Church Pipe Organ
Our church pipe organ was first installed in 1840 by Beeforth & Corbett of Hull. It was located against the tower at the west end of the nave. This was the first pipe organ to be introduced by a church in this area.
According to Credland's Almanack for 1912 the acquisition of the organ came about because of the " unsatisfactory conduct and irregular attendance at the services" of the West Gallery musicians who provided music for services at that time. This "caused Mr. John Barratt, one of the Churchwardens, to decide upon having a change, and he called upon Mr. Godfrey Robinson, to assist him in collecting funds for an organ. They were only partly successful. However, an order was given to Messrs. Beeforth & Co., Hull, and an instrument erected in the gallery at the west end during the year 1839. Great difficulty was experienced in raising the funds, as they relied an the help of Lady Boynton, but her ladyship refused to subscribe as she had contributed largely to the church clock made in Winterton by Messrs, Robinson & Beacock at a cost of about £100.00.
Organs were few and far between at that time, the nearest being at Hull and Lincoln, therefore many visitors came from neighbouring villages. An amusing incident occurred one day when three ladies from Thealby called upon Mr. Robinson and asked him to give one of his organ recitals. On his way to the church he met a young man named George Drax, ‘a bit of a character,' and invited him to blow for him. After ascending the organ gallery, the organist took his seat and fingered the keys, but no sound came. After repeated calls to George to blow, with no result, he had at last to leave his seat and look round, and on asking George again why he did not blow, he replied 'I can't find a hole to blow into.' George evidently expected the instrument was performed upon by the same process as some of the wind instruments had been before."
The wooden handle to blow the organ can still be seen but it is in the Vicar's Vestry at the back of the organ case. Usually nowadays the organ blower is operated by electricity.
In 1872 T H Nicholson moved the organ to the North Transept [see photo].
You can see the pipe organ on the left in the North Transept.
Then in 1884 Forster and Andrews rebuilt and moved the organ to its current location in the Chancel.
Details about the pipe organ.
| Pedal | Key action | Stop action Compass-low Compass-high Keys | |
| 1 | Lieblich Bourdon | 16 | |
| 2 | Flute | 8 | |
Great | Key action | Stop action Compass-low Compass-high Keys | |
| 3 | Open diapason | 8 | |
| 4 | Rohr Flute | 8 | |
| 5 | Flute | ||
| 6 | Principal | 4 | |
| 7 | Gamba | 8 | |
| 8 | Fifteenth | 2 | |
| Swell | Key action | Stop action Compass-high Compass-low Keys Enclosed | |
| 9 | Open diapason | 8 | |
| 10 | Lieblich Gedact | 8 | |
| 11 | Principal | 4 | |
| 12 | Mixture | ||
| 13 | Horn | 8 | |
| 14 | Oboe | 8 |
data copied from British Institute of Organ Studies [http://www.bios.org.uk/] National Pipe Organ Register (NPOR) reference: D04370 Version 3.1
Our magazine archive includes some interesting details about the organ and organist.
January 1901: The organ has been repaired and cleaned at a cost of £47.7s.3d.
December 1907: Dedication Festival one of the happiest yet, although the organist had some difficulty as two notes went wrong just before the service.
November 1908: Organ recital and musical service with violin accompaniment.
March 1962: Collection of money for an organ started in 1835
October 1962: Organ in church needs overhaul and repairs- cost about £500.
August 1964: All Saints' organ now back in use.
April 1978: Mr Harry Hall continues as organist after 50 years in the post.
March 1982: 80 year old Harry Hall, organist at All Saints' for many years, is recovering slowly from illness. A stand-in volunteer would be very welcome temporarily.
Unfortunately we do not currently have a permanent organist.
There is a digital organ located in the nave but this is privately owned.
