Pipe organ
William Gray (1757 - 1821)
Category
Musical instruments, devices and recordings
Date
1807
Materials
Metal, Wood
Measurements
138.00 x 82.00 x 54.00 in
Order this imageCollection
Killerton, Devon
NT 921966
Summary
Chamber Organ. Casework in mahogany, satinwood, and tulipwood, outlined with black (ebony?) and white (holly?) stringing. Given to Lydia Acland (né Hoare)by her father Henry Hoare in 1807. Built by William Gray in 1807. Rebuilt in 1901 by Henry Dyer Present state: Two manual organ with a ‘slide in’ pedal board. Manual compass C – g3 Pedal compass C – g Swell Organ: Oboe 8ft (c – g3) Octave Gamba 4ft (c – g3) Lieblich Gedact 8ft Violin Diapason 8ft Great Organ: Fifteenth 2ft Flute 4ft (c – g3) Principal 4ft Dulciana 8ft (c-g3) Stopt Diapason 8ft Open Diapason 8ft (F – g3) Pedal: Bourdon 16ft Couplers: Swell to Great Swell to Pedal Great to Pedal ‘Hitch down’ swell pedal Manuals have tracker action, the pedal action is pneumatic. ‘Discus’ blower in box to left of case. A press button timer on the wall above the blower allows a player six second’s worth of wind. (Probable original specification of the organ as built by Gray in 1807 deduced by Mander in 1977: Single manual, no pedalboard. Compass GG (no GG#) – e 2 Open Diapason 8ft Stopt Diapason 8ft Dulciana 8ft Principal 4ft Fifteenth 2ft Sequialtera Bass II ranks Cornet Treble II ranks [There was probably a pedal cancelling all but the Diapasons, indicated by filled holes in the case work])
Provenance
Acland, ordered from William Gray in 1805. Moved and work carried out to pipes, couplers and pedals 1900 (source Devon Heritage Centre archives) "The organ was built for Lydia and lent a background to the very frequent family prayers. Late in the nineteenth century her grown sons recollected the sound with much sentimentality ". Lady Anne Acland 21/03/1977
Marks and inscriptions
1) This organ was built by Willian Gray in 1807. Rebuilt by Henry Dyer and Son, 64 Burghley Road, London. N W 1901 2) Henry Dyer and Son, Organ Builders, London.
Makers and roles
William Gray (1757 - 1821), maker