Pierce Pipe Organs |All Saints' Wickham Terrace

The Pierce Pipe Organ in All Saints', Wickham Terrace

We have finished installing the new 24-stop organ for All Saints incorporating 11 ranks of the old 1873 TC Lewis organ. A new gallery has been built at the rear of the church to house the organ and the choir. The organ case is divided on either side of the west windows; with the Swell and Great on the southern side and the Pedal on the other. This layout allows an unobstructed view of the windows designed by the noted artist, William Bustard. The organ's casework has been designed by Graeme Rushworth together with Simon.
The organ has balanced mechanical key and pedal action, electric stop action, double-rise bellows and a detached console with a modern multi-level capture system. The Swell to Great coupler is available either mechanically or electrically. The Swell Octave is electric and the Pedal couplers are mechanical. The action runs in the framework of the gallery.
The additional pipework is scaled according to T.C. Lewis philosophy and the soundboards are based on his dimensions and ethos. Most importantly, the Swell and Great will be together and arranged in the traditional fashion so as to blend the sound. This was not the case in the former organ which suffered from the distance between the divisions. The new double-rise bellows are located directly underneath the manual soundboards.
The addition of the upper work is along standard Lewis lines. Given the size of the building, it was decided to use a Clarinet instead of a Trumpet on the Great to obtain colour and variety rather than power.

The side case looking into the Great soundboard.

The Palmer Swell strings and Oboe have been replaced with new pipework based upon Lewis' scaling and tone.
There is not enough height in the Pedal to fit an Open Wood 16' but the Great Bass 16' is scaled from a large Walker 1884 rank to provide a similar foundation for the Pedal. It also was a similar scaling to a Lewis open wood.
This concept has tried to retain as much of the Nineteenth Century flavour as possible whilst utilising some modern technology. T.C. Lewis was one of the greatest organ builders to work in England and his ideas are still valid today.
The organ has a large and warm tone in a building with unfavourable acoustics. The action is light and responsive and the console is comfortable to play. The casework looks magnificent. The result is a splendid new organ for All Saints' and Brisbane. The organ consultant is Mr Phillip Gearing of Toowoomba.

The new placement of the console allows the organist a clear view of the sanctuary and chancel, while still having direct contact with the choir members.

The specification is:

GREAT


Bourdon		        16'	
Open Diapason		8'*
Rohr Flote		8'*
Salicional		8'*
Octave			4'*
Rohr Flote		4'*
Octave Quint		2 2/3'
Super Octave		2'
Mixture			II
Clarionet			8'

SWELL

 
Geigen Diapason		8'*
Lieblich Gedact   		8'*
Viol de Gambe 		8'
Voix Celeste		8'
Geigen Principal		4'*
Piccolo			2'**
Mixture 			II
Trumpet			8'*
Oboe			8'

PEDAL

						
Great Bass		16'
Sub Bass			16'*	 
Bass Flute		8'*
Octave Bass		8'
Posaune			16'

COUPLERS

Sw-Gt (mech. or electric)
Swell Octave (electric)
Swell Sub(electric)
Sw-Ped, Gt-Ped

Tremulant
* Original T.C. Lewis
** Palmer pipework

Last updated 16 August, 2007