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

Mayfield Parish Church

Mayfield Church was established in 1875 as a Free Church congregation in the developing suburbs of Newington to serve the rapid movement of the population to this area. The congregation met in a classroom at Clare Hall School before securing the present site on Mayfield Road/West Mayfield.

When the church opened in 1879, it was neither embellished with stained-glass windows nor adorned with its famous spire; there was no electricity, and the church was lit by gas. It was not until the second ministry in the 1880s that attention turned to fully completing the church after the building debt had been cleared. Generous gifts from wealthy members were forthcoming, and the structure was soon completed with the spire, clock, and bell from Mr. Johnston Stewart in 1895. The organ, a two-manual H.S. Vincent instrument with twenty-three speaking stops, was the gift of Mr. Harry W. Smith, who defrayed the £1,000 purchase. The organ wassited in the apse, with an off-set console beneath the pulpit, and proved a fashionable addition to the church in 1895.

The services of the precentor were retained after the installation of the pipe organ; Mr. William Geoghegan, who had led praise since the inception of the congregation in 1875 and received a salary of £40, subsequently raised to £52, became engaged as Choir Master. When he retired in 1910, either by coincidence or perhaps by the saving of his salary, the organ was rebuilt that year, with one additional stop, by Arthur E. Catlin.

There were other gifts that soon followed the organ, such as the installation of stained-glass windows in the apse in 1900, but it was thereafter determined that the position of the organ in the apse detracted from the inherent beauty of the building; however, the organ would remain in the apse until the 1930s, when the fourth minister, Mr. J.K. Thomson, promoted a renovation of the church. He suggested that the organ be resited to provide an uninterrupted view of the apse and its stained-glass windows. The organ was rebuilt and moved by Arthur E. Ingram to a specially constructed chamber in the south transept in 1932. Ingram also provided a new console, which was sited beneath the Stuart Memorial, and thereby allowed the apse to be fully revealed. The focal point of the church had changed from one of proclamation and grandeur to that of peace and mediation.

In 1959, the nearby Fountainhall Road Parish Church closed: its congregation had never regained its former strength after losing the hinterland of its parish to the Reid Memorial Church, and the congregation duly amalgamated with Mayfield. As a profound act of this union, the best parts of the 1897 Eustace Ingram organ of Fountainhall Road Parish Church were dismantled and incorporated with the Mayfield organ to create a Choir (or third manual) in 1962. By all accounts, this work by Henry Hilsdon produced a fine instrument, and the Mayfield organ, now with thirty-four speaking stops over three manuals, greatly enhanced worship. Fountainhall Road Parish Church was demolished in 1975 to make way for the Newington Library.

Regrettably, the Hilsdon rebuild only gave ten years of service as a fire inflicted considerable destruction to the roof of Mayfield Parish Church in 1969. The actual fabric of the building escaped without serious damage, but many of the fine internal features, including the organ console, were inevitably lost.

The newly-refurbished church with Rushworth & Dreaper Organ (1970)

However, this meant some improvements could be secured as part of the reconstruction stratagem. One such considered improvement was the moving of the organ to the rear gallery. By doing this, not only could the transepts be opened up, but a prominent position in the gallery would better reveal the qualities of the organ, flooding the nave with sound rather than speaking across the congregation into the north transept. The organ was once again rebuilt and moved, this time by Rushworth & Dreaper, in 1970. Another new console was provided and placed in the gallery. With choir members also re-located to this celestial position, an angelic effect of music and singing floating over the congregation was achieved whilst maintaining the apse as the focal point of the building; nevertheless, the gallery proved less popular with choir members, who felt divorced from proceedings, being able to neither see nor be seen.

Despite these good intentions, by 1994, the organ required a substantial overhaul. It was determined unwise to spend significant sums of money due to its quality and technical shortcomings: the work in the 1970s had left the organ underpowered and its appearance was not considered becoming of Mayfield Parish Church. The organ of the recently-closed Salisbury Parish Church was available, but the united Session decided against moving the Salisbury organ: although robust in design, and having survived in a largely unaltered state, its parts were all towards the end of their life, and considerable renewal would have been necessary.

In its place, a three-manual Allen electronic organ was installed in the south transept in 1996. This left the organ of Salisbury Parish Church at the fate of its new owner, who chose to scrap it. By the end of 1996, both organs had been broken up, albeit for different reasons and by different people.

Two mutation ranks from the Mayfield organ endure at Corstorphine St. Anne’s Parish Church, having been added there by Ronald L. Smith in 1997.

After the removal of the pipe organ from Mayfield Parish Church, the gallery was restored to a spectator balcony, and both organist and choir returned to the front of the building. The choir is now happier to be back in the action.

