Mudgee Anglican

The principal attraction of Mudgee today is its fine collection of heritage sites, including commercial and civic buildings, churches and public homes. The Anglican and Catholic Churches face one another across the main intersection of the town and provide magnificent points of focus to the streetscape. Both are imposing neo-gothic stone structures with towers. The town is surrounded by productive farmlands; cattle and horse breeding together with viticulture are especially successful. Located away from the principal road and rail routes, Mudgee has been able to retain its essential heritage qualities free from the excesses of crass overdevelopment. It is also adjacent to some magnificent large tracts of wilderness.

The present St John's Church was designed by Weaver & Kemp of Sydney; the foundation stone was laid on 29 September 1858. The discovery of gold in the region caused tremendous growth in the period following 1850 and the prvious church building constructed in 1841 became too small. An organ supplied to the church by J.W. Walker in 1855 was given to the Mudgee Presbyterians in 1882. This followed the installation from Sheffield of the Brindley & Foster organ, currently in use. [1]

The Brindley & Foster organ, with 3 manuals, 24 speaking stops and tracker action throughout, is one of the finest examples of nineteenth century British organ building in New South Wales. It was built in 1881 as a gift to the church by Mr Robert White whose name is associated with several other organs installed in New South Wales in this period. The instrument was tested by Sir John Stainer who made an inspection of it in the Sheffield works of the firm. [2]

The organ remained unaltered until 1941 when an overhaul was undertaken and tuning slides fitted to most of the metal pipes. In spite of this work it was reported in the early 1960s that a major rebuild would be necessary. In 1963 two eminent organists, Mervyn Byers (of St Andrew's Cathedral, Sydney) and Dr Gerald Knight (of the RSCM in England) recommended that the organ be fully electrified with the provision of a detached console. A contract for this work had been let to S.T. Noad & Son. However, at the last minute, David Kinsela was able to persuade the rector, The Revd. Graham Walden, his church wardens and the Parish Council, to abandon this scheme in favour of restoration. This was a courageous move, given that Noad had already ordered many of the electric action components for the rebuild. Noad subsequently carried out the restoration of the organ under David Kinsela's supervision. Although the cost factors were important in reversing the decision (about £3,000 was saved), this was one of the earliest examples of direct action to secure the preservation of an historic organ in New South Wales. [3]

The fitting of tuning slides, the provision of a concave and radiating pedalboard, the alteration of the bellows from double to single rise, the removal of the hand blowing apparatus and the changing of the swell shutters from the horizontal to the vertical operation , have all affected the originality of the organ. In spite of this, none of the changes is significant enough to affect the tremendous value of the organ. The organ retains its original console fittings, a magnificent case with a full set of spotted metal pipes, its original action, soundboards and pipework. The Great Twelfth, with pipework labelled "Dulc", is probably original as the rank is stamped thus throughout its range and there are no indications of alteration to the stop arrangements. [4]

During the dismantling of the organ for restoration, Rodney Ford (from Peter DG Jewkes Pty Ltd) noted these points (by email 3/08/07):

"Firstly, regarding the pedal board, this is in fact the original. It was re-pieced by Noad at the time of the 1966 work. It is radiating and concave, but not to a 9' 6" radius (for both radiating and concave arcs) as is common today.

Secondly, regarding the Swell front, this too is entirely original. The text [above] asserts that the front was rotated through 90º changing the shutters from the horizontal to the vertical. This is not the case. The front has always resided in the vertical. The only change made in 1966 was the addition of a trigger rod to enable intermediate positioning of the Swell front. Fortunately the pedal's horizontal latching also remains intact and operable. See picture below."

From the Spring 2008 SOJ:

The Restored Organ of St John the Baptist, Mudgee

ST JOHN’S ORGAN, MUDGEE - ITS SIGNIFICANCE AND CARE
From the Organist and Consultant, Gavin Tipping

St John’s has been blessed with not only a beautiful church but (and I quote from The Sydney Organ Journal) “one of the finest examples of nineteenth century British organ building in New South Wales”. And from the authoritative book Historic Organs of New South Wales by Graeme Rushworth, “Unquestionably one of the finest organs in New South Wales, the Brindley & Foster at St John-the-Baptist Anglican Church Mudgee, is a marvellous monument to the craftsmanship of its makers and to the generosity of its donor Robert H D White.”

