| Name of institution |
Wesley Uniting Church |
| Type of institution |
Church |
| Street Address |
Corner Grey and Pool Street |
| City |
York |
| State |
Western Australia |
| Postcode |
|
| Country |
Australia |
| Name of building |
Wesley Uniting Church |
| Name of room |
Church sanctuary |
| Dates of the building |
1888
|
| Architect’s and builder’s names |
A. M. Bonython of Terry & Oakden, Architects, Perth.
Pringle & Moscrip, Builders, Albany and Perth. |
| Special architectural features |
Stained glass windows of the church are all pastels of the colours displayed in the diapering of the organ pipes. |
| Special fittings |
The church has an extremely fine 1905 John Warner & Sons bell.
There is also a clock believed to have been purchased in 1892.
Both items are still in use at the church. |
|
Other location information
|
The
original Methodist Church built in 1852. It is now
used as the church hall. The first minister was the Rev John
Smithies who came to York in 1852 to establish the church and a native
mission.
The current building was erected as a chapel by followers of the
Wesleyan Denomination. The foundation was laid on the 25th April
1888 by Mr J.H. Monger of Faversham House. It was built at a cost of
£945 which was raised by donations. The
beautiful stone used in the building was donated and carted by some of
the adherents.
The opening took place on the 22nd August 1888, the Rev Thomas Bird officiating, assisted by the Rev William Lowe.
The organ - a Monk organ - was purchased in 1895 by donations collected
by Miss Florence Monger and was hand-pumped until 1929 - when an
electric blower was installed. Mrs Vera Hardwick was organist for
50 years.
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| Name of contact |
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| Mailing Address |
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| Telephone |
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| Email |
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| Other contact information |
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| . |
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| Previous organ(s) |
|
| Date of previous organ |
None |
| Detail of previous organ |
|
| Dates when key work has been undertaken |
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| Dates of any moves that have taken place |
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| Variations from original design of organ |
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Information on previous organ |
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Information about comparable instruments to previous organ |
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| . |
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| Present organ |
|
| Type of installation |
Free standing case, floor mounted |
| Case description |
Simple case with three flats |
| Placement in room |
Front centre on floor |
| Builder's name |
Alfred Monk, London, United Kingdom.
|
| Opus number |
Unknown |
| Date of completion/installation |
1895
|
| Construction materials |
Casework and frame is in Pitch Pine |
| Number of manuals |
Two (2) |
| Key compasses |
C-ggg
|
| Number of keys |
56 notes |
| Key material |
Ivory covered naturals, ebony sharps |
| Pedal compass |
C-f |
| Number of pedals |
30 notes |
| Pedalboard type |
Concave straight |
| Pedalboard material |
Boxwood naturals |
| Type of chests |
Slider |
| Type of key action |
Mechanical
|
| Type of stop action |
Mechanical
|
| Couplers |
Great to Pedal 8 (also couples Swell to Pedal when Swell to Great coupler drawn); Swell to Great 8.
|
| Tremulants |
Swell |
| Accessories |
None
|
| Console type |
Integrated |
| Stop label material |
Ivory caps on turned wood spindles |
| Placement |
Drawknob, flat arrayed SW and Ped on left, GT on right |
| General design |
|
| Playing aids |
Swell hitchdown lever
|
| Divisions |
Great, Swell, Pedal
|
| Wind pressures |
Electric blowing, one double rise reservoir, wooden trunking throughout |
| Stop list |
| GREAT |
|
|
|
| Open Diapason |
8' |
metal, open
|
56 pipes |
| Clarabel |
8' |
metal/wood, stopped |
56 pipes |
| Harmonic Flute |
4' |
metal, open |
56 pipes |
| . |
|
|
|
| SWELL |
|
|
|
| Gedeckt |
8' |
wood, stopped |
56 pipes |
| Gemshorn
|
8' |
metal, open |
56 pipes |
| Principal |
4' |
metal, open |
56 pipes |
| .
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|
|
|
| PEDAL |
|
|
|
Bourdon
|
16' |
wood, stopped |
30 pipes |
| . |
|
|
|
|
| Total number of stops |
Seven (7)
|
| Total number of ranks |
Seven (7) |
| Total number of pipes |
366 (410 with the non-speaking Violin Diapason rank included) |
| Dates when key work has been undertaken on current
organ |
Erected 1895 by Mr Haymore, Nicholson & Co., Perth.
Restoration work in 1904 by J .E. Dodd (no detail recorded)
Refurbishment in 1929 by Cousans Limited with an electric blower to
replace the hand blowing mechanism and the installation of a tremulant
on the Swell organ at a cost of £118.
Relocated from front choir gallery to floor of church.
Overpainting of original case and pipe colours. c1960
Restored in 1982 by F.J. Larner & Co. Tonal adjustments and refurbishment
(no detail recorded), Possible stripping back of case to remove
black overpainting . Pipes remain overpainted in silver.
