The Armidale School
Douglas Street, Armidale

H.W. Jarrott, Brisbane, 1965
2 manuals, 10 speaking stops (5 ranks), electro-magnetic action





The Armidale School, Armidale
[Photograph by Trevor Bunning (September 2007)]

 

Historical and Technical Documentation by Geoffrey Cox
© OHTA 2014 (last updated April 2014)

Founded in 1894 as the New England Proprietary School, the school changed its name to The Armidale School in 1896. The main building, built in dark brick contrasted with the terracotta dressings, was designed by the noted Sydney architect Sir John Sulman (1849-1934). The asymmetrical style of the façade is a feature of the 'Queen Anne' movement that came to Australia with the work of John Horbury Hunt, the American-trained architect who designed St Peter's Cathedral, Armidale.1



Portico of the main building, The Armidale School
[Photograph by Trevor Bunning (September 2007)]

The Chapel was designed in Gothic Revival style by Cyril Blacket, a son of Edmund Thomas Blacket. The foundation stone was laid by The Rt Rev Henry Edward Cooper, Bishop of Grafton and Armidale, on 5 September, 1902.2



The Chapel of The Armidale School
[Photograph by Trevor Bunning (September 2007)]

The Chapel organ was built and installed in 1965 by H.W. Jarrott of Brisbane at a cost of £2,500. The metal pipes were imported from Holland, while the wooden pipes were made in Brisbane. A plaque on the console records that the organ was dedicated by Bishop R.C. Kerle on 26 September, 1965.3



The 1965 H.W. Jarrott organ
[Photograph by Trevor Bunning (September 2007)]

The specification comprises 10 speaking stops, derived from 5 ranks:

Great
Open Diapason
Stop Diapason
Principal
Flute

Swell
Lieblich Gedackt
Dulciana
Dulcet

Pedal
Bourdon
Principal
Bass Flute

Couplers
Swell to Great
Swell to Pedal
Swell Sub to Great
Swell Super to Great
Swell Super
Swell Sub

8
8
4
4


8
8
4


16
8
8


Compass: 61/30
Detached stop-key console
Balanced swell pedal
Electro-magnetic action4









Console details of the 1965 H.W. Jarrott organ
[Photograph by Trevor Bunning (September 2007)]


1 D.L. (Jim) Graham, A Short History of The Armidale School (1840-2008) (Armidale: The Armidale School, 2008), p. 11. http://www.as.edu.au/about/history/ - accessed April 2014.

2 Graham, op. cit., p. 13.

3 Loc. cit.

4 Specification derived from photographs by Trevor Bunning (September 2007).