Organ

Our pipe organ  was installed by Wadsworth Brothers of Manchester in 1899 at a cost of £500.   

Built using the technology of the time, the keys and pedals were connected to the soundboards by a mechanical link.   This was known as "tracker" action.   The drawstops were also connected by mechanical links to allow different rows of pipes (or stops) to sound.   The significant difficulty of mechanically cross-connecting sections, allowed only three couplers to connect the different sections of the organ.

The sound specification was little changed by modernisation carried out by Willis and Sons in 1963.   The main improvement was the removal of the old tracker action (which would have taken up a large amount of space under the pulpit), and its replacement with an electrical system to connect the keys to the soundboards and pipes.   This is achieved by sending an electrical signal from the keys to operate solenoids to open the passage for some of the wind to a mini bellows.   This then opens the main wind passage to the different notes.   This is known as electro-pneumatic action.   Similarly, the stop action is operated by "tab stops" in place of the old mechanical draw stops.