St Mildred’s Church, Addiscombe is in the process of refurbishing its organ. St Mildred’s has a very strong choral tradition and refurbishment of the organ will help this continue to flourish, in addition to being used to lead the worship and for recitals and concerts. In particular, the junior choir, for children aged 7 to 18 years, provides musical education and singing tuition, free of charge, to local children and provides them the opportunity to experience the challenges and sense of community of singing in a choir. St Mildred’s also operates an Organ Scholarship scheme, supporting local young musicians who are learning the organ.
The current West Organ was built by NP Mander in 1959, replacing a smaller organ by Lewis that had been purchased second-hand by the church when it opened in 1932. The magnificent copper facade, with pipes of up to 16 feet in length, is thought to be the first of its kind in the country and this will be retained as part of the new organ. As was common in post-war England, the West Organ was built from disparate components and pipework recycled from older instruments (including the Lewis organ it replaced). Much of it appeared to be Victorian, and by the end of 2017 it had reached the end of its useful life and was no longer playable.
The current Project involves the replacement of virtually all of the West Organ pipes, sound boards, wind supply and all the other electrical and mechanical components required for the organ to work. Nearly all of the pipework for the refurbishment comes from a local redundant organ, built by Lewis & Co in 1906 for St Paul’s URC, Croham Road, South Croydon, and one of only two in Croydon (and only 16 in Surrey) to be awarded a Historic Organ Certificate for its excellent pipework.
All the Lewis pipework has been retained (other than the facade pipes which remained in St Paul’s URC) and used to form the core of the new organ. This important piece of Croydon’s heritage has been preserved to speak again for future generations.
There is much more information on the project available on our website at www.stmildredsorganproject.com, where donations can also be made. Details of services, recitals and concerts are available on our main church website at www.stmildredschurch.org.uk.
On 16th November 2024, Olivier Latry, the world-famous titular organist of the Cathédrale Notre-Dame de Paris, will give the Inaugural Concert on the new organ. Tickets and further information are available at www.stmildredsorganproject.com
Finally, we are still fundraising for the Project and there is a great opportunity to be part of the legacy through our “Adopt-a-pipe” Scheme, where individual pipes can be adopted from as little as £5. You may wish to adopt a pipe for yourself, as a gift or in memory of a loved one. Full details are on our website here: www.stmildredsorganproject.com/adoptapipe
