Barrel organ
Christopher Gerock (fl.1804 - 1837)
Category
Musical instruments, devices and recordings
Date
1810
Materials
Metal, Wood
Measurements
1235 mm (H)477 mm (W)342 mm (D)
Place of origin
Bishopsgate
Order this imageCollection
Snowshill Manor and Garden, Gloucestershire
NT 1335368
Summary
Barrel organ by Gerock, c.1810. Marked 'C.Gerock, 1 Grace Church Street, and ? Bishops Gate St., London'. Tall cabinet in built-on stand with four legs. Thin wooden panels. Top hinged to cabinet and also hinged to fold. Inside, label listing the 10 tunes on each of four barrels. Front panel has two cut-out, arched windows containing carved, gold painted organ pipes, backed with (modern) red, silk material. Lock in a carved ivory plate set into the top of the panel. The whole panel be slid upwards to remove. Beneath it, a white label with 'C.Gerock, 1 Grace Church Street, & ? Bishops Gate St., London'. In black ink. Below that, three pull-out metal knobs attached to wooden levers (the stops) with a label above each marked ‘Diapason’, ‘principal’ and ‘triangle’. Left hand side panel has a small square door in it with a brass handle and hinges. Opens to reveal the in-use (currently no. 2) barrel, and permit its removal. Right hand panel has one vertical and one horizontal, interlocking, sliding mechanisms to enable change of barrel and engagement of the playing mechanism. Inside the cabinet is one barrel, the playing mechanism, lead and wooden organ pipes, and a triangle. Below the cabinet is a box section. It has a drop-down door on the left side, and contains two more barrels. The fourth barrel is separate. 'Barrel organ by Gerock, London, c.1810, belonged to Charles Paget Wade's Great Grandmother' (M. Jessup).
Provenance
Given to the National Trust with Snowshill Manor in 1951 by Charles Paget Wade.
Makers and roles
Christopher Gerock (fl.1804 - 1837)