows in place & new pedalboard being fitted new rollerboard and stickers connected to extended keys new pedal backfall beam & stickers connecting it to keys back of rollerboard with new manual backfall beam at top & pedal action below console lid being fitted - this is all the woodwork existing for the console - all other parts need recreated new repolished case being fitted

Organ during restoration (above)

pipes restored and in place pipes restored and in place new recreated console new recreated console new recreated console restored case

restored case view to organ gallery view to organ gallery view to organ gallery view to organ gallery view to east end

Organ restoration completed (above)

Specification

Manual
Bourdon161-13
Open Diapason813-54
Stopd Diapason81-12
Claribel813-54
Dulciana813-54
Gamba813-54
Principal41-54
Flute413-54
Mixture 12.15II1-54, missing fifteenth rank replaced 2011

Compass CC-f (54 notes)

Hitch-down Swell Pedal at RHS
All enclosed except Bourdon pipes

Builder : Bevington & Sons London 1863 (opus 596)
Restored : Pipe Organ Preservation Co Belfast 2010-11

This is a delightful little organ by Bevington. It has suffered at the hands of what appears to be an amateur organbuilder and lost it mechanical action when a console was fitted on the ground floor and the action electrified. The convent lay derelict for many years and is now turned into apartments, keeping the chapel as a community space. We restored the organ to as close to its original condition as we could including recreating the mechanical action and en fenetre console. A cut-out in the gallery suggests there was a pedalboard at one time which would have been coupled to the manual keyboard with no independant pedal stop. There is no evidence of the compass of the pedalboard and looking at Bevington organs of the period there appears to be 13 note, 20 note and other versions. The maximum size available allowed for 22 notes so this compass CC-A was adopted.

The organ was dismantled in October 2009 as building work commenced and removed to Belfast where it was fully restored before being re-installed in Naas in May 2011. The pitch was just a few hertz sharp of standard so tuning slides were fitted to the metal pipes to preserve them from further cone tuning damage and also to have the organ available for use with other instruments.


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