| St. Bees Priory Organ |
This organ is probably the most famous in Cumbria. It was completed in 1899 and was the last major instrument built by "Father" Henry Willis. The specification was designed by F J Livesey and Lt. Col. George Dixon and has 40 speaking stops on three manuals, but a few were never installed. (indicated in a weak font below). Unusually, the lower manual is a Solo division. It uses tubular pneumatic action and was the first parish church organ in the country to have "programmable" pistons. The instrument contains ranks originally built for Lincoln and Gloucester cathedrals and the reeds are widely considered to be among the finest in the country.
The instruments remains in good working condition, and well maintained. Each year, a series of celebrity recitals is held. Recent years have seen visits from Timothy Hone, David Dunnett, Paul Hale, James Lancelot, Ian Hare, Christopher Herrick, Roger Fisher, David Sanger, Gordon Stewart, and many other well known international performers.
St. Bees maintains a website about the organ and other village facilities.
| Pedal | Great | |||
| Double Open Bass Subbass Open Diapason Open Bass Flute Octave Double Ophicleide Ophicleide Solo to Pedal Great to Pedal Swell to Pedal |
32 16 16 16 8 8 32 16 |
Double Open
Diapason Stopped Diapason Hohl Flote Geigen Open Diapason Wald Flote Principal Twelfth Fifteenth Cornet Tromba Clarion Solo Suboctave to Great Solo to Great Swell to Great |
16 8 8 8 8 4 4 2 2/3 2 III 8 4 |
|
| Swell | Solo | |||
| Lieblich Gedeckt Open Diapason Gemshorn Flageolet Mixture Double Bassoon Vox Humana Tremulant Oboe Contra Posaune Cornopean Clarion |
8 8 4 2 III 16 8 8 16 8 4 |
Double Salicional Viole d'Amour Voix Celestes Claribel Flute Concert Flute Harmonic Piccolo Sharp Mixture Orchestral Clarinet Tremulant Tuba Mirabilis Octave Swell to Solo |
16 8 8 8 4 2 II 8 8 |
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