The Willis Organ

Built in the West End of London, in 1847, St. Andrew's Wells Street (off Oxford Street) was renowned for its musical tradition, with its own choir school and full cathedral type services. Charles Gounod visited the church when he was in London to hear music which he had specially composed; Silas, Tours, Macfarren and Sullivan also went there for similar reasons. The choir produced some famous singers, notably Edward Lloyd. the great English tenor. The organists of S.Andrew's Wells Street inclued some famous musicians, the first being Richard Redhead (1847-1859), then Philip Armes (later at Durham Cathedral), Joseph Barnby (retired 1871), FAW.Docker (1871-1916), P. Mavon Gibbs, M.P. Conway (later at Chichester & Ely Cathedrals), and R. Meyrick-Roberts (1920-1933).

4 pistons to great / 4 pistons to swell (duplicated by toe pistons) / 4 toe pistons to pedal / 1 cancel piston each to great, swell & couplers / 1 reversible piston to great to pedal coupler (duplicatedby toe piston) / 1 reversible piston to swell to great coupler / 1 reversible piston to swell to pedal coupler (duplicated by toe piston) / 1 piston, "octave couplers cancel" / 1 general cancel pistonGeneral crescendo pedal with indicator / Full organ piston / Balanced swell pedal, Willis "infinite gradation" type with indicator (later replaced with mechanical balanced swell pedal)

On the swell organ, the viola da gamba is from the old choir organ, with the old swell vox angelica as the beating rank. Of the flutes, the lieblich gedackt is the old swell stop, while the 4ft. concert flute is from the choir organ. The clarinet is a delightful stop, again from the old choir organ - its position on the swell now effectively limiting its accompaniment to the great dulciana, itself an old choir organ stop. The trumpet is the old great tromba, and is a dominant voice not only on the swell but on the whole organ, providing an effective part of the swell chorus as well as having an effective solo role.

The contra hautboy is the old hautboy with a new bottom octave added. The great organ now extends only to the fifteenth, with no mixture. It nevertheless shows a cohesiveness which can be augmented by the swell to mixture when necessary. The large open diapason is rather noble in quality, while the small open diapason provides an effective basis for the diapason chorus. The lower 2 1/2 octaves of the double open diapason are from the old pedal violone, which was in fact of a smaller scale than the original double diapason. The dulciana and the hieblich flute 4ff. are both from the old choir organ. On the pedal the violone stands in front of the organ facing north, and is in fact the bottom part of the original great double open diapason. The 8ft. stopped metal flute was a new stop in the rebuild, and the 4ft. octave flute is the old great harmonic flute. There are no derivations of 8ft. or 4ft. stops from 16ft. on the pedal, the only borrowing being the metal open diapason from the great, and the 16ft. trombone - the upper 18 notes are borrowed from the swell trumpet, while the lowest octave is from the old ophicleide, all enclosed in the swell box.

The organ has remained largely unchanged since the rebuild in 1934. The effects of time and damp had rendered it increasingly unreliable, and a major overhaul was undertaken by Messrs. Bishop & Sons in 1978. The organ is heard to best advantage from the east end of the church, as both great and swell speak down the north aisle - at the console the tone is somewhat masked by the swell box and the bottom octave of the pedal violone.