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

 

Newington Trinity -Mayfield War Memorials 

 

On the walls of the north transept at Newington Trinity - Mayfield  there are several war memorials from various congregations which have come together to form the current church.
 

Three of the war memorials come from the following three churches: Newington South Church, Mayfield North Church and  Fountainhall Road Church.
 

There is also a memorial from St Leonard's Parish Church which closed after first joining with Newington Parish Church. The building they inhabited is now the Queen's Hall.

There is also one from 3rd Edinburgh Company Boys' Brigade which had strong links with Mayfield Church. Anyone with particular interest in the Boys' Brigade may also like to view the many photographs of members which were found in our church archives and can be seen here in the gallery on this site.

The memorials can be found on the walls of the north transept of the church as shown -





 

NEWINGTON SOUTH CHURCH

This memorial is on the east wall of the north transept. It contains 5 panels as shown.. Across the base of the middle three panels are the words 'GREATER LOVE HATH NO MAN THAN THIS THAT A MAN LAY DOWN HIS LIFE FOR HIS FRIENDS'

NEWINGTON SOUTH CHURCH - The names inscribed are as follows -

Far left panel

To the memory of those of this Church who gave their Lives in the World War 1939 - 1945                                                                              

William Pearce

William McGregor

Graeme Thomson

Alex Simpson

James W. Martin

Donald Alexander Gunn

Stanley Grieve Beattie

Ian Leonard Stonehouse

Tom Brown

Isabel Mauchlen Gibbs

Ida Thomson  
 

Left panel 

1914 - 1918

Private Andrew Archibald

Private Robert Bryson

Private Adam Kerr Buchan

Major James Chalmers  M.C., DCM.

Private Charles Clark

Lieut. David J. Clow. D.C.M.

2nd Lieut. Oswald W. Clow

Private Thomas H. Clow, M.A.

Private David Fairweather

Captain F.D. Farquharson

Sergt. Frank Forrest, M.M.

Private Alexander Hamilton

Private Gordon Hardie

2nd Lieut.  Henry M. Horrox

Private George King

Private Thomas Leadbetter

Sergt. Malcolm Macfarlane

Private Hugh D. Mackay

Centre panel

To the Glory of God and in grateful remembrance of 153 members and adherents of this Congregation who served in the Great War 1914 – 1918 and especially of those whose names are here recorded who died that we might live.

Right panel

Lt/Cpl. Charles B. Mackenzie

Private George McLaren

Private John Marr                                                                                                                                    

Lt/Cpl Alexander Millar

2nd Lieut. George I. Millar

Sergeant John Millar

Private John Murray

2nd Lieut. John J. Paterson

Captain John Cairns Rae, M.C.

Private David Ross Ryrie

RSM Thomas Simpson

Drummer Richard Sinclair

Private Robert Spence

Lt/Cpl. James Thomson

Private William K. Waterston

Rifleman William Webb

Private James A. Williamson 
      
Far right panel

1914 – 1918 – “Died on Service”

John Ainslie – 2nd Lt. 9th R.S.

John S. Clark – L. Cpl. 1st Can

Robert Craig – Pte. R.S.

Louis G. Duffus -  Pte M.G.C.

David W. Gray – 2nd Lt. 3rd Camerons

Robert Grieve – Cpl. 15th R.S.

Herbert H. Hartley – 2nd Lt. R.F.C.

Hugh Lammie – Pte  R.S.

Wm Lawson – Capt 14th A & S.H.

Wm. C. McBeath – Pte 172nd Can M.R.

John McFarlane – C.Q.M.S. 3rd R.S.

Wm. H. Macintosh – Lt. 4th Gordons

James McNab – 2nd Lt. 4th R.S.

Robert Phemister – Pte 5th R.S.

James  McC  Rennie – Pte 11th R.S.F.

Walter Robertson – Pte 9th Seaforths

A. Aitken Ross – Lt.Col. R.A.M.C.

Wm Sargent – L. Cpl 1st Camerons

Charles Scott – Cpl. 5th R.S.

Walter L. Scott – Pte 5th Seaforths

William Skinner – Pte 4th R.S. & 1st Cl Stoker HMS Hampshire

James S. Struth – 2nd Lt. 17th R.S.

Robert J. Swan – 2nd Lt R.F.A.

Edwin Thomson – Cpl 5th R.A.

William Thomson – Pte 4th R.S.

James W. Wilkie – Pte 6th R.S.

Alexr. Williamson – Pte 5th R.S.

Robert B. Young  - Pte 14th A. & S.H.     
                                                                                                             

MAYFIELD NORTH CHURCH

This memorial consists of two panels on the north wall of the north transept.

