The Parish Church of St Mary Magdalene, Newark-on-Trent

The main organ at St Mary's has a fine history which can be traced back to the 1804 organ by George Pike England. Over the centuries it has been rebuilt and enlarged by notable names such as Bishops, Henry Willis I, and William Hill and Sons. It has 4 manuals and features a full-length 32ft flue rank. In the most recent rebuild by Hill, Norman & Beard (1978/9), a classical Positiv division was added, particularly suited to early music, together with a mobile console.

The transmission system has, however, begun to show signs of age. The combination system can be unreliable, and while the provision of pistons was good at the time, modern repertoire requires more pre-set stop changes. Key-scanning technology has also improved over the last 30 years, and it is felt that the present system does not give quite enought fine detail of an organist's musical interpretation.  

While the instrument is large by parish church standards, much of the organ sound projects east. This allows a great variety of tone-colour for evening services in the church's Quire, but leaves a Nave congregation feeling unsupported unless full-organ with reeds is used!

Organ Specification