Our Lady of Mount Carmel Catholic Church
Garfield Street, Wentworthville

Builder unknown (W.E. Richardson? c.1890)
(2/22 mechanical, pedal tubular-pneumatic)



Frank Duff writes (by email 8 April 2019):

On the recommendation of Anthony Welby, the organ was purchased from Clowes Street Baptist church, West Gorton in Manchester, UK - shipped with another 3-M+P from Norwich by Henry Jones - and installed in 1979 by volunteer parishioners with much subsequent assistance by Brown & Arkley.

The builder is thought to be W.E. Richardson from Manchester.

In the gallery, the great North window was blanked out and thermally insulated; and one third of the stepped gallery floor was removed.

Adjustments were made to the organ building frame -

• to lower the Swell soundboard so that the Swell box cleared the longitudinal building rafters; and -
• to lower the casework so that the Great Open Diapasons (lowest C & C#) cleared the same rafters; and the centre pipe cleared the ceiling apex.

[With those adjustments the organ is almost a perfect fit in the gallery.]

A new 3-phase blower was purchased; the air reservoir was releathered; the hand-pumping mechanism was similarly restored. All external timberwork was refinished by volunteers; Frontal pipes (only four are non-speaking) were silvered as the parish could not afford to restore the original pipe decoration.

The pedal action was changed to tracker; a lever swell pedal was installed to replace a centre shoe operation.

The console is attached - but considerably to the fore of the casework, where once there was the pulpit.



The specification is:

Great
Double Gamba TC
Open Diapason
Stop. Diap. Clarabella
Dulciana TC
Principal
Flute
Fifteenth
Mixture
Trumpet
Clarinet TC

Swell
Lieblich Bourdon
Horn Diapason
Lieblich Gedact
Salicional
Voix Celeste TC
Gemshorn
Piccolo Harmonic
Mixture
Cornopean
Oboe
Tremulant

Pedal
Grand Open Diap.
Bourdon

Couplers
Swell to Great
Swell to Pedal
Great to Pedal

16
8
8
8
4
4
2
II
8
8


16
8
8
8
8
4
2
II
8
8



16
16



















common bass
common bass
common bass


(prepared for)

(prepared for)












4 compositional pedals to Great
2 compositional pedals to Swell
Lever swell pedal

Compass 56/30

All mechanical action (Pedal action was originally tubular-pneumatic).


© PdL 2006









Photos abopve: Ian Brown (March 2021)




Dummy backfalls counterbalance the weight of the long vertical trackers of the Swell. (Ian Brown Oct 2015)




Great pipework after cleaning of reeds (Ian Brown Oct 2015)