The current instrument has graced our church for some one hundred and twenty five years, but there was another organ in St John’s. The first church of St John was consecrated on 16 May 1841 and seated 200 people. An organ was subsequently ordered in 1855 by the Revd W. F. Gore of All Saints’ Church, Parramatta, on behalf of the Mudgee Parish. Bought from J. W, Walker of London, its arrival was remarked upon with enthusiasm as this excerpt states:

“We think the members of the choir must congratulate themselves on the acquisition of so excellent an organ as the one placed in St John’s church. We do not recollect to have heard one of finer tone in the colony and we think the sum for its cost (£209) will be cheerfully subscribed by the congregation.”

With the development of Mudgee that came from gold, coal and slate discoveries in the district, this 1841 church of St John became too small and the foundation stone for a larger one was laid on 29 September 1858. Designed by Weaver & Kemp of Sydney, it was opened in February 1860. The Walker organ was moved to the new St John’s where it remained until 1882 when it was sold to the Presbyterian Church to make way for our current organ.

There is also a lovely Walker pipe organ in the gallery across the road in St Mary’s Catholic Church. It is perhaps an indication of Mudgee’s past glory that the town has three pipe organs in almost original condition. The St Mary’s organ was originally built for St Jude’s Randwick in 1866 and was moved to Mudgee in 1904. It is a pity our restoration project didn’t extend to all three historic instruments.

The instrument in our gallery has three manuals and pedals, with 24 speaking stops – a total of some 1,452 pipes. This instrument came to St John’s as a gift from Robert White, who was for some time manager of the Bank of New South Wales in Mudgee. He became closely associated with the church and served as clergyman’s warden as well as singing in the choir. In 1880 he successfully sued to recover about £200,000 left to him by his grandmother but misappropriated by his grandfather. With his newly acquired wealth, Robert White ordered the bell in our tower and the organ, to be built by English firm Brindley & Foster. Later he also gave an organ to St Andrew’s Anglican Church in Summer Hill (1885) and another to the NSW Institution for the Deaf Dumb and Blind (1890).

On 22 December 1881, while the organ stood complete in Brindley & Foster’s factory in Sheffield, it was examined by Sir John Stainer, organist of St Paul’s Cathedral, London, who certified it in the following note:

“I have this day carefully examined and tried the organ built by Messrs Brindley & Foster for R. H. D. White Esq. of Mudgee, near Sydney, and I have pleasure in saying that they have faithfully and successfully carried out the specification in every respect, and have turned out an Excellent instrument” (and that’s an excellent with a capital E!).

The organ, packed in seven cases was shipped to Sydney on S.S. Cuba and transported over the Blue Mountains by train. William Davidson came from Sydney to erect it, for which he charged £90. He also took down the Walker organ and re-erected it in St Paul’s Presbyterian Church.

The organ was located on a new gallery built across the west end of St John’s church. It was immediately insured for £1,000. The official opening was in June 1882 at a Sunday afternoon Choral Service attended by the Bishop of Bathurst and for which Montague Younger, organist at St Andrew’s Cathedral, Sydney trained the choir and accompanied the service.

The organ served the church faithfully without any major expense until 1941 when an overhaul was undertaken and tuning slides were fitted to most of the metal pipes. In spite of this work it was reported in the early 1960s that a major rebuild would be necessary. In 1963 two eminent organists, Mervyn Byers (of St Andrew’s Cathedral) and Dr Gerald Knight (of the Royal School of Church Music in England) recommended that the organ be fully electrified with the provision of a detached console. A contract was issued to S. T. Noad & Son.

However, at the last minute Sydney organ historian, David Kinsela, was able to persuade the Rector at that time, the Revd Graham Walden and his Parish Council to abandon the electrification scheme in favour of restoration. It was a good thing David Kinsela intervened.

The fitting of tuning slides, the alteration of the bellows from double to single rise and the removal of the hand-blowing apparatus at the time have affected the originality of the organ. In spite of this, none of the changes is significant enough to alter its tremendous value. The organ retains its original console fittings, its magnificent case with a full set of spotted metal pipes, its original mechanical action, its soundboards and its pipework.

