The Great Chest as it was for so many years, shown
here in-service
A closer view as renovation is starting
The Great Chest with Dan starting to remove pipes.
The pipes are now gone. Fear not; they will reappear.
The chest itself is now gone. Note the colors of paint,
starting with the old circa 1950s green, then beige and
finally ivory. We can also see the angle irons used to
mount the assembly.
The angle irons were sawed off and here Lewis is
grinding down the stumps left over from that operation.
After the hole had been covered and area painting retouched.
Dan and Dennis are starting to remove pipes on the left side.
The left side after front pipes and some shutters have
been removed.
Dennis handing Miriam a shutter.
Some of the pipes dwarf Dennis. These will remain intact.
Dan handing a pipe to Parish Nurse Meg.
Right side after front pipes and some shutters have
been removed.
Dan handing down some chimes
Sumner handing a pipe to Miriam
Miriam loading one of those trays
This is where most of the pipes are being kept. What isn't
here is in room 100.
After the area had been stripped it was cleaned and then
painted.
Some of the old valves refused to work properly. Here
we see the solution: a piece of paper blocking the airflow
so that the pipe wouldn't sound continuously. The paper is
in fact the Bulletin for May 5th, 1991. Six pipes had been
disabled in this manner.
This is a view of one of the chambers with the pipes
and the supporting surface removed. In the area beneath
we can see some of the valves which control airflow to
each pipe.
This is a closup of that area showing the valves in some
detail. They are made using leather to confine the air
and are over 80 years old.
This is the now-removed chime action which tapped the
chimes. This unit operated by a solenoidal valve
controlling airflow to chambers which operated the
hammers. The new mechanism, much simpler, will have
electrically-driven hammers with no air at all.
Once treasure, now junk.
Dan cutting the main cable to the console.
It will be replaced by a fiberoptic link.
The organ console with old music holder.
The console sans insides
The sturdy protective platform covering the entrance to
the basement and easing extraction of debris (and
reinstallation of new and refurbished items).
The old motor and associated blower are now history. Just
prior to photographing we had another serious rain; the
residual water can be seen. The new blower is upstairs in
the organ chamber. This is possible because it is much
quieter than this old one. Locating it upstairs also
simplifies the airflow "plumbing."
As it was - prior to the start of the renovation
Renovation in process
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