Welcome to the NPOR at Cambridge
© The British Institute of Organ Studies2005 (BIOS)
Registered as Charity No. 283936
The British Organ Archive
The British Organ Archive (formerly English Organ Archive) was established at the Library of the University of Keele in 1974, through the good offices of Mr Stanley Stewart, (then University Librarian), and Dr Michael Sayer, (the first Hon. Archivist). It was removed to Birmingham Public Libraries, Music Department, Central Library in 1984. The material is the property of the British Institute of Organ Studies (except for a few records that remain the property of the businesses themselves) and is held on deposit at the Library.
The British Organ Archive is situated in the Archives Department of the Birmingham Public Libraries: Central Library, Birmingham B3 3HQ. This is located on floor 7, and is open every day except Wednesday and Sunday, between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. The search room is open to all members of the public, free of charge. An appointment is not necessary. The department operates the ticket system administered by the County Archive Research Network. If you do not already possess a Network ticket you will need to complete a registration form on your first visit and to produce some official proof of identification which includes your address. You must bring your ticket with you on each visit. You will be asked to deposit your coat and bag in a key-operated locker. Copying facilities are available at the usual prices. Photocopies up to A3 size can be supplied. The drawings are not available for photocopying: the process damages the colouring that is such a delight in the drawings from the constituent firms of Hill, Norman & Beard.
Queries should be addresses to The Archivist, British Organ Archive at the address given above. The telephone number is 0121 303 4217.
The Content of the British Organ Archive
The material may be divided into primary sources - originating from the concerns and written at the time - and secondary sources - books, periodicals, photographs, pamphlets and manuscript notebooks. Much of the primary material is held on microfiche, the originals consigned to archival storage for preservation.
See the Handlist at Appendix 1 for a summary of material held in the Archive.
The Index
The Index lists the locations of organs mentioned in the Archive; most of the Primary material and some of the Secondary material has been indexed. The task of indexing was begun by Dr. Michael Sayer soon after the Archive was established and has continued until the present time; there is still a large amount of unindexed material, and this will take many years to complete. The Handlist shows which items are included in the Index.
The initial stage of transferring the card index onto a database was completed in August 1998, and this date is given as the Revision Date. Subsequent revisions and additions carry the date on which they were made.
It is important to understand that the Index is not an academic authority in its own right; it is simple a research tool. The source to which the Index refers should be quoted as an authority, not the Index itself. It should be borne in mind that the Index reports information as it is given in the Archive regardless of whether it is right or wrong.
The Editor of the Index is David C. Wickens: 2 Withington Court, Abingdon, OX14 3QB, telephone 01235 538332; E-mail: DCWickens@btinternet.com
Conventions
Counties
Because the material indexed is largely pre 1950, the old county designations apply. London is defined by postal districts.
Exports
Exported organs are indexed by location, country and continent. Many of the countries no longer exist or else have been renamed. The original names, as given in the indexed sources, are used, with modern names cross-referenced where necessary.
Job Numbers
The job numbers are those given in the documents. There is more than one series of numbers in, for example, the Hill, Norman & Beard records: main orders are separate from small orders. To avoid confusion in the index, small order numbers are prefixed with an asterisk and followed by the term ?small?.
London
Locations within London are sorted into areas - such as Westminster, Southwark, Hampstead, Lewisham, etc. Smaller areas within these categories are cross-referenced: Soho, for example, is cross referenced to Westminster. The City of London is labelled ?London [City]?. In order to help locate locations within Greater London, all such are listed under a general London index, labelled simply ?London?, that gives a cross reference to the correct area. To find the ?Royal Festival Hall?, for example, look at ?LONDON, Royal Festival Hall?; this entry then directs you to ?LAMBETH, Royal Festival Hall?; for ?Moorfields Roman Catholic Church? the LONDON entry directs you to ?LONDON [CITY], St. Mary Moorfield?; etc.
Organ Builders
A system of simplified names is used, together with a few abbreviations; ?Wm.Hill & Son and Norman & Beard Ltd.?, for instance, is given as ?HNB?. Some of the information in the secondary sources is imprecise: ?J.W.Walker & Sons?, for example, may be given as ?J.Walker?, ?J.W.Walker? or simply ?Walker?; the last designation may, of course, refer to the firm of ?C.H.Walker?. No attempt is made to edit such entries, except in the case of elementary spelling mistakes, and the occasional filling out of plain abbreviations. The firm ?Jardine? in the primary sources index refers to surviving material from all phases of the firms existence: Kirtland & Jardine, Jardine & Co., Thorold & Smith. A note in the Remarks field makes it clear when the work described was under a title other than Jardine.
Pamphlet
The term Pamphlet is used to describe secondary source material contained in envelope files. These include specification leaflets, opening recital programmes, historical pamphlets, correspondence, loose photographs, etc. Material relating to one location where, perhaps, several different organ builders worked over the years is filed under the place name [usually sorted by county]; material relating to one organ builder but several different organs is filed under the relevant organ builder.
Parish Church
Where the designation ?Parish Church? is given in the Remarks field it indicates that the location in question is referred in at least one source by that title rather than by the dedication. For example, St. James the Great, Haslingden, is referred to as Haslingden Parish Church in at least one source.
Prices
The figures given for the costing of jobs are nominal and often only approximate. They are mentioned in order to give some indication of the magnitude of work involved. Prices are often multiple, with optional extras, and, in estimates and orders, are frequently different from the actual amounts actually paid. They do not, for example, take into account allowances made for old organs being taken in exchange. They should not be quoted as hard facts.
Tuning
Tuning often includes simple maintenance and small repairs.
Abbreviations
