The Organ of

St Augustines

The magnificent pipe organ which dominates the back wall of St Augustines was not originally designed for our church, but has a history dating back to the late 19th century, having been built for a local stately home.

Luton Hoo Park is an estate of some 1,500 acres situated just outside Luton, at the southern-most part of Bedfordshire.   Built originally in 1767, the Hoo was the residence of the Lord of the Manor of Luton.  Following a fire in 1843, the estate was sold to a John Shaw Leigh and on his death, in 1871, it passed into the hands of his son, J Gerard Leigh.

Following his father’s death, Leigh continued restoration work at the Hoo and, in 1875, commissioned Henry Jones, of Fulham, to build an organ for the private chapel.

The organ casework was designed to match the choirstalls and included, above the organ console, a row of floral painted panels to match the chapel ceiling. Both sets are believed to be by the same artist. The casework was built by G E Street.

Originally built with three manuals, a fourth was added around 1905, by the new owner Sir Julius Wernher, a South African diamond magnate, who had aquired the Hoo in 1903.  The work was carried out by Norman and Beard to a specification by Frederick Gostelow, who was then organist at the Luton Parish Church.

In 1945, the organ was moved to a new home in Christ Church.  Built in 1860, Christ Church stood at the top of Inkerman Street, at the junction with Dunstable Road, Cardiff Road, Stuart Street and Upper George Street.  Norman and Beard continued to look after the organ until 1968.  At this time the entire organ was overhauled by the local firm, Leighton Organs, and new stops were added to the positive organ.

The move from private chapel to town centre church brought regular Sunday services and the appointment of a regular organist.  The first of these was Stanley (Beano) Bennett who was succeeded by Frederick Gee, Arthur Mooring, Douglas (Jack) Hucklesby and, in 1958, Roy Meek.

Following the closure of Christ Church in 1975, the organ (and Roy Meek, the organist) was moved to St Augustine’s Church in Icknield Way, Luton.  It was moved with an army of volunteers and an old van.  The vicar at the time, the Rev Michael Crow, drove the van over many days to bring the 3000 pipes and other parts ready to be assembled by Roy Bullivant, another local organ builder.

Shortly after the installation, it was decided to put the organ into the care of one of the country’s leading organ builders, Harrison and Harrison of Durham.  This firm tuned and maintained the organ until 1994 when it became obvious that extensive repairs were needed to preserve the organ for the future.  The original organ builders, Norman and Beard, were entrusted with the work, which was completed in May 1994.

In 2000 , a 30 channel piston capture system was added by Dedham Organ Systems.

The organ at St Augustines

The organ at Christ Church

The organ at Luton Hoo