St Mary's Church, Bideford

The Organ

St Mary’s Parish Church Bideford is the fortunate owner of a magnificent musical instrument built and installed in 1865 by “Father” Henry Willis, the leading British pipe organ builder of the Victorian era

The essential integrity of this fine instrument with its 27 speaking stops – 1,546 pipes spread over three manuals and pedals – comes from the design, balance and voicing of every one of those pipes by the original builder.  Although there have been two “rebuilds,” in 1903 and 1971, in which changes were made to the action  (the connection between the organist’s hands and feet which allows wind into the pipes) the pipe-work and wind pressure have remained unaltered, meaning that the sound of the organ today would have been instantly recognisable to Father Willis.

We are incredibly fortunate to have such a masterpiece of Victorian organ building in our possession, justly renowned as one of the finest instruments in the south-west. The specification of the organ is as follows:

Great Organ

  • C – g3 (56 notes)
  • Key action: EP
  • Stop action: M
  1. Double (formerly Double Diapason – Vowles, 1881) – 16’
  2. Open Diapason (west front) – 8’
  3. Claribel (formerly Clarabella) – 8’
  4. Principal – 4’
  5. Twelfth – 2 2/3’
  6. Fifteenth – 2’
  7. Mixture (formerly Sesquialtera) – III
  8. Posaune – 8’

Swell Organ

  • C – g3 (56 notes)
  • Key action: EP
  • Stop action: M
  1. Open Diapason 8’
  2. Stopped Diapason 8’
  3. Salicional (Tenor C – 44 notes) – 8’
  4. Vox Angelica (Tenor C – 44 notes,  Vowles, 1881) – 8’
  5. Principal – 4’
  6. Mixture (Walker, 1971, replacing 16’ Double Diapason) – III
  7. Oboe (formerly Hautboy) – 8’
  8. Cornopean – 8’
    • Tremulant  (Stop action: E)
    • Octave  (Stop action: E)
    • Suboctave  (Stop action: E)

Choir Organ

  • C – g3 (56 notes)
  • Key action: EP
  • Stop action: M           
  1. Viol d’Amour (formerly Viol d’Amore) – 8’
  2. Stopped Diapason – 8’
  3. Dulciana – 8’
  4. Harmonic Flute (formerly Flûte Harmonique) – 4’
  5. Harmonic Piccolo (formerly  Piccolo Harmonique) – 2’
  6. Clarinet (formerly Corno di Bassetto) – 8’

Octave  (Stop action: E)

Suboctave  (Stop action: E)

Pedal Organ

  • CC – f (30 notes)
  • Key action: E             
  • Stop action: E
  1. Open Wood (formerly Open Diapason) – 16’
  2. Bourdon (Vowles, 1881) –  16’
  3. Violoncello (metal, south front – Vowles, 1903) – 8’
  4. Bass Flute (ext. from No. 2 – Vowles, 1903) – 8’
  5. Octave Flute (ext. from No. 2 – Willis, 1865) – 4’

Couplers

  • Coupler action: E
  • Stop action: E
  1. Swell to Great
  2. Choir to Great
  3. Swell to Choir
  4. Great to Pedal
  5. Swell to Pedal
  6. Choir to Pedal 1546 pipes
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