Comber Non-Subscribing Presbyterian Church Co. Down
We were contacted by Comber Non-Subscribing Presbyterian Church Co. Down regarding a pipe organ to replace their aging electronic. A suitable pipe organ was found in England and was subsequently restored and installed in the church at minimal cost.
A small pipe organ had originally existed in the church but this was displaced in the 1960s in favour of an electronic. By 1999 this electronic needed replaced and we are pleased that the congregation decided to opt for a pipe organ. The church was built in 1836 and this historic organ now installed is very contemporary with the building.
The builder of the pipe organ is attributed to Minns of Taunton, Somerset, and can be dated to c1867 by the newspaper on the bearers of the soundboard. It originally stood in Milverton Methodist Church, Somerset, and was removed in 1999 having been displaced by an electronic. The specification and voicing are typical of an earlier chamber organ style. The only alterations are the addition of an electric blower and the fitting of stoppers to the Open Diapason 8' bass to make 16'.
The front pipes had their original paint and were in poor condition. They have since been restored and totally repainted in the original colour and finish by a professional art restorer.
The soundboard which had never been worked on since it was built and had latterly given some trouble with murmers was fully restored, flooded & repalleted by ourselves in June/July 2005.