Tonal alteration in 1990 by F.J. Larner & Co. Gemshorn substituted for Swell Violin Diapason.
Refurbished in 2001 by F.J.Larner & Co. Pipework cleaned, leathers and felt replaced.
Pipework stencilling to restore remnant of original diapering in 2001 by Pipe Organs WA
New wood wind trunking to replace flexible tubing in 2003 by Pipe Organs WA
Pedal roller board re-bushed in 2005 by Pipe Organs WA.
|
| Dates of any moves that have taken place to current
organ |
Originally
located on a raised platform, now located free standing on the floor of
the church. Date unknown but probably in the period 1904 to 1929. |
| Information on current organ |
The original Violin Diapason TC 8' rank (44 metal pipes, open slotted) removed from
the Swell organ in 1990 because it was deemed "too loud" is one of only
four known slotted Violin Diapason ranks in Western Australian organs. The others
are at The Holy Trinity Anglican Church, York, St. Augustine's Uniting Church, Bunbury (named a Viola d Gamba), and St John's Anglican Church, Kalgoorlie (at 2' pitch).
This rank of pipes has been found and re-purchased in 2009 and has
been mounted on the wall behind the organ to provide historical
integrity of
the instrument. Full story is found here. |
| Comparable instruments to current
organ |
There
are no other organs by Alfred Monk in Australia. The organ is
comparable in tone to the broad-scale organs of Hill & Son (Alfred
Monk was at one time an apprentice to Arthur Hill). |
| Current status |
In fine condition and constant use. |
| Assessment of organ |
Listed
with the Organ Historical Trust of Australia as perhaps the best
example of a Victorian era organ in its original location in Australia. |
| Other organs by this builder |
There are no other organs by Alfred Monk in Australia.
Albert Edward Pease, organ builder and builder of the organ located at Holy Trinity Church, York, operated his business in the period 1890 to 1909 in London.
He is known to have traded from two addresses: Kenmure Yard, Kenmure Rd, Hackney, London, from 1890 to 1891, and from 49 Grayling Rd, Stoke Newington, London, 1896 to 1909 .
There does not appear to be any personal information available on Albert Pease but his business was taken over by Alfred Monk.
It is assumed that his business reverted to Alfred Monk because of his death, but this cannot be verified.
Alfred Monk, born 1848, also traded as an organ builder of some renown in London in the period 1862 to 1926.
He built the organ for Wesley Uniting Church York in 1895, so the coincidence of Pease and Monk constructing an organ on the other side of the world for
churches a mere stone's throw apart on the other side of the world cannot be underestimated.
There is no proven link between the two, and the construction of the respective organs is not alike enough to suggest they come from the same stable.
The premises of Monk at the time of construction of both these organs was 28 Hilldrop Rd, Islington, London, where he had operated since 1891.
As a matter of conjecture, Pease may have been using Monk's premises in the period 1891 till he re-established himself in Stoke Newingtion in 1896.
These properties are just over three kilometres from each other, separated then by the Great Northern Railway at Finsbury Park and, now,
the Arsenal Football Club headquarters in the Emirates Stadium in the central north of London.
Alfred Monk built 67 of his pipe organs for installations throughout Great Britain and a number of others exported to other countries,
although information on these is difficult to obtain. Mostly his exported organs went to Europe; some also went to Africa and Asia.
There are no other known organs by Alfred Monk in Australia, although there are some components in the large organ in Randwick Uniting Church,
Sydney, built by him for W G Rendall, an Adelaide organ builder.
|
| Photographs |
Photographs by Bruce Duncan |
| Technical documents |
The restoration of the Albert E Pease organ, Holy Trinity Anglican Church, York, Western Australia.
Dr Bruce Duncan, 05 January 2020.
|
| General documents |
York
Uniting Church, Hall & Manse Conservation Management Plan prepared
for the York Church Council by Laura Gray, Heritage & Conservation
Consultant, December 2008. |
| . |
|
| Supporting information |
Copy of The West Australian Friday 30th August 1895
Some historical information from York Tourism
A 2004 History of the Organ is available here. |
| . |
|
| Document control |
Original entries J R Elms, OAM,
Gazetteer of Western Australian Pipe Organs, 1971, 1999,2003 and 2004.
Additional research 2001 to 2008 Bruce Duncan
This entry D B Duncan 24 Nov 2008.
Additional information found in the Conservation Management Plan prepared by Laura Gray, 15 Feb 2009.
Information on the Violin Diapason stop re-purchase by Bruce Duncan with assistance from John Larner, 24 Mar 2009.
Copy of The West Australian newspaper 30th August 1895 kindly provided by Mr John Maidment, OAM, 24 May 2010.
Photograph of Violin Diapason rank added by Bruce Duncan, 10 Feb 2012.
Inclusion of information from The restoration of the Albert E Pease organ, Holy Trinity Anglican Church, York, Western Australia.
Dr Bruce Duncan, 05 January 2020.
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