Funding push to fix Wells Cathedral organ

The organ at Wells Cathedral is more than a century old

Organisers of an appeal to refurbish and renovate the organ at Wells Cathedral say they are raising the funding "as fast as they can."

The Friends of Wells Cathedral has so far raised £950,000 which is almost half the amount required.

The charity wants to raise £1m by the end of the year.

The organ is largely Victorian pipework and was built by Henry Willis. It has not had major work carried out since the 1970s.

The existing pipes need to be cleaned or replaced

Director of Music at the Grade I-listed cathedral, Timothy Parsons, said: "For about 50 years it has been serving the cathedral extremely well, but the time has come for further and significant work."

The Friends of Wells Cathedral says the skills of its organists have been covering up the instrument's problems, with musicians doing their best to disguise "sticking notes, hissing sounds and mechanical malfunctions".

Mr Parsons added: "The organ is not in great shape at all, a third of the pipes we simply can't use at the moment."

The Grand Organ Appeal aims to recondition the instrument by removing all 5,000 existing pipes so they can be repaired, cleaned or replaced.

The project also includes plans to add a few more pipes to increase the range of the instrument.

Timothy Parsons said: "The sound doesn't quite carry to the back of the nave in the way that you would hope. As well as making it work perfectly, we'll also want to improve its musical impact in the building."

The work is expected to take a number of years to complete.

Chair of the Friends’ Appeal Committee, David Morgan-Hewitt said: "The Friends are very grateful for the generous support already received from around the world, which has helped get so close to the halfway on the fundraising journey."