William Hill & Son & Norman & Beard Limited (commonly known as Hill, Norman and Beard) were a major

pipe organ The pipe organ is a musical instrument that produces sound by driving pressurised air (called ''wind'') through the organ pipes selected from a Musical keyboard, keyboard. Because each pipe produces a single tone and pitch, the pipes are provide ...

manufacturer originally based in

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History

They were founded in 1916 by the merger of Norman and Beard and William Hill & Son of

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, Dr Arthur George Hill having no male heirs to sustain his business, moving its production to the capital in 1916. Retrieved 6 October 2011 The merged company was bought by John Christie in 1923, and remained in the Christie family until the business was wound up in 1998. Amongst others, the company built the four manual organ in

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(1899, rebuilds and upgrades in 1940–42, 1950 and 1969), Retrieved 6 October 2011 the 5038 pipe instrument in Lichfield Cathedral (1899, rebuilds 1908 and 1974). and the chapel organ of Ellesmere College, Shropshire. Under Christie's leadership, a subsidiary was founded in Australia in 1927, which continued in business until 1974. During that time the Australian company built 86 new organs and 98 rebuilds, as well as carrying out many other repairs and maintenance work.

Christie theatre organs

During the era of

silent film A silent film is a film without synchronized recorded sound (or more generally, no audible dialogue). Though silent films convey narrative and emotion visually, various plot elements (such as a setting or era) or key lines of dialogue may, w ...

s, the company produced theatre pipe organs between 1926 and 1938. These instruments were produced under the brand name ''Christie'', from the name of John Christie, the owner of the business. The components were produced in one the company's various factories (Brighton, Norwich, London etc.) and assembled, together with other specialist items such as

percussions A percussion instrument is a musical instrument that is sounded by being struck or scraped by a beater including attached or enclosed beaters or rattles struck, scraped or rubbed by hand or struck against another similar instrument. Ex ...

and consoles, at their King's Cross factory. During the late 1920s, up to 40 Christie organs were produced each year. The location of 21 of the UK-installed models is currently known, as of July 2014. 30 Christie Organs (and an additional 3 Christie-based composite organs) are known to have been installed in Australia, including at the Enfield Savoy Theatre.

Famous instruments

Among the organs produced was the largest cinema organ built outside the United States, for the Regal Cinema, Marble Arch. This four-manual thirty-unit organ was fitted with 2,514 pipes, a 32-note

carillon A carillon ( , ) is a pitched percussion instrument that is played with a musical keyboard, keyboard and consists of at least 23 bells. The bells are Bellfounding, cast in Bell metal, bronze, hung in fixed suspension, and Musical tuning, tu ...

(the only real organ-operated carillon in the United Kingdom) and a wide variety of special sound effects to accompany the films, although being only the tenth Christie that they had built. A Christie organ was also built for the Gaumont Palace,

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- Europe's biggest cinema, with 6,000 seats - in 1930. After the building closed, the organ was removed and eventually installed at the Pavillon Baltard in Nogent sur Marne. The Organ was classified as a 'historic monument' on 28 March 1977, preventing it from leaving France. In need of restoration, it is being supported by the ''Association pour la Valorisation et le Rayonnement de l'Orgue de Cinéma'' (Organization for the Appreciation and the Promotion of the Cinema Organ.) Retrieved 27 October 2015

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hill, William, and Son and Norman and Beard Ltd. Pipe organ building companies Organ building companies of the United Kingdom Manufacturing companies established in 1916 Musical instrument manufacturing companies of the United Kingdom