Giving

St Giles Organ Appeal Fund

The organ John Milton heard when his daughter Mary was baptised at St Giles in 1647 was destroyed during the Civil War. A replacement was built in 1678 by George Dallam and 'repaired' in 1699 by Christian Smith, a nephew of the great organ builder 'Father' Smith.

This organ was rebuilt in the present church in 1734 by Gerard Smith the younger, possibly assisted by Johann Knopple. Much pipework from 1699, and perhaps some from 1678, survives today in the handsome new case made in 1734.

The new church of 1734 was designed by Henry Flitcroft, Lord Burlington's assistant in building Burlington House in Piccadilly (now the Royal Academy) and Chiswick House. The church is the first English example of a church in the elegant and restrained Palladian style.The model Flitcroft made so that parishioners could see what they were commissioning, can still be seen in the church (see picture).

Minor alterations were subsequently made to the organ, but it has only once been rebuilt, in 1856, when it was restored and up-dated by the distinguished London organ builders Gray and Davison, then at the height of their fame. Apart from replacing the the mechanical key and stop actions with an electro-pneumatic action in 1960, which is now defective, the organ is much as it was in the mid-nineteenth century. It is one of the few historic organs in central London to have escaped twentieth century 'modernisation'.

At St Giles we hear sounds from the organ that our predecessors, including Byron, Shelley, John Soane, the architect, have heard for more than three hundred years.

Our Challenge

This historic organ urgently needs sympathetic restoration. One hundred and fifty years have passed since the last major work, the rebuild of 1856.

The Parochial Church Council has appointed organ historian and consultant Stephen Bicknell to advise on the best way forward. After considering various proposals the Parish has appointed the organ builder William Drake of Buckfastleigh. Drake's restorations include the historic organs in Lulworth Castle Chapel and Buckingham Palace Ballroom.

All material from 1699 and earlier will be kept, together with the oak case and other material from 1734 and additions made in 1856. New mechanical key and stop actions will be made, replacing the poor actions of 1960.

When the organ has been restored listeners will be able to enjoy, for at least another one hundred and fifty years, sounds that have been heard on this site since 1699 or before. The restored organ will take pride of place in the developing programme of recitals and concerts at St. Giles' as well as in the many services attended by those who live and work in the area. It will benefit not only the local community, but also the many visitors and tourists who come to this historic church.

The cost of this complex restoration, requiring much highly skilled work, will be £387,000. £250,000 has already been pledged. £137,000 is needed to complete the task. It is hoped that the work will begin in 2005, for completion in 2007.

Please help us give the organ a new lease of life by donating here (PDF 61K)

The Church and the Area

St Giles has been a poor area of London since the late seventeenth century. Peter Ackroyd in London: a biography describes the poverty, disease and squalor of the area in the later seventeenth century, when the Great Plague began in the parish in 1665, in the eighteenth century, as depicted by Hogarth, and in the nineteenth century as described by Dickens.

In the twentieth century, the whole area including Denmark Street, known as 'Tin Pan Alley' became a centre of the music industry. St Giles as the parish church provides, with its churchyard, a sacred and serene space in the bustle of this much frequented area of Central London.

Now in the twenty-first century the area around the church is about to undergo major redevelopment, which will bring more people to live and work in the area. The church, which is open daily, is well used by people for private prayer, and is a venue for memorial services, recitals and concerts, and hosts lectures and debates, as well as providing a daily and weekly round of services. The eighteenth-century Vestry House, is regularly used by community groups. St Giles, as the parish church, plays a significant part at the centre of this multifarious local community.

• more about St Giles' history
• music and recitals at St Giles