The restoration of the organ was just a part of St John’s 165th anniversary project. The Fundraising Committee and Parish Council at St John’s were well aware that its organ is of immense cultural, historical and musical value. It is the largest of only three instruments by Brindley & Foster imported to Australia and that its placement within the church is unusual for Anglican organs of the period, ideal for tonal projection, and visually spectacular. With this in mind it was a unanimous decision to contract Peter D. G. Jewkes Pty Ltd, to undertake the restoration work.

Since July 2007 Peter and his able team of specialist craftsmen have been busy working through the winding (bellows, wind trunks, zinc conveyances and action), soundboards and chests (cleaning, repainting, sealing), console (including bench and pedalboard and keys), action (coupler and stop mechanisms), Swell box (complete overhaul), pipe work (cleaning, new canisters, sealing splits). The Parish community is delighted with the restoration work that Peter Jewkes and his company have undertaken.

Bishop Richard Hurford, OAM, will conduct the Opening and Re-Dedication Service on Sunday 31 August at 9.30 am, assisted by Canon Anne Wentzel, with organist Gavin Tipping. At 2.30 pm will be a Festal Evensong presented by All Saints Cathedral Choir under the direction of Fr Michael Deasey, with Organist Peter Jewkes.

In addition to his role as Organist of St John’s Mudgee, Gavin Tipping teaches at St Matthew’s Catholic School. Prior to his arrival at Mudgee he held Organist positions at St Mary’s Cathedral, Sydney, St Anne’s Strathfield and All Saints’ Cathedral, Bathurst.

RESTORING THE RESTORED?
From the organbuilder, Peter Jewkes

David Kinsela’s timely intervention, and the ensuing 1966 restoration of the Mudgee organ, were watersheds in the world of organ conservation, and probably the first work of its kind in Australia. Prior to that time the standard treatment for 19th century instruments in NSW was a quick cleaning and overhaul which was probably all that was required, given their typical age of perhaps only 70 years. In Victoria such organs were likely to have been electrified with the presence of 2 or 3 large “electric action” firms in Melbourne a serious temptation. Possibly due to lack of available funds and the limited number of organbuilders at work in NSW a surprisingly large number of organs escaped more or less intact. On a per capita basis NSW can probably boast a higher percentage of preserved Victorian organs than most other parts of the Western world.

It was regrettable therefore that the largest of the three Brindley and Foster organs exported to the colony, at Bathurst Cathedral, was enlarged and altered several times, with its action being electrified in 1964. This of course made the pioneering preservation of the slightly smaller instrument at Mudgee even more worthwhile, and thanks are due not only to this heroic work, but to the church itself for “heeding the call”, and indeed (according to David Kinsela) to the graciousness with which S. T. Noad & Son were prepared to relinquish the contract signed with them to electrify the organ. It is amusing to note the use of components imported for the electric action, such as the drawstops (peculiarly engraved with the Mudgee stop names and therefore inappropriate elsewhere) recycled in other Noad instruments of the period!

Popular anecdotal history has attributed a variety of alterations to the 1966 restoration, such as replacement of the pedalboard and transposition of a Great Dulciana, but this is in fact inaccurate. From our observations during the present restoration, confirmed by conversation with David Kinsela, the only modifications in 1966 appeared to have been:

the alteration of the large bellows to single-rise design,

the introduction of several sets of wire trackers into the action,

provision of a new Tremulant,

the use of plastic glue in the soundboard restoration and the fitting of larger pallets to the bottom 16 notes of the Swell and Great soundboards,

the refacing of the keyboards with poorly fitting white plastic.

Each of these modifications had a deleterious effect on the organ – for example the character of the wind system, and an unpleasantly “springy” key touch caused by the pluck from the new large pallets and exacerbated by the stretching wire trackers. None of them however constituted a serious breach of its historical integrity, and given the hitherto unique nature of the project, it was pleasing to find so much of the organ’s character intact. The poor condition in which we found the instrument during our first inspection in 2005 was mostly attributable to the lack of any major work on it (such as routine cleaning) since 1966, wear and tear, and the horrendous climatic extremes experienced in a gallery situation in Central West NSW – temperature fluctuations of over 15 degrees Celsius in one day in our experience, and over 35 degrees in a year.

THE RESTORATION

Work therefore proceeded along more or less standard lines, in accordance with our own conservation philosophy as well as The Restoration Standards of the Organ Historical Trust of Australia. The opportunity was also taken to reverse the few infelicitous alterations.

