St Luke's Anglican Church
11 Stanmore Road, Enmore
Wordsworth and Maskell 1883, 2 manuals, 13 speaking stops, mechanical
Photos: Trevor Bunning (Dec 2008)
From SOJ Summer 2006-2007:
The organ was built by Wordsworth and Maskell in 1883. It is one of the few examples of the work of this English builder in Australia.
Notes below prepared by Trevor Bunning from a pamphlet relating to the proposed restoration given to him by the rector (Dec 2008):
The Church
The Church of England Parish of Enmore was first dedicated as Christ Church, with the current dedication to St. Luke not until eighty years later in 1963.
The first registered church service was held on Sunday June 20, 1880 in a weatherboard building in Fotheringham Street. The laying of the foundation stone for the current building occurred on Saturday 4 March 1882 and the building opened on 18 June 1882.
The Organ
The organ at St Luke’s Anglican Church Enmore is believed to be the only Australian example of an instrument built by Wordsworth & Maskell of Leeds UK.
The organ builders Wordsworth & Co. were originally known as Wordsworth & Maskell of Leeds. They built over 160 organs for the northern English counties and over fifty new organs in Leeds. They also exported instruments to India, Newfoundland, Russia, Australia, Canada and the West Indies.
Erection of the organ at Enmore began with its unpacking in the church on Monday 17 December 1883 and was completed on Saturday 22 December 1883. The formal opening took place on 1 January 1884.
The organ is mechanical action, of two manuals each of 56 keys and pedalboard of 30 keys. There are 13 stops. It is contained in a ‘post and rail’ case displaying pipes of the Open Diapason and Dulciana. Some of these pipes bear the inscription “W Hudson decorator. Leeds works England 1883. Wordsworth and Maskell Builder”. The tops of the case posts are fitted with ornate pinnacles; the console has angled stop jambs; key cheeks are of a distinctive, scrolled profile and the bellows weights have the initials ‘W&M’ cast in.
Proposed Restoration
The church proposes to restore the organ and to replace some unoriginal pipework to bring it back to its original specification. The organ is essentially in original condition, having had very little work done to it since its installation. Some partial restoration work was carried out c.1975. At some time the Great Fifteenth was replaced by a tenor C compass Clarionet. Unfortunately the organ was vandalized in 1983 when quite a number of Clarionet pipes were removed or broken. The façade pipes were originally diapered but have been painted over at a later date. Some of the original diapering may still be seen. Currently the organ is used for Sunday services, choir practice, and occasional recitals. Having a reliable heritage organ will ensure the continuation of its presence in the church and wider community.
Stage One of the restoration will render the organ more reliable and include:
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Restoration of the Great and Swell soundboards
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Pipes to be repaired, missing pipes replaced
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A 2’ Fifteenth to replace the existing unoriginal and vandalised Clarionet stop
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Action to be cleaned and re-set
Stage Two of the restoration will include:
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Rediapering of the façade pipes
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Front case panels, framework and impost stripped and repolished
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Drawstop jambs stripped and repolished
The specification is as follows:
| Great Open Diapason Stop'd Diapason Dulciana Gamba Principal Harmonic Flute Clarionet Swell Open Diapason Lieblich Gedact Keraulophon Principal Harmonic Picolo Hautbois Tremulant Pedal Bourdon Couplers Swell to Great Swell to Pedal Great to Pedal |
8 8 8 8 4 4 8 8 8 8 4 2 8 16 |
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 Photo: Rodney Ford (May 2010) |
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Photos above: Kathy Drummond (Organist 2006)
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