Brindley & Foster
Encyclopedia
Brindley & Foster was a pipe organ
builder based in Sheffield
who flourished between 1854 and 1939.
Charles Brindley was born in Baslow
in the early 1830s. He retired in 1887 and died in 1893.
Brindley was a follower of Edmund Schulze
. He built solid instruments with powerful choruses using Vogler’s Simplification system. Pipes placed in chromatic order on the soundboards allowed for a simple and reliable key action and permitted similar stops to share the same bass, keeping both space and cost to a minimum. The Swell organ was often mounted above the Great in the German manner.
After the partnership with Foster they began to manufacture more complex pneumatic mechanisms for stop combinations; he also concentrated on the production of orchestral effects.
The business of Brindley and Foster was bought by Willis in 1939.
Pipe organ
The pipe organ is a musical instrument that produces sound by driving pressurized air through pipes selected via a keyboard. Because each organ pipe produces a single pitch, the pipes are provided in sets called ranks, each of which has a common timbre and volume throughout the keyboard compass...
builder based in Sheffield
Sheffield
Sheffield is a city and metropolitan borough of South Yorkshire, England. Its name derives from the River Sheaf, which runs through the city. Historically a part of the West Riding of Yorkshire, and with some of its southern suburbs annexed from Derbyshire, the city has grown from its largely...
who flourished between 1854 and 1939.
Background
The business was established by Charles Brindley in 1854. He was joined by Albert Healey Foster in 1871 and the company acquired the name Brindley & Foster.Charles Brindley was born in Baslow
Baslow
Baslow is a village in Derbyshire, England, in the Peak District, lying between Sheffield and Bakewell. It is situated on the River Derwent just north of Chatsworth House. A seventeenth century bridge spans the river in the village, alongside which is a contemporary toll house...
in the early 1830s. He retired in 1887 and died in 1893.
Brindley was a follower of Edmund Schulze
Edmund Schulze
Heinrich Edmund Schulze was a German organ builder. He was the last of five generations of the Shulze family to build organs, starting with Hans Elias Schulze , Edmund's great-great-grandfather...
. He built solid instruments with powerful choruses using Vogler’s Simplification system. Pipes placed in chromatic order on the soundboards allowed for a simple and reliable key action and permitted similar stops to share the same bass, keeping both space and cost to a minimum. The Swell organ was often mounted above the Great in the German manner.
After the partnership with Foster they began to manufacture more complex pneumatic mechanisms for stop combinations; he also concentrated on the production of orchestral effects.
The business of Brindley and Foster was bought by Willis in 1939.
List of new organs
- Holy Trinity, Ashby-de-la-ZouchHoly Trinity, Ashby-de-la-ZouchHoly Trinity, Ashby-de-la-Zouch, is a parish church in the Church of England in Ashby-de-la-Zouch, Leicestershire.-Description:The church was built between 1838 and 1840 to designs by the Derby architect, Henry Isaac Stevens. The chancel was added in 1866 by James Piers St Aubyn.The church was...
1867 - All Saints' Church, OakhamAll Saints' Church, OakhamAll Saints' Church, Oakham is a parish church in the Church of England in Oakham, Rutland.-History:The spire of Oakham parish church dominates distant views of the town for several miles in all directions...
1872 - St. Mary's Church, ArnoldSt. Mary's Church, ArnoldSt. Mary's Church, Arnold is a parish church in the Church of England in Arnold, Nottinghamshire.The church is Grade II* listed by the Department for Culture, Media & Sport as it is a particularly significant building of more than local interest....
1876 - St John's Church, RanmoorSt John's Church, RanmoorSt John's Church, Ranmoor is a large parish church in Ranmoor, a suburb of the City of Sheffield, England. It is a Church of England church in the Diocese of Sheffield, and it is the second church to be built on this site. The original church, designed by E.M. Gibbs, was opened 24 April 1879...
, Sheffield 1877 - destroyed by fire 1887 - Worksop PrioryWorksop PrioryWorksop Priory is a Church of England parish church and former priory in the town of Worksop, Nottinghamshire, part of the Diocese of Southwell and Nottingham....
1879 - Saint Mark's Anglican, Alexandria, Egypt 1883
- St John's Church, RanmoorSt John's Church, RanmoorSt John's Church, Ranmoor is a large parish church in Ranmoor, a suburb of the City of Sheffield, England. It is a Church of England church in the Diocese of Sheffield, and it is the second church to be built on this site. The original church, designed by E.M. Gibbs, was opened 24 April 1879...
, Sheffield 1888 - Lesmahagow Old Parish ChurchLesmahagow Old Parish ChurchLesmahagow Old Parish Church is a congregation of the Church of Scotland within the Presbytery of Lanark. It is the largest church in the South Lanarkshire town of Lesmahagow....
1889 - Durban City Hall, Durban, South Africa, 1894
- St. Mary's Wesleyan Methodist Church, Truro 1895
- Holy Sepulchre Anglican Church, Grafton, Auckland, New Zealand 1896 (rebuilt with new slider soundboards by Norman & Beard 1913, but remains tonally the same.)
- St. John's Church, WorksopSt. John's Church, WorksopSt. John's Church, Worksop is a parish church in the Church of England in Worksop.-Incumbents:*1867 - 1872 Revd Charles Bury*1872 - 1909 Revd George Dobree*1909 - 1930 Revd John Henry Bligh*1930 - 1937 Revd Edwin Arthur Green*1937 - 1946 Revd...
1896 - St Mary's Church, WirksworthSt Mary's Church, WirksworthSt. Mary's Church, Wirksworth, is a parish church in the Church of England in Wirksworth, Derbyshire.-Description:It is a Grade I listed building dating mostly from the thirteenth century. It was restored in 1870 by Sir Gilbert Scott...
1899 - St. Mark's Church, MansfieldSt. Mark's Church, MansfieldSt. Mark's Church, Mansfield is a parish church in the Church of England in Mansfield, Nottinghamshire.The church is Grade II* listed by the Department for Culture, Media & Sport as it is a particularly significant building of more than local interest....
1900 - Pietermaritzburg City Hall, Pietermaritzburg, South Africa, 1901 - one of the largest pipe organ in the Southern Hemisphere
- Chalmers' Presbyterian Church, Timaru, New Zealand 1903
- St Mary Lowgate, Kingston upon Hull 1904
- Holy Trinity Church, LentonHoly Trinity Church, LentonHoly Trinity Church, Lenton is a parish church in the Church of England.The church is Grade II* listed by the Department for Culture, Media & Sport as it is a particularly significant building of more than local interest.-History:...
1906 - Toxteth Unitarian ChapelToxteth Unitarian ChapelToxteth Unitarian Chapel is in Park Road, Dingle, Liverpool, England . Since the 1830s it has been known as The Ancient Chapel of Toxteth. It has been designated by English Heritage as a Grade I listed building, and continues to be in use as a Unitarian chapel...
1906 - St. Anne's Church, MoseleySt. Anne's Church, MoseleySt. Anne's Church, Park Hill, Moseley is a parish church in the Church of England located in Moseley, Birmingham.-History:The church dates from 1874 and is by the architect Frederick Preedy. It was originally a separate parish, but is now part of a united benefice with St...
1907 - Christ Church, ChesterChrist Church, ChesterChrist Church, Chester, is in Somerset Street, Chester, Cheshire, England. It has been designated by English Heritage as a Grade II listed building, and continues to be an active Anglican church in the archdeaconry of Chester and the deanery of Chester...
1909 - St Paul and St John the Evangelist, Monklands, Airdrie, Scotland – Installed & dedicated 1911 and the only addition made to the original design, was the addition of a Tremolo Stop at some point. The instