Salisbury Parish Church
The story of the Salisbury Parish Church organ is far less adventurous: it was never moved from its original position and only received one major rebuild in its life, although some alterations to its casing in 1950s resulted in its unusual appearance.
Newington United Presbyterian Church, as it was originally known, installed a three-manual Wadsworth organ with twenty-seven speaking stops in 1883.
The organ was soon rebuilt with two additional stops in 1904; pneumatic actions were fitted, and a new console, which incorporated the keyboards and drawstops from the old console, was also installed. The fixtures were provided by Blackett & Howden, but the work was subcontracted to Scovell & Lewis.
A survey of the organ in 1994 found that the Great Trumpet and Choir Cor Anglais were of a later date than the rest of the organ, and are thought to be the additions by Scovell & Lewis in 1904. The organ was overhauled by Rushworth & Dreaper in 1958, when it was resolved to redesign the organ case to allow more light in from the window behind. A subsequent overhaul was discharged by Ronald L. Smith in 1972.
Due to high maintenance costs, Salisbury Parish Church closed in 1993. The congregation united with Mayfield Parish Church on February 7th, 1993 under the name Mayfield Salisbury Parish Church. The former Salisbury Parish Church was sold to a foam manufacturer, and latterly converted to a lighting showroom by Cotterell & Co.
The consideration to move the Salisbury organ, largely unaltered but for renewal and modernization of its parts, demonstrated its merit, and highlights the frequently overlooked value of maintaining the original design of an organ and preserving it from those who seek to make ‘improvements’.
It is unfortunate that the Salisbury organ could not also be incorporated with the existing organ of Mayfield, perhaps even to create a four-manual instrument had the Mayfield organ been more worthwhile, or simply moved unaltered to Mayfield.
Wadsworth Organ Specification
Salisbury Parish Church (1979)
Pedal:
Principal -16
Sub Bass -16
Violoncello - 8
Flute Bass - 8
Great:
Lieblich Bourdon - 16
Open Diapason - 8
Hohl Flute - 8
Gamba - 8
Principal - 4
Twelfth and Fifteenth
Trumpet - 8
Swell:
Lieblich Gedact - 8
Geigen Diapason - 8
Gamba - 8
Rohr Flote - 8
Celeste - 8
Rohr Flote - 4
Octave - 4
Mixture - III
Horn - 8
Oboe - 8
Vox Humana - 8
Choir:
Lieblich Gedact - 8
Dulciana - 8
Lieblich Gedact - 8
Piccolo - 2
Clarionet - 8
Cor Anglais - 8
Couplers:
Swell to Great
Swell to Choir
Great to Pedal
Swell to Pedal
Choir to Pedal
Swell Octave
Swell Suboctave
Accessories:
4, 3, 2 composition pedals
Great to Pedal toe piston
Details:
Console type: Detached
Stop type: Draw Stop
Action: Tracker Pneumatic
Blower: Electric
Rushworth & Dreaper Organ Specification
Mayfield Parish Church (1979)
Pedal:
Resultant Bass - 32
Open Diapason -16
Violone - 16
Bourdon -16
Lieblich Bourdon - 16
Octave - 8
Bass Flute - 8
Trombone - 16
Choir:
Lieblich Bourdon - 16
Hohl Flute - 8
Dulciana - 8
Viol d’Orchestre - 8
Lieblich Flute - 4
Piccolo - 2
Clarinet - 8
Tremulant
Great:
Lieblich Bourdon - 16
Open Diapason - 16
Large Open Diapason - 8
Small Open Diapason - 8
Clarabella - 8
Harmonic Flute - 4
Principal - 4
Twelfth - 2
Fifteenth - 2
Trumpet - 8
Swell:
Violin Diapason - 8
Lieblich Gedact - 8
Viole de Gamba - 8
Voix Celeste - 8
Salicet - 4
Mixture - III
Double Horn - 16
Horn - 8
Oboe - 8
Tremulant
Couplers:
Swell to Great
Swell to Choir
Swell Octave to Great
Great to Pedal
Swell to Pedal
Swell Octave
Swell Suboctave to Great
Swell Suboctave
Choir to Great
Choir to Pedal
Choir Octave
Choir Suboctave
Swell Octave to Pedal
Accessories:
4 thumb pistons to Great
4 thumb pistons to Swell
3 thumb pistons to Choir
Thumb pistons for Sw-Pd, Gt-Pd, Sw-Gt
4 composition pedals to Pedal
4 additional composition pedals
Gt-Pd toe piston
Details:
Console type: Detached
Action: Electro-Pneumatic
Blower: Electric
Compass: 61/30
Written by:
Calum N. Gubby Organist, Liberton Kirk, February 2018
With the assistance of:
Alan Buchan, Curator, Scottish Historic Organs Trust
David Stewart, Author, Organs in Edinburgh
George McDougall, Former Member, Salisbury Parish Church
William Mearns, Church Manager, Mayfield Salisbury Parish Church
