Organ Swell Repair Success

24 September 2025

We are extremely pleased to announce that the Swell section of our organ has now been restored, following extensive work by Harrison and Harrison at their workshop in Durham to repair the cracks on the soundboard tabletops.

Thankfully, the original tables were meticulously restored and repaired, which was the ultimate aim – to retain as much of the original materials as possible. The soundboards and associated mechanism were reinstalled by the builders over five days, followed by a three-day period of regulation and tuning. With the humidifier in place, we aim to mitigate any future threats to the organ with unexpected fluctuations in heat and humidity.

A huge thank you to everyone for your support with the repairs. We are excited to resume concerts and recitals, which began on Saturday 20 September at our free Open Day event as part of Open House London and Heritage Open Days. This saw performances from our organ students, who receive free weekly lessons as part of our education programme, along with their tutor, Jeremiah Stephenson.

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We're extremely grateful to National Lottery Heritage Fund and National Lottery Players, Scops Art, Pilgrim Trust, Benefact Trust, Cockayne Grants for the Arts a donor advised fund held at The London Community Foundation, Friends of Union Chapel, ON Organ Fund, and to individual supporters.