A BOLD new plan to save Warrington’s historic Parr Hall organ for the town has been unveiled.
If successful, the plan would involve dismantling the 142-year-old organ and moving it from the Parr Hall to St Mary’s Priory Church in Buttermarket Street.
Michael Wynne, director of music at St Mary’s said the move would have many major benefits.
St Mary’s would benefit from one of the finest organs in the country, which would attract people from a wide area into the church.
“An organ so suitable for the accompaniment of Catholic liturgy would enhance the liturgical and musical life of St Mary’s,” he said.
“Links with local universities and the Royal Northern College of Music could be nurtured, furthering the role of education within the church.
“Good relations with Warrington Borough Council and the town could continue.
“St Mary’s would become a landmark for musical and community interest locally and nationally, enabling it to further its mission into society.”
The church is seeking permission from the Trustees of Ampleforth Abbey to approach the borough council with a view to the move taking place.
An online petition has been started to gather support for the idea.
St Mary’s is already recognised as having one of the leading church choirs in the North West and is increasingly becoming a centre for musical excellence, as well as liturgical service, with three choirs, frequent concerts and new musical enterprises being initiated.
It has a choral outreach programme, delivering a singing programme to Catholic schools in Warrington.
The Parr Hall organ was built in Parish in 1869 by the master French organ builder Aristide Cavaille-Coll. It was bought by Warrington Council in 1926 and restored 1972 by Henry Willis and Sons.
Council chiefs controversially agreed to sell the instrument to Sheffield Cathedral but the deal fell through earlier this month when the cathedral admitted it could not raise the money.
Cllr Kate Hannon (pictured) the
council’s executive member for leisure, culture and communities, said at the time that the council would consult with interested parties on the future of the organ.
She said : ‘We
all want to find a solution where the organ is maintained and enjoyed
by as many people as possible and to that end I have asked officers to
review the current condition of the organ and establish a range of
options for the future.
“This will be done by ensuring that we
consult with all interested parties so that elected members can then
determine the best way forward.”
Currently the organ is played on two or three times a year – notably at the annual Christmas concert given by Warrington Male Voice Choir.
The online petition can be found at http://www.gopetition.com/petitions/move-the-historic-cavaille-coll-organ-from-the-parr-hal.html
8 Comments
St Mary’s Priory Church wants the organ. WBC want rid of it. Give it to St Mary’s for the cost of dismantling and transportation. Problem solved. Or is WBC sticking out for a sale of the instrument, therefor confirming suspicions that WBC is just intent on robbing Warrington of another of it’s heirlooms for a profit?
But I take it you like the idea of the move, it’s the first I have heard of it but it does have a great deal of appeal and keeps something worthwhile in Town where presumably it belongs?
It isn’t necessarily the cost of dismantling and transportation that has prevented previous moves. The high cost of maintaining such an instrument properly is going to be an ongoing commitment for whoever has it and in today’s economic climate, any additional ongoing expense is a huge undertaking. Maybe the council would like to use some of their Arts and Culture budget to ensure the organ does stay in the town.
this is my thought also, why can it not stay where it is , what will they put in its place and
WHY are they so eager to sell everything warrington has.
It would be fantastic if the organ stayed in Warringron where it belongs but I will be honest I did have slight reservations abou the fact it may be going into a Church as some people may not go to any of the events due to their own religious beliefs. Also like Silverlady has already said, the cost of maintaining it must be pretty high. Can the Church afford these costs and could they then get rid/sell it themselves if they had to ? I guess they wouldn’t be asking if they thought they couldn'[t meet maintenance costs though. I also agree with Cleopatra in that, ‘IF’ the Church can and will use it, and IF they can afford it’s upkeep then the Council should allow them to have it for FREE (apart from removal and installation costs of course) rather than for the church to have to bid to buy it or be a party that has to be consulted with along with others who may have bigger pockets and be from from elsewhere in the country or even the world. Shame it can’t stay where it is the Parr Hall but the council have made it clear that it is not being used and they want rid of it and It does annoy me how they think they have the right to get rid of, demolish or sell pieces of our heritage that really they don’t actually own as such.
I have just looked at some of the internal images of St Mary’s RC Church all I can say is that it looks STUNNING and would actually make a lovely home to the organ .
Where would they put it in the Church as it is a large organ and would there any problem in the fact that the Church is Grade II listed so English Heritage would probably have to be involved?
There’s a thought though .. Eng H may be willing to pay towards it’s removal and relocation out of their available heritage funds/grants so that our great piece of Heritage remains where it should remain … ie local 🙂 Good luck St Mary’s RC Church and I hope you get the relevant permission to approach the council and that you are sucessfull in the council’s ‘consultation’ process so that the wonderful organ stays in Warringon 🙂
Can the church afford these costs Dizzy? You have heard the saying – As poor as a church mouse. – forget it, it’s only the mouse that is poor. The church is very wealthy indeed. You’ve seen all the gold accessories they have. They also have many investments all over the world. Own uncountable properties.
Of course the church can afford to maintain an organ.
The position of Warrington Male Voice Choir needs to be stated. For the past three years WMVC has resisted Warrington Borough Council plans to give (not sell) the Parr Hall Cavaillé-Coll organ to Sheffield Cathedral. The choir is the main user of the C-C organ with four, sometimes five, concerts each year in the hall, together with practice sessions and occasional recordings, which is why we consider the claim that the organ is rarely used to be so misleading. Men associated with the choir were responsible for persuading the Borough Corporation to purchase the instrument in 1926. In 1969, when the organ was under threat of being scrapped, WMVC, together with the Warrington Musical Society, helped to raise the funds to save it for the town (and for the nation). So WMVC has a vested interest.
Our first preference is for the instrument to remain in the Parr Hall, although we accept that funding difficulties and apathy will continue to cast a long shadow over its future. A more pragmatic solution to achieve a secure future for the instrument would be its removal into the care of St Mary’s Priory Church. We are therefore encouraging the general public to support the removal of the organ to St. Mary’s so that the instrument can be retained in the town for the benefit of future generations, as a cultural treasure for the North West, and to remain available to WMVC and other organisations for use in concerts and recordings.
To maintain the integrity of the Parr Hall as the town’s principal concert venue, WMVC has an informal agreement that a replacement, low maintenance organ ‘fit for purpose’ would be installed in the hall. No doubt, following the local elections, this agreement will need to be renegotiated.
Another piece of local heritage to be sold! Why don’t the Council scrap everything of any value and then there will be nothing left for Warringtonians to get excited about? If you look around the Town everything of any interest that is left is falling to pieces and the Council continually comes up with the excuse that there are insufficient funds to maintain things. What do they do with our Council Tax other than increase the Salaries of the Chief Executive and her Deputy whilst at the same time undermining the rest of our staff? There has got to be another solution for this Organ.