Update - 23rd January 2021
The organ in St Buriana's Church, St Buryan, Cornwall has been awarded a certificate Grade II
A substantial surviving example, mechanically and tonally, from 1901 of Heard & Son's workmanship in the early twentieth century.
It is therefore listed listed in the Institute's Register of Historic Pipe Organs as being an instrument of importance to the national heritage and one deserving careful preservation for the beneift of future generations.
Signed by the Chairman & Secretary 23 January 2021
This certificate is held in trust for the British Institute of Organ Studies while ever this instrument is maintained in a manner consistent with its historical significance. Click here to view the certificate.
St Buryan church organ was built by the Truro firm of Heard and Sons in 1901. The manual action is tracker with mechanical drawstops and the pedals pneumatic. It is certainly one of their best instruments.
The construction is very solid and the beautiful pipework was made and voiced in house. There is one rank in the instrument, the Swell Principal or Gemshorn, that is signed by their voicer William J Brewer 1895. Heard took over the firm of Brewer in 1894. It is a matter of conjecture whether the instrument was built as a complete instrument in 1901 or added to very early in its life time but is certainly all by Heard being very typical of their house style.
The Plymouth firm of Hele & Co cleaned the instrument in the 1920`s and in 1962 carried out a major restoration including replacing the pedalboard and improving the pedal pneumatic action. The Discus electric blower was added in 1948.
The instrument was cleaned and overhauled in 1991 by Lance Foy of Truro. A Fifteenth was added on a spare slide on the swell, the Clarinet revoiced and a balanced swell fitted in place of a trigger pedal.
The organ was originally paid for by Mr James Hawke Dennis the brother-in-law of the Rector at the time, Revd Richard James Martyn. Mr Hawke Dennis also gave a large sum of money towards the construction of one of the Towers of Truro Cathedral and in 1901, on the accession to the throne of King Edward VII, paid for a new Tenor bell for St Buryan church and the re-hanging of the Treble, 2nd and 3rd bells.
The St Buryan organ is as good as any church organ in the area. One of the most impressive stops to find in a village church organ is the Pedal Open Diapason - a very large wooden stop which can be seen on the right-hand side of the organ.
Acknowledgement is due to John Berry and Lance Foy.
List of Drawstops:
GREAT Manual compass CC to G 56 notes
Pedal Compass CCC to F 30 notes
1. Open Diapason Metal 8ft
2. Stopped Bass (from tenor C – for 3 and 4) Wood 8ft
3. Clarabella (to T.C) Wood 8ft
4. Dulciana (to T.C) Metal 8ft
5. Principal Metal 4ft
6. Harmonic Flute Metal 4ft
7. Twelfth Metal 2-2/3ft
8. Fifteenth Metal 2ft
9. Clarinet Metal 8ft
10. Blow (a relic from hand blown times)
SWELL
11. Double Diapason Wood 16ft
(This stop is a Bourdon. The bottom octave is shared with the Pedal Bourdon and is outside the Swell Box)
12. Violin Diapason Metal 8ft
13. Lieblich Gedakt Metal 8ft
14. Salicional (bottom octave from 13) Metal 8ft
15. Voix Celeste (to T.C) Metal 8ft
16. Gemshorn Metal 4ft Swell Mixture
17. Fifteenth Metal 2ft CC - Mid C 15,19,22
18. Mixture (15,19,22) Metal - Treble F 12,15,19
19. Oboe Metal 8ft - G 8,12,15
20. Cornopean Metal 8ft
21. Tremulant (inoperative)
22. Swell Octave Coupler
PEDAL
23. Open Diapason Wood 16ft Action: Manuals – Tracker
24. Principal Metal 8ft Pedals – Pneumatic
25. Bourdon Wood 16ft Wind Pressure approx. 3” wg
COUPLERS
26. Swell to Great Balanced Swell Pedal
27. Swell to Pedal 3 Combination Pedals to Great
28. Great to Pedal 3 Combination Pedals to Swell