The Featured Organ of the Month for July, 2005 is our first Cinema Pipe Organ from anywhere outside the United States. This awesome instrument is located the Great Town Hall of Stockport, Cheshire County, England, U.K. It is owned and mantained by The Lancastrian Theatre Organ Trust.

This feature was co-written by fellow Walnut Hill Featured Artist and Wall of Famer, Jim Reid. We apprediate the hard work he did researching the material you are about to read. We want to dedicate this month's feature to Bruce Miles from York, England, creator of the beautiful Cinema Organ SoundFont that gives the Mighty MidiTzer by Jim Henry its lovely voices. Thanks, Bruce.

Visit The Lancastrian Theatre Organ Trust

We also thank the Trust for letting us quote from their website dedicated to this fantastic Theatre Pipe Organ. Be sure to visit their site to learn more about this fine WurliTzer, as well as all the other great Theatre Pipe Organs under their care.

The Paramount Manchester was opened in October 1930 and was originally going to be one of a series of 50 proposed Paramount Theatres, these were to be equipped with WurliTzer PUBLIX 1 Theatre Organs. Only one of these fine instruments was finally installed at the Paramount Manchester, being the only one of that model to leave the United States.

When the Odeon Cinema was converted into a multicinema venue, the WurliTzer was acquired by The Lancastrian Theatre Organ Trust in the face of attempts from overseas theatre organ societies to purchase it.

The organ was installed in the Free Trade Hall over a period of four years and was opened to the public in a special BBC Organists Entertains program in September 1977. The organ was placed on loan to the City of Manchester.

In August of 1996, Manchester opened a new International Concert Hall, called the "Bridgewater Hall", named after The Duke of Bridgewater, who built the Canal system around Manchester. As a result, the Free Trade Hall was closed, and as the new Concert Hall was built with a Marcussen Concert Organ, the Mighty Wurlitzer was again looking for a new home.

After several months of negotiations with Manchester City and various local authorities, a new home was found in the Great Hall of the magnificent Stockport Town Hall, a listed heritage establishment built in 1908.

It was decided to completely restore and rebuild the organ as near to its original condition as possible, hence negotiations were made for a grant from the Foundation for Sport and the Arts. This grant has enabled one of the largest Theatre Pipe Organ restoration projects in Europe to be undertaken.

It is quite fitting that this superb example of a WurliTzer Theatre Pipe Organ is located in Cheshire County. It is the only Theatre Pipe Organ in a public building in the county. Cheshire County is the birthplace of Robert Hope-Jones, telephone engineer, inventor and organ builder.

Robert Hope-Jones is credited as being the father of Theatre Pipe Organs, his many patents taken out at the British, and later, the US Patent Office, were the foundation of the design of the Theatre Pipe Organ as we know it today, and certainly the Wurlitzer Theatre Pipe Organs we have grown to love.

The Stockport Town Hall was the pride of local burghers when it was opened by the Prince of Wales in 1908. Built in white limestone with its distinctive tiered clock tower, it was (and still is) fondly known as "the wedding cake". It was designed by Brummel Thomas, who had earlier designed a town hall for the city of Belfast.

The interior is richly decorated with marble and has grand wrought iron balustraded double staircases. Besides council chambers, offices and a mayoral suite, there is a great hall, known as The Ballroom, which hosts public functions and is also available for hire for private parties and functions, as well as being used for its regular midweek Tea Dances.

Stockport Town Hall was built by the architect Arthur Brumwell Thomas in the Renaissance style. The building is known as the 'Wedding Cake' because of its ornate, white facade. Completed in 1907 at a cost of 56,881 pounds, it opened for business in 1908.

Located on the River Mersey about 7 miles South-East of Manchester City Centre, Stockport is an attractive old town with a long history. Oddly, two alternative explanations seem to exist for the origin of the name of Stockport. One has it that, as a Saxon village, it was given the name "Stockport", which means " the market place at the hamlet " In fact, it has had a market there since well before it was officially granted in 1260 AD. Strangely, though both Cheadle and Bramhall (which now exist within the Metropolitan Borough) were referenced in the Domesday Book of 1086, Stockport itself received no mention.

Alternative authorities have it that here is sufficient evidence to support the argument that there had existed a fortified stronghold in the vicinity since ancient British times, and that even Agricola had recognised its strategical advantages and fortified Stockport to guard the passage of the Mersey. The town's name, then, could have been derived from two alternative Saxon words: "stoc" - a stockaded place or castle; and "port" - a wood. Literally, a castle in a wood. Either explanation is plausible and possible.

Track List

1. Our Squadron Leader
2. Music from Heaven
3. Don't Blame Me
4. Mexican Hat Dance
5. Evergreen
6. Dance of the Hours
7. Concerto for Lovers
8. Saving All My Love for You
9. Swinging Shepherd Blues
10. Music by Henri Mancini
    • a) Anyway the Heart Goes
    • b) The Thorn Birds Theme
    • c) Darling Lili
    • d) Dear Heart
    • e) Whistling Away the Dark
    • f) Mr. Lucky
11. Body and Soul
12. Telstar
13. Medley
    • a) Careless Whisper
    • b) Last Christmas
14. Soho Samba
15. The Haunted Ballroom
16. Festival Toccata

This wonderful instrument has 4 manuals and 20 ranks of pipes. The specification of this organ was drawn up by Jesse Crawford, who in the 1920-30's was allegedly the highest paid organist in the world, earning an estimated 100,000 pounds per year.