Our recent dismantling of the pipe organ has uncovered a number of names associated with the building and maintaining of the organ.
We haven't yet discovered who it was originally made for, or where it was used but believe it was relocated to George Street Chapel about 1874.
Keys of the manuals are stamped with both the name of the maker, GW MOORE and the company for whom he worked was R&M DAWSON. The manuals are numbered sequentially 590 and 591.
It seems the original order number may have been 21, which might help with tracking down who made it and for where.
A business card was found which suggests that work was carried out around 1911 by J.P. CROFT, Organ Builder, of 98, Coombrook Street, Manchester (formerly of 66 Oxford Street, Old Trafford, Manchester). Could this be Cornbrook Street?
We have now discovered that JP Croft acted as executor to the will of George Benson, Organ Builder, in 1917 who had premises at 60 Cornbrook Park Road, City Road, Manchester.
A pencil note left on the lead weights over the keys of one of the manuals tells us that the organ was CLEANED & OVERHAULED in FEB 1914 by J. BATH and H. BARLOW.
Roy Lees has already tracked down JP Croft through Census Returns to the address on his card but we have a lot more work to do to associate all the names now linked to the organ.
More information to follow as we uncover it. Or, if you have information that can help, please leave us a message.
