Sunderland church organ to be given new home in Malta

Sunderland heritage supporters were unable to raise sufficient funding to retain the organ

A "cherished" organ which belonged to a North East church is being given a new home in Malta.

The instrument had been part of Sunderland's Holy Trinity Church, which is being turned into a cultural venue through a £4.3m restoration.

The organ will itself be restored when it arrives in Malta before being installed at the Basilica of Christ the King in the town of Poala.

Once in place, it will be used for daily worship services.

The organ was built in the late 1800s and initially belonged to a church in the South of England.

It underwent a "major refurbishment" by a Durham-based company in 1936 and later moved to Holy Trinity, the Churches Conservation Trust (CCT) said.

'Fitting new home'

Removal plans were submitted in 2018 but put on hold after 650 objections were lodged.

It was taken away on a temporary basis the following year to enable "urgent" work to be carried out to treat damp and water ingress in the church, and Sunderland City Council gave its backing for permanent removal in September 2020.

"Cherished, but needing a complete overhaul", it was kept in storage while the organisation looked to find it a new home and it is now on its way to Malta, the CCT said.

Its restoration is likely to cost "hundreds of thousands of pounds".

Sarah Robinson, the group's director of conservation, said she was delighted the instrument had "found an eminently fitting new home" where it would be "heard by thousands of people every year".

The organ will be used each day at the Basilica of Christ the King

Canon Marc Andre Camilleri, parish priest at Basilica of Christ the King, described it as a "grand instrument".

He added: "As the basilica dwarfs even the cathedrals of the islands, the organ will be centre stage for national and diocesan commemorations, and we are sure it will draw many intrigued organists."

Sunderland's Grade 1-listed Holy Trinity Church is being transformed into a venue which will tell the story of area and its people over the past 300 years.

It is due to re-open in the autumn.