 

MAYFIELD NORTH CHURCH - The names inscribed are as follows -

Left panel

TO THE GLORY OF GOD AND IN MEMORY OF THE MEMBERS AND ADHERENTS OF THIS CONGREGATION WHO GAVE THEIR LIVES IN THE GREAT WAR 1914 - 1919

John A. G. Adams – Seaforth Highlrs

Arthur Wills Adlam – Royal Scots

Andrew Brunton – A & S. Highlrs

James A.G. Cameron – Cameron Highs.

John Fairgrieve – Royal Scots

Eric W. Gardiner – Wireless Operator

Charles R. Gray – A & S. Highlanders

William A.D. Hunter – Black Watch

Marshall Lee – Royal Scots

John Jackson Low – Royal Engineers

Eric Milroy – Black Watch

George Charles Morison – Royal Scots

Edward D. Mackintosh – Aus Imp Forces

George H. Macalister – R.S. Fusiliers

George A. Overton – Canadian Exped.  Force

Findlay MacFadyen Ross – Royal Scots

Joseph Scott – Cameron Highlanders

John Watt Senter – R.A.M.C.

Charles W. F. Sutherland – Royal Fusilrs.

George White – Royal Scots 
                                                                                                                                               

Right panel
TO THE GLORY OF GOD AND IN MEMORY OF THE MEMBERS AND ADHERENTS OF THIS CONGREGATION WHO GAVE THEIR LIVES IN THE WORLD WAR 1939-1945
Leslie G. Cairns  - Special Air Serv
Cameron D. Carnegie -  R A CH D
William S. Currie - Royal Air Force
William H. Farquhar -  A & S H
Thomas C. Guthrie -  Royal Air Force
James H. Jeffers -  Cameron Highs
Ian Meiklejohn -  Royal Air Force
Ian G. McEwan -  Royal Air Force
Ronald McLean -  Royal Air Force
Michael W. H. Robinson - Sikh L I
James M. Ross -  Royal Air Force
Thomas Stark -  R Inniskilling D G
John C Stewart  - Royal Signals
Alastair D Thomson  -  Mahratta L I
Robert E. Wright - Royal Engineers
They shall grow not old as we that are left grow old. 
Age shall not weary them not the years condemn.
At the going down of the sun and in the morning we will remember them.
 

FOUNTAINHALL ROAD CHURCH

This memorial is in the centre of the north wall of the north transept.

The names inscribed are as follows -

TO THE GLORY OF GOD AND IN MEMORY OF THE MEMBERS AND ADHERENTS OF THIS CONGREGATION WHO GAVE THEIR LIVES IN THE GREAT WAR 1914 – 1919

James C. Adam - M.G.C.

Henry Anderson – 6th R.S.

Wm. McG Bonnar – 6th A.I.L.H.

William Cameron – 5th R.S.

James L. Lawrence – 15th R.S.

James Laidlaw – 5th R.S.

Andrew Laidlaw – 5th R.S.

James D. Mill – A.S.C.

Robert R. Ritchie – 4th R.S.

Louis M. Ritchie – NYAS LD VR

James Rorrison – 4th R.S.

Robert Thomson Jnr – S.AfEF

Alexander H. White – R.F.A.                                                                                                                  

1939 – 1945

Tom Cochrane – 14th Q.R.R.

Ian Hastie – R.N.

Ian Skene Melvin – R.A.F.

John Symon – R.E.

Kenneth N. Thomson – R.A.F.
 

ST LEONARD'S PARISH CHURCH

This memorial is on the west wall of the north transept.

The names inscribed are as follows -

To the Glory of God and in Memory of the Members of this Congregation who fell in The Great War 1914-1919

Cpl Peter Bathgate - Gordons

Cpl William Carlton - Camerons

Cpl John C. Watson – L.R.F.

L/Cpl William Sorlie – R.S.                                                                                                                     

Pte Harry Anderson – R.S.

Pte James Bee – R.F.A.

Pte William Black  R.S.

Pte William J. Dickson - Camerons

Pte Frank Donald - Seaforths

Pte George Erskine – R.E.

Pte Robert Erskine – R.F.A.

Pte David Shaw - Camerons

Pte Harry Sutherland – R.S.

Pte James L. Wood  - R.E.                                                                                                             

“Faithful Unto Death”
 

Also in the Second World War

W.O. Edward Kane -  R.A.

Pte Joseph Kinghorn – A & S.H.

P.O. John Morrison – R.N.
 

And in Korean Waters

SBA Allan Findlay - RN
 

3rd EDINBURGH COMPANY THE BOYS' BRIGADE

This memorial is on the west wall of the north transept.

