Wells Cathedral Hire a Viscount Organ

It was in April 2025 when we received an email from Timothy Parsons, Director of Music at Wells Cathedral, asking us to prepare a scheme of works and quotation for providing a 3-manual hire instrument with external audio for use while the Cathedral’s Harrison pipe organ underwent significant refurbishment.

We were told this work would be starting in January 2026, and lasting for around 18 months to two years. The last major rebuild of the Wells Cathedral pipe organ was in 1974, and a significant amount of work would be required to bring the organ back to a reliable state and fit for many years to come. This would include dismantling, rebuilding and augmenting the organ.

Installing the Viscount Regent 356 organ

After some general discussion and a visit to the Cathedral, the console agreed for temporary installation was our Viscount Regent 356, having 3-manuals and 56 speaking stops.

The Regent console would be situated in the crossing to give visibility into the Quire as well as the Nave, with two sets of speakers able to command both spaces. With that in mind an external audio solution of 24 speakers and bass speaker was installed, with 12 speakers in the North Nave Triforium, 12 speakers above the North Choir Stalls and bass speaker close to the organ console between them in the crossing.

Below is the stop list specification of the Regent 356 organ.

Pedal		Great		Swell		Choir
Double Open Wood	32	Double Diapason	16	Bourdon	16	Open Diapason	8
Open Wood	16	Open Diapason I	8	Geigen Diapason	8	Gedackt	8
Open Metal	16	Open Diapason II	8	Chimney Flute	8	Dulciana	8
Bourdon	16	Claribel Flute	8	Lieblich Gedackt	8	Unda Maris	8
Principal	8	Stopped Diapason	8	Echo Gamba	8	Gemshorn	4
Bass Flute	8	Principal	4	Vox Angelica	8	Lieblich Flute	4
Choral Bass	4	Harmonic Flute	4	Geigen Principal	4	Flageolet	2
Mixture	IV	Twelfth	2-2/3	Wald Flute	4	Larigot	1-1/3
Contra Bombarde	32	Fifteenth	2	Nazard	2-2/3	Cymbal	III
Trombone	16	Grand Cornet	V	Fifteenth	2	Clarinet	8
Bassoon	16	Mixture	IV	Tierce	1-3/5	Tuba	8
Trumpet	8	Sharp Mixture	III	Mixture	IV	Tuba Mirabilia	8
		Double Trumpet	16	Contra Fagotto	16
		Trumpet	8	Cornopean	8
		Clarion	4	Oboe	8
				Vox Humana	8
				Clarion	4
Great to Pedal		Tremulant		Tremulant		Tremulant
Swell to Pedal		Swell to Great				Swell to Choir
Choir to Pedal		Choir to Great

Voicing the Viscount Organ at Wells Cathedral

In a large cathedral environment and with a large external audio scheme, tonal finishing is of the utmost importance.  You can read all about how the organ was set-up and voiced in another blog that will be published shortly.

Wells Cathedral and the Pipe Organ

Wells Cathedral is an historic, active Church of England cathedral located in Wells, Somerset, England. It is a stunning example of Gothic architecture known for its unique features like the “scissor arches” and the famous Wells Clock.

The Grand Organ at Wells Cathedral

The grand pipe organ dates back to an instrument built by Henry Willis in 1857 (containing pipework of Samuel Green from 1786). This was enlarged by Harrison and Harrison in 1910 and was substantially rebuilt by them in 1973/4. It now consists of 67 stops – five divisions spread across four manuals.

The original organ case was provided by the Friends of Wells Cathedral during the 1973/74 rebuild to a design by Mr Alan Rome, FRIBA. The organ screen was carved by Mr Roger Large.

The Grand Organ Appeal

The Grand Organ is in urgent need of repair, having not had a major overhaul since 1973. In 2024, one of the wind reservoirs in the organ suffered a catastrophic failure and two entire divisions of the organ—the Choir and the Positive—are no longer functioning. There are many shortcomings which now exist on the organ, including sticking notes, hissing sounds, mechanical malfunctions on particular stops and delays in the reaction to the keyboards are all regular occurrences.

The Friends of Wells Cathedral Grand Organ Appeal aims to raise £2m over the 5-year period of The Grand Organ Appeal.

The primary objective of the project is to recondition the organ by removing all 5,000 existing pipes for repair, cleaning or replacement and to overhaul the console, the pedals and the stops. But the vision also includes plans to deliver a significant enhancement to its musical performance.

You can help by making a donation to the appeal or becoming a member of the The Friends of Wells Cathedral.