Burnley Street, Burnley
B c1860s George Fincham; inst 1892 from previous unknown loc.
1 manual, 6 speaking stops, 1 coupler, mechanical action
This instrument was built by George Fincham, possibly in the 1860s and almost certainly for private use given the ornateness of the casework. Its early history is unknown. The instrument was bought secondhand in 1892 and remains almost entirely intact apart from the introduction of electric blowing and the raising of the casework cornice through the insert of additional panelling.
It is very similar in specification with the instrument for many years in the Congregational Church, East St Kilda and now in a private collection at Healesville. Both have five manual ranks and share similarly ornate casework in the Classical idiom, with stencilled dummy façade pipes and fretwork detailing. The Burnley instrument has 19 pipes arranged in five flats, the central five having a v-shaped toeboard, unique in Fincham’s surviving work.
The instrument was classified by the National Trust of Australia (Victoria) in 1989.
| MANUAL Open Diapason Stopped Diapason [bass] Clarabella Principal Flute Fifteenth Pedal coupler PEDAL Bourdon |
8 8 8 4 4 2 16 |
TC CC-BB TC TC TC 12 notes permanently on |
Compass: 56/29
All manual pipework enclosed
Lever swell pedal
2 composition pedals
Mechanical key and stop action
Hand blowing
Photos: JRM