 

NOTE - Anyone with particular interest in the Boys' Brigade may also like to view the many photographs of members which were found in our church archives and can be seen here in the gallery on this site.

 

TOP PLAQUE
TO THE GLORY OF GOD AND IN AFFECTIONATE REMEMBRANCE OF JOHN McLAREN
BORN 6th  FEBRUARY 1854 Died 7th  AUGUST 1918
FOUNDER AND FOR TWENTY-FIVE YEARS CAPTAIN OF THE 3RD EDINBURGH (MAYFIELD) COMPANY OF THE BOYS’ BRIGADE .HE WAS THE LIVING EMBODIMENT OF THE SPIRIT AND PURPOSE OF THE BOYS’ BRIGADE AND MOVEMENT.   HE CONSECRATED HIS TIME, MEANS AND ABILITIES TO THE COMPANY AND EVER SOUGHT TO ADVANCE THE KINGDOM OF GOD AMONG THE BOYS. HE LOVED THEM AND BELIEVED IN THEM.  HIS WORKS AND THEIR FRUITS AS SEEN IN THE BIBLE CLASS AND IN MANY FORMS OF SERVICE AND ACTIVITY AND ABOVE ALL IN LIVES MADE BETTER ARE HIS TRIUMPHANT RECORD. UNDER HIS LEADERSHIP THE COMPANY WON A NAME AND FAME THROUGHOUT THE LAND.  THE OLD BOYS AND PRESENT MEMBERS MOURN THE LOSS OF A PERSONAL FRIEND AND A BELOVED CAPTAIN.
“A GOOD SOLDIER OF JESUS CHRIST”

 

LOWER PLAQUES

1914 - 1919
3rd Edinburgh Company, the Boys’ Brigade
 To the Glory of God and in Grateful Memory of the Officers and Old Boys who fell in The Great War
Officers
Lieutenant William Duncan
Ex-Lieut. John Fairgrieve
Ex-Lieut. Edward D. McIntosh
Ex-Lieut. Charles Paterson
 Old Boys
Thomas W. Aitken
David P.L. Anderson
George E. Archer
Peter Ash
George Blair
James M. Briggs
Andrew Brunton
Alexr. C. Cessford
William Colquhoun
James B. Coutts
John L. Crow
John L. Cruickshank
William Davidson
James Dods
Alexander Nisbet Douglas
William Downie
Thomas L. Eagle
James Edgar
George Fernie
Alexander Frame
George Frame
Frank W. Fraser
Andrew Gairn
Robert Galloway
Thomas Gibson
William Gollan
Robert W. Grant
Thomas Greig
William C. Gunn
Thomas Hammond
Alexander M. Henderson
John Henderson
John Henderson
John C. Hiddles
Thomas Hogg
Charles H. Hyslop
Thomas Ireland
James W. Irvine
Robert D.W. Irvine
Robert Johnston
John T. Keppie
Peter Keppie
George C. King 
Frank Kynoch
George Lees
Hugh D. McKay
George W.D. McLaren
John A McLean
Andrew McPherson
John McRitchie
John G. McWilliam
John H. Millar
Charles R. Mitchell
Matthew N. Mitchell
William A.W. Mowatt
William Moxey
Robert Myles
George B. Orr
Robert W. Pender
Alexander B. Pow
William M. Ramage
John R. Ramsay
Alexander Reynold
Alfred R. Robb
Thomas Robertson
Gilbert H. Robinson
Henry Rutherford
Joseph Scott
John Shaw
Ernest A. Spicer
Andrew C. Steedman
James H. Steedman
Charles Stewart
William Stewart
James B. Strang
William Sutherland
David M. Taylor
Andrew L. Thomson
James S. Todd
Jas. W Vandepeear
David J. Waddell
William Wallace
William K. Waterston
Anan K. Whyte
James A. Williamson
William R. Wilson
David Wood
William Wood
Peter S Yorston
Alexander Young
(Names are at the bottom, not in alph. order)
James Nisbet  George L.B. Harper  Daniel A. McBeth   David Pringle  Stewart Sinclair  William McClelland

 

 

1939 – 1945
William Buchanan
Eric Burt
William Day
George Gray
William Houston
H.W. Johnstone
John Lanaghan
Richard Oates
Thomas B. Pearson
David Reynolds
David Robertson

James Young

 

CHURCH HISTORY

The chart below shows the history of the joining togther of the churches to form Mayfield Salisbury Parish Church as it is today.

Taken from the booklet entitled Parish Guide which was prepared by Andrew Bethune and published by Mayfield Salisbury Church in 1996