St Mary & St Margaret - Castle Bromwich Parish Church
ORGAN RESTORATION APPEAL
RESTORATION COMPLETE!
So how does it sound now!?
By the end of August 2020 the team of organ specialists from Boggis & Co of Diss, Norfolk had almost finished the refurbishment and reinstallation of the historic organ of St Mary & St Margaret's church, Castle Bromwich. Covid-19 stopped the work in its tracks, and at times it seemed as if the project would never be finished. But what a surprise for the congregation at the Patronal Festival on Sunday 6 September, when our Musical Director Martin Bates ended the service by playing Bach's Toccata in D Minor on our newly restored organ.
Our thanks to all who have contributed in so many different ways to the successful completion of this ambitious project
Click here to read the full story.
ABOUT: CASTLE BROMWICH CHURCH ORGAN
The organ of St Mary & St Margaret's church is a familiar and well-loved instrument that has been enjoyed by worshippers and visitors to Castle Bromwich church for some 200 years.
It has been heard regularly at Sunday services and has played an important role in the main Christian festivals, such as Christmas and Easter. Over centuries, it has welcomed thousands of children brought to baptism, celebrated marriages and commemorated the lives of the faithful departed as they make their last journey.
This venerable instrument has been regularly tuned and maintained since church records began but after 200 years it was in need of a major
restoration. It would have been relatively easy to electrify the organ mechanism. However, this would have detracted from the historic importance and character of the instrument. We made the
decision to retain the traditional organ by restoring the worn-out parts as craftsmen would have done 200 years ago.
If the problem had not been addressed, the organ would certainly have failed before long. A full restoration has extended the life of this historic instrument and preserved the unmistakable sound of a traditional church pipe organ in Castle Bromwich for many years to come.
APPEAL LAUNCHED
The Appeal was launched in October 2018 when organist Martin Bates told of the organ's long history and demonstrated what it still could do.
Click to hear Martin explain the problems with the organ
- and hear him play!
GALLERY
Some of our visitors
St Mary & St Margaret
The Parish Church
of Castle Bromwich
Music has played an important part of worship at Castle Bromwich parish church for many centuries. We have now achieved our target and raised some £50,000 to save our historic organ for the generations to come.
CHURCH ORGAN APPEAL
St Mary and St Margaret
Castle Bromwich Parish Church
Old Chester Road
Castle Bromwich
Birmingham B36 9DE
Tel: 0121 747 1270
Email: info@stmaryandstmargaret.co.uk
