The Abbey Church of Saint Peter and Saint Paul, Bath, commonly known as Bath Abbey, is an Anglican parish church and a former

Benedictine , image = Medalla San Benito.PNG , caption = Design on the obverse side of the Saint Benedict Medal , abbreviation = OSB , formation = , motto = (English: 'Pray and Work') , foun ...

monastery A monastery is a building or complex of buildings comprising the domestic quarters and workplaces of monastics, monks or nuns, whether living in communities or alone ( hermits). A monastery generally includes a place reserved for prayer whi ...

in Bath, Somerset, England. It has had several organs since the first was installed in 1634 and multiple organists and assistant organists since the 16th century.

Organs

The first mention of an organ in the Abbey dates to 1634, but nothing is known of this instrument. The first properly recorded organ in Bath Abbey was built by

Abraham Jordan Abraham, ; ar, , , name=, group= (originally Abram) is the common Hebrew patriarch of the Abrahamic religions, including Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. In Judaism, he is the founding father of the special relationship between the Jews ...

in 1708. It was modified in 1718 and 1739 by Jordan's son. The specification recorded in 1800 was one of twenty stops spread over three manuals. The abbey's next organ was built in 1836 by John Smith of

Bristol Bristol () is a city, ceremonial county and unitary authority in England. Situated on the River Avon, it is bordered by the ceremonial counties of Gloucestershire to the north and Somerset to the south. Bristol is the most populous city in ...

, to a specification of thirty stops over three manuals and pedals. This instrument was rebuilt on a new gallery in the North

Transept A transept (with two semitransepts) is a transverse part of any building, which lies across the main body of the building. In cruciform churches, a transept is an area set crosswise to the nave in a cruciform ("cross-shaped") building wi ...

William Hill & Son William Hill & Son was one of the main organ builders in England during the 19th century. The founder William Hill was born in Spilsby, Lincolnshire in 1789. He married Mary, the daughter of organ-builder Thomas Elliot, on 30 October 1818 i ...

of London in 1868, to a specification of forty stops spread over four manuals and pedals, although the Solo department, which would have brought the total to well over forty, was not completed. A new organ was supplied to the abbey in 1895 by

Norman and Beard Norman and Beard were a pipe organ manufacturer based in Norwich from 1887 to 1916. History The origins of the company are from a business founded in Diss in 1870 by Ernest William Norman (1851–1927). In 1876 he moved to Norwich where he we ...

Norwich Norwich () is a cathedral city and district of Norfolk, England, of which it is the county town. Norwich is by the River Wensum, about north-east of London, north of Ipswich and east of Peterborough. As the seat of the See of Norwich, with ...

. It had 52 stops spread over four manuals and pedals. It was again rebuilt in 1930, and then by

Hill, Norman and Beard William Hill & Son & Norman & Beard Limited (commonly known as Hill, Norman and Beard) were a major pipe organ manufacturer originally based in Norfolk. History They were founded in 1916 by the merger of Norman and Beard and William Hill & Sons ...

in 1948, which brought the number of stops to 58. In 1972 this was increased to a total of 65 speaking stops. The organ was totally reconstructed in 1997 by

Klais Orgelbau Orgelbau Klais is a German firm that designs, builds and restores pipe organs. It is a family run company, founded in 1882 by Johannes Klais senior and is now run by his great-grandson Philipp Klais. The firm is based in Bonn, Germany, and has co ...

Bonn The federal city of Bonn ( lat, Bonna) is a city on the banks of the Rhine in the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia, with a population of over 300,000. About south-southeast of Cologne, Bonn is in the southernmost part of the Rhine-Ru ...

, retaining the existing instrument as far as was possible and restoring it largely to its 1895 condition, although the Positive division was kept. The instrument as it now stands has 63 speaking stops over four manuals and pedals.

Continuo organ

A four-stop continuo organ was built for the abbey in 1999 by Northampton-based

organ builder Organ building is the profession of designing, building, restoring and maintaining pipe organs. The organ builder usually receives a commission to design an organ with a particular disposition of stops, manuals, and actions, creates a d ...

Kenneth Tickell. The instrument, contained in a case of dark oak, is portable, and can be tuned to three pitches: A=440 Hz (modern concert pitch), A=415 Hz and A=486 Hz. A lever pedal can reduce the stops sounding to only the 8' stop and, when released, returns the organ to the registration in use before it was depressed. A page about similar instruments on the builder's website can be found here.

Directors of Music

* William Cupper ???? – 1539 * John Dodwell 1701 * George Griffeth ca 1703 * Abraham Jordan 1709 – 1710 * Thomas Dean 1710 – 1711 * Josiah Priest 1711 – 1726 * Thomas Chilcot 1726 – 1766 * Joseph Tylee 1767 – 1794 * Thomas Field 1795 – 1831 * Charles Milsom 1832 – 1839 *

James Kendrick Pyne James Kendrick Pyne (5 February 1852 – 3 September 1938) was an English organist and composer. Biography He was born in Bath into a musical family. His father, also James Kendrick Pyne (1810–1893) was organist at Bath Abbey for 53 years ...

1839 – 1892 * Albert Edward New 1890 – 1933 * Ernest Walter Maynard 1933 – 1967 * John Dudley Holroyd 1967 – 1985 * Peter King 1986 - 2016 *Shean Bowers (Interim) 2016 - 2017 *Huw Williams 2017-

Organists

* Shean Bowers 2017 - 2022

Assistant organists

* Raymond Jones 1935 – 1975 (Teacher and Organist of a Church destroyed in 1942 air raid) * Marcus Sealy 1974 – 2005 (now Sub Organist) * Mark Swinton 2005 – 2008 * Gary Desmond 2008 – 2010 (post abolished upon creation of new post for Assistant Director of Music)

Assistant Directors of Music

* Shean Bowers 2010 - 2022

Sub Organists

* Marcus Sealy 2005 -2017

References

{{reflist *Bath Abbbey Bath Abbbey Music in Bath, Somerset

Organists An organist is a musician who plays any type of organ. An organist may play solo organ works, play with an ensemble or orchestra, or accompany one or more singers or instrumental soloists. In addition, an organist may accompany congregational ...