The action was thoroughly restored and refurbished throughout. New wooden trackers were fitted to replace wire ones.

The soundboards were completely restored and re-palleted. Unfortunately, due to the presence of PVA glue used in 1966, the “flooding” normally done with a traditional hot glue mixture had to be undertaken with more PVA glue. The large numbers of cracks and splits in the soundboard tables were carefully screwed, pegged and filled. The new over-large pallets were retained to ensure good wind supply to the bass notes, but were re-shaped to ameliorate the unpleasant “pluck” in the key action. The soundboards had evidently been unsatisfactory for some time, with sundry murmurs and runnings, and there were copious bleed holes drilled through the bar ends, and even more drilled into pipe feet. These have now all been filled, necessitating extra attention during tonal finishing of the affected pipes, found to be over-blowing when restored to their full wind supply (having no doubt been loudened originally to compensate for the loss of wind through the bleed holes!)

The console was restored, with the 1966 white felt drawstop bushings replaced with traditional burgundy felt. The keys were returned to our English keymakers for recovering with ivory resin, and now present a far better “cosmetic” appearance. The pedalboard was well re-faced in 1966 and needed only basic re-felting, cleaning and waxing. Numerous extraneous ugly fittings were removed, holes in the timberwork were carefully filled with matching English oak, and new discreet mirrors and light fittings were provided. A new brass tell-tale was fitted to the original pulley, replacing one long since removed. The polish work was waxed and freshened, without alteration of the original patina. New ivory resin department labels were fitted, copied from what remained of the old ones (all broken and partly missing).

The bellows was returned to its original double-rise design, with new ribs and centre frame manufactured from the well-seasoned hoop pine. Happily the original metal counter-balances were discovered under the gallery floor while the organ was being removed, and so were restored and re-fitted. The remaining wind system was re-gasketted and restored.

The pipework was cleaned and restored with the tuning stoppers of wooden pipes re-leathered, metal pipes carefully rounded out and repaired. An unexpectedly large amount of time was devoted to making permanent the myriad repairs of split wooden pipes. The stopped metal pipes were tuned with a very motley assortment of cork bungs, screws and stop knobs, aided and abetted by liberal application of blue insulating tape. As it is virtually impossible to procure good quality cork (witness the rise of the Stelvin Closure for wine bottles) these were sent to our Melbourne pipemakers to have felted metal tuning canisters fitted – the improvement in tuning stability was immediately obvious on their return. The reed pipes were also renovated in Melbourne.

Re-assembly of the organ was completed in May, to ensure the organ qualified for its grant from the NSW Heritage Council. The very unusual horse hair and fibre panels of the Swell box were sealed, and the beautifully engineered vertical Swell shutter action restored. The casework was cleaned and wax polished, and the original concussion bellows reinstated. It is hoped that these items will be restored in the not too distant future when funds allow, along with the provision of a new traditional Tremulant. While the organ was being re-installed, the opportunity was also taken by the church to carry out some “housekeeping” in the gallery, including providing superior insulation of the West window behind the organ and planning for improved ventilation – both of which are hoped will protect the organ from the gallery’s extremes of temperature.

Tonal finishing and on-site voicing was carried out by the writer with meticulous care taken to preserve what was clearly still the original tonal qualities of the organ. No changes were made to the overall tonal balances, with only basic regulation undertaken, and attention to numerous notes off-speech. The wind pressure was said to have been raised by a visiting organbuilder shortly before our first inspection of the instrument, confirmed by the presence of a number of clean new bricks on the bellows. As measured at dismantling it was 3 ins – too high for the pipework with its low cut-ups, resulting in a great deal of unmusical “barking” from the fluework. The organ’s already sharp pitch was also raised even further as a result. The re-instatement of the double-rise bellows and the use of only the original bellows weights instantly solved these problems, with a working pressure of exactly 3 ins and pitch of A = 447 Hz @ 20°.

Many questions were raised in the course of this part of the project. Why was the work of Sheffield’s Brindley & Foster said to be so heavily influenced by that of Edmund Schulze in Yorkshire? Even the briefest inspection of Schultze’s arresting tonal work at Armley or Doncaster would reveal few if any similarities to the gentle under-blown sounds of the Brindley & Fosters at Mudgee or Cook’s River. Why did the otherwise sensible specification at Mudgee include the luxury of two manual 16’ stops, but no Swell 8’ Flute? Certainly the well engineered layout and construction of the organ and its metric measurements, owe much to the firm’s German employees, but the same cannot be said for its tone.

And perhaps most confusing of all, why was the sole 2’ stop on the organ a Great Piccolo, and what registrations were expected of it? Surely not the faux-Baroque 8’ Flute and 2’ Piccolo, much loved in the 1970s? Was it seen as a legitimate chorus stop, or was it purely for effect, with the expectation that the Mixture (which contains a Fifteenth throughout its compass) would carry the chorus? An answer has yet to be found.

Finally the question of the Great Twelfth having replaced a Dulciana was laid to rest. Whilst the pipes were clearly of Dulciana scale and tone, and some were in fact marked “DUL”, this had obviously always been so, and the Dulciana pipes were used from the time the organ was built, presumably being surplus to requirements in the Sheffield factory in 1881. The musical result is actually a very attractive stop, working well in chorus or providing solo colour.

THE CONCLUSION

A project of this duration, size and time constraint obviously involves a team effort. Our staff members Murray Allan, Nick Appleton, Rodney Ford, Peter Jewkes, Julie McLauchlan, David Morrison and Joshua Swann attended to the vast amount of “in house” work. Specialist subcontractors Australian Pipe Organs, Tim Gilley, Darrell Pitchford and Peter Clark also provided valuable assistance.

Only posterity will tell how successfully we have succeeded in attempting to be faithful to the thinking and creativity of the original builders. With regular maintenance it is hoped that this restoration will outlast Noad’s work of 1966, but it is still to the foresight of those responsible for this work that we owe the privilege of being able to attend to the organ in these hopefully more conservation-enlightened days. Watch these columns c.2088!

From The Revd. Canon Anne Wentzel, Rector of St John’s Mudgee

The Rededication of the Brindley and Foster Organ at St John’s Anglican Church, Mudgee will be another historic event for both the church and the town. Historic for the town because Mudgee has a heritage-rich culture as well as history. As a now modern-day ever growing country town it retains the ‘village’ ambience alongside and complementing the increasing supermarket and mall way of life. Across the town centre lie many beautiful historic churches.

The restoring of St John’s organ will keep the door open to that sacred music which is part of the church’s history worldwide. The organ is of such quality that organists are already seeking to come to Mudgee to play it. Yes, it is one of God’s gifts to us and “a pearl of great price”.

The parish is indebted to the wonderful community of Mudgee and friends from far and wide who have supported the restoration of such a fine instrument. Now we are able to give thanks with concerts of all kinds with that music of such great quality to which only an organ can lend itself.

Its rededication begins with a team of New South Wales’ best organists: our own Gavin Tipping, Peter Jewkes – organist from Christ Church St Laurence and The Revd Michael Deasey, Precentor at the cathedral in Bathurst.

On Sunday 31 August, after the rededication by the Right Revd Richard Hurford, OAM, Bishop of Bathurst at a 9.30 am formal service, All Saints Cathedral Choir, Bathurst will join us for a special Choral Evensong at 2 pm to which all are invited.

The present Rector took up her appointment at St John’s Church during the week in which the organ was being packed and removed to Sydney for restoration, and thus had to cope with six organbuilders on site, as well as the rigours of moving house. Prior to her arrival at Mudgee, she served as Precentor of St Paul’s Cathedral, Melbourne, so has a wide experience of organ and choral music. By remarkable coincidence, prior to that, she was a teacher at Trinity Grammar School where she knew the Jewkes firm’s Rodney Ford as a French student, and a parishioner at St James’ King Street, Sydney, where she knew Peter Jewkes as organist. The clergy it seems, also move in mysterious ways!

[1] Rushworth, Historic Organs, pp. 226-27.

[2] ibid., 227

[3] Notes suplied by David Kinsela to Kelvin Hastie, 1979.

[4] John Stiller, Documenation of Pipe Organ built by Brindley & Foster 1881 - St John the Baptist Anglican Church, Mudgee NSW. (OHTA, 1981), 2-3.

[5] Stiller, op.cit.,4.