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Byway ~ Part One​

Brindley and Foster organs were Top of the UnPops - was it justified? David Bridgeman-Sutton sifts through the history - [Part Two]

Organ builders as a class are placid people, quick to appreciate the qualities of others of their craft. Their views are carefully considered and invariably expressed in moderate and civil language. This is in marked contradistinction to norms in the heavy construction industry, where more robust expression is the rule.

One way to shake the calm of a British organ-builder is to mention the names Brindley & Foster. This firm was in existence for 85 years from 1854 and built several hundred instruments. Today it seems impossible to find an example in original condition. [See addenda]
​Other builders, no matter how much in need of contracts, invariably refused to restore a B & F organ; many would not even undertake tuning and maintenance. The best that could be hoped for was for pipework to be used in replacement instruments; – too often, the whole was scrapped entirely.

1: Drawstops seen above the swell keys are the transformers, as called by Brindley and Foster

Were they so dreadful? Forty years ago, Miss Miles who was then elderly, recalled playing a Brindley organ in its – and her - youth:

“It was a joy, with quickly responsive pneumatic action throughout. It could be played as a straightforward two manual and pedal using the drawstops and composition pedals only. I soon found that the general crescendo pedal and the “transformers” added great flexibility that other, much larger, organs lacked. I missed them when playing at other churches in our circuit. Tonally, too, the Brindley was my favourite - it had such a lovely, singing tone that was ideal for Bach”

2: Organist J R Knott, and "transformers" shown at top of the manuals on a larger organ

The drawstops seen above the swell keys (pic 1) are the transformers, as the builder called these accessories. They performed the role somewhat akin to that of general pistons, as a few examples from the labels of various organs show:

Oboe Solo: Clarinet Solo; Grand Chorus; Accompaniment pp; Flute Celeste; String Celeste – and, more obscurely – Orchestral Chorus.

These could be drawn singly or in combination but did not take effect until an additional stop, at the left end of the row marked “Transformers On” (or merely “+”) was also drawn. Existing registration was then temporarily overridden without the departmental stops being moved. Picture 2 shows a larger instrument equipped with transformers. The player here is JR Knott, whose history of the firm is a valuable source.

Comparison of specifications with stop-lists suggests that some tonal effects provided by transformers were achieved synthetically.
The firm's drawstop handles were made of porcelain, a material much used by French builders, but rare in Britain. Transformers, however, were sometimes of turned wood with porcelain labels, as may be seen in picture 3. Brindley & Foster consoles were most distinctive: another feature, usually placed on the right stop jamb was the “Bringradus” indicator to show the position of the crescendo pedal (pic 4).

3: Transformers made from turned wood with porcelain labels

In the 35 years from 1885, the Brindleys, father and son, took out 18 patents covering aspects of their increasingly complicated “metechotic” pneumatic. Their instruments offered some of the advantages later achieved by electric – and later by solid-state - stop control. When they started development, mains electricity supplies were non-existent and they did not become universal until some years after the firm had closed.

4: The “Bringradus” indicator

David Bridgeman-Sutton,
April, 2008

 

Addenda from Facebook friends who have noted:

• Philip Davey: The organ at Truro Methodist is a Brindley and Foster dating from 1895. It has the original soundboards (now electrified). It had some Metacotic features but as far as I can tell no Bringradus. Most of the original pipe work remains with additions over the years. 
• Christopher Lowe: St Gabriel's Anglican church, Middleton Junction, Manchester, still has a 2M+P Brindley and Foster organ still complete with the noted Bringradus pedal and row of transformer stops above the swell. I played it some time ago when it all worked, but nowadays, for reliability reasons, the transformers have been disconnected. Otherwise it is in decent fettle. Tonally it has a pleasingly clear and bright Diapason chorus. I feel it may be the very last of the 1900s B&F tubular pneumatic breed that is still largely as built.
• Andrew Burling:  Most interesting. Thank you! The pipe organ in St George’s Church, Edgbaston in Birmingham UK is (was) a Brindley & Foster. It’s a large 3 manual which has had many later additions. The organ ‘died’ around 10-15 years ago and they now use a 4-manual Phoenix digital (abridged).

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Thanks to the following for the use of pictures:-
1, 3, 4 Edward Bennett of Goertze & Gwyn
2 – the Laycock archive.

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