Organ charity Pipe up for Pipe Organs noted the number of pipe organs in functioning churches which had become unplayable simply due to a lack of repair or maintenance, and has been crowdfunding towards a target of bringing 26 of these ‘Sleeping Beauties’ back to life in 2026. The funds will offer churches the services of two days’ work by a local organ builder, to fix any straightforward issues.
Pipe Up founder Martin Renshaw said ‘We ran two successful pilot schemes last December in Rochdale and Derby, and we are now able to roll this out nationwide.’
In St Mary’s, Chaddesden, the Abbott organ had been silent for two years due to a fault in the 80-year-old blower. Local organ builders M. C. Thompson replaced the blower and made essential adjustments and tuning with a grant from Pipe Up, returning the organ’s joyful sound to the congregation in time for Christmas carols.
Work is now underway on two further Sleeping Beauties in Wales: the organ of St Teilos in Monmouthshire will have its troublesome blower fixed, and the Sardis Baptist Church in Resolven, near Neath, silent for more than 15 years, will be restored to full voice with the organ builder enlisting a team from the congregation to clean its dirty pipes. Both will then be played in regular services and become available to visiting organists.
More on the Sleeping Beauties campaign can be found here: Pipe Up: Sleeping Beauty Grant
And read more about Pipe Up’s work saving pipe organs from destruction here: Pipe Up for Pipe Organs
feature image: St Mary’s, Chaddesden, under repair with a Sleeping Beauties grant
(courtesy Pipe Up for Pipe Organs)
