The organ at Holy Cross has a somewhat mysterious history – in 1891 a contract was awarded to Mr T. C. Brooke (organist at nearby Fletching church), who owned a music shop selling pianos in Uckfield High Street for the "purchase and erection of a new organ" for a cost of £450.00. It is most likely that Brooke bought the organ in ‘kit form’ from one of the established organ manufacturers of the day and put it together himself, although we have so far been unable to establish who the original manufacturer was! It is said that it was originally destined for the United Reformed Church at the other end of the town – but was deemed too large and moved to Holy Cross instead - with Brooke providing another, smaller organ for the United Reformed Church. This does seem rather an unlikely story but has become something of local legend!
It is also believed that the organ was originally located in the rear gallery – later being moved to its present location in the chancel. It would probably have been at this time that the largest pedal pipes of the Open Diapason 16' were added at the rear of the organ, giving more gravitas to the sound of the organ - the stop knob for this particular rank of pipes is on a rather awkward position on the right hand stop jamb, suggesting a later addition.
The organ was originally blown by water, then by hand, and eventually electricity. There are local people today who recall hand pumping the organ in their childhood - the small door to the pumping chamber being on the aisle side of the organ case. It would seem that Holy Cross was rather late by comparison to have an electric blower installed! The blower itself is housed in front of the organ aisle case in the Christchurch chapel.
The organ was rebuilt in 1971 and restored in 1987. The 1970s work included some tonal changes to the specification which were fairly typical of the tastes of the time to make organs sound more 'neoclassical'. A Viole d'Orchestre and Clarinet, both of 8 foot pitch on the Great were replaced by a Twelfth and Mixture respectively to add more brightness and brilliance to the sound of the organ. On the Swell, the Double Diapason 16' was removed to make way for a 2-rank Sesquialtera, presumably to allow for more 'baroque' sounding combinations. This last change was particularly regretful - the lack of a 16ft stop on the manuals has removed a lot of gravitas and weight - particularly to the full Swell. In addition, the position of the Sesquialtera at the very back of the Swell box has resulted in it being almost impossible to access to tune! Another feature of the rebuild was the conversion of the Pedal action to electric from, it is believed, pneumatic. The organ has two manuals, pedal board with twenty speaking stops and 1,266 pipes
After 130 years of use, the organ has become particularly worn out – the mechanical action is particularly unsatisfactory, being uncomfortably heavy and uneven to play. Many pipes internally are collapsing under their own weight, as well as becoming clogged with decades of dust and dirt, affecting the ability of the pipes to speak properly. The pedal coupler action is damaged with many stickers broken, resulting in a number of notes not coupling from the manuals.
We hope, when funds allow, to embark on a process of renovation of the organ including:
- a full overhaul of the mechanical action and installation of electrical assistance to the coupling
- cleaning and regulation of all pipework
- some tonal changes, including the provision of a Trombone stop to the pedals
You can hear the organ here.
The organ is listed on the National Pipe Organ Register - N15279
Some information about the organ was featured in the BIOS (The British Institute of Organ Studies) in 2021.