The St Barnabas Organ

The organ was previously at St Jude’s Church, Southsea. It was originally built by Gerard Smith as a two-manual instrument and first heard in 1851, with S. S. Wesley at the console. It was enlarged to three manuals in 1869 and, after a fire in 1870, rebuilt by Gray & Davison in 1872. William Hill & Son of London rebuilt and enlarged the instrument in 1877, renewing the action in 1912; their forty-five-stop scheme survives essentially intact today.

Rebuilt and restored at St Barnabas by Nicholson & Co. of Malvern, the organ was completed in 2011 — converted to electro-pneumatic action, its pitch lowered to A=440, and modern playing aids added, while carefully preserving Hill’s 1877 stop specification. The result is a fine English Romantic instrument, suited to a wide repertoire and sited in the west-end gallery. The manuals have a compass of 56 notes, the pedals 30.

A community achievement

The rebuilding project cost over £400,000. It was made possible by a generous bequest from Hazel Baker, former Organist and Director of Music, who served the church for forty years and died in 2010. The project was chaired by John Hudson, advised by organ adviser Paul Joslin, and supported by Hugh Mather, who raised over £100,000 through a series of concerts.

Those concerts continue today: the organ is heard regularly in recitals and at the Sung Mass, and visitors are always welcome to come and listen.