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A pipe organ is a costly and complicated instrument and the St Bride’s Church Organ in Brodick is in desperate need of repair.
In order for this to happen the church is hoping to raise £6,000 towards the cost of repairs.
Organist Rod Smith said: ‘The cost of the major overhaul is over £10,000. There is a further £6,000 to raise in order for us to commence the work in the New Year.
Several fundraising ventures will be undertaken over the coming months to help realise the sum.’
Brodick Church organ was built and installed by Andrew Watt of Glasgow in 1931.
It is a fine example of the Pipe organs, which were traditionally developed by organ builders from the 1880s with the acoustics and architecture of churches like St Bride’s in Brodick in mind.
Mr Smith said: ‘It is a privilege that we have such an organ, a design and construction which experts in the organ world feel strongly should be preserved. After 76 years of faithful service our organ well deserves the complete overhaul it requires.’
Over time deposits of dust work into the mechanism and pipes and causes unreliable tuning and premature wear.
The restoration and repairs will involve the individual cleaning and repair of all the pipes, the cleaning and adjusting of all the wind controls, the repair and setting of all the soundboards, the renovation of the swell-box, refurbishment of the key and pedal and stop action and the cleaning and adjusting of the key and pedal consoles.
It is a massive undertaking and will involve dismantling the instrument.
The work will take about five weeks to complete and in that time the church services will be held in the hall next door.
‘Careful research into the alternatives of electric and digital organs has been made,’ added Mr Smith, ‘but despite their attractions there is no doubt that the restoration of our superb pipe-organ is the most worthy course for us to follow.’
At the organ’s installation in 1931, the Moderator the Right Reverend John A Graham, founder of Dr Graham’s homes, commented that the organ ‘possessed great tonal beauty and is regarded as a fine specimen of the organ builders art.
Mr Smith believes it would be a disservice to the congregation of 1931 and to congregations of the future to neglect the instrument.
He said: ‘In restoring such a fine instrument, we are not only preserving an important part of our heritage but guaranteeing an organ which with regular servicing will provide musical accompaniment for the next 70 years to come.’
If anyone would like to contribute directly towards the restoration of the organ then it can be sent to Rev Angus Adamson, Brodick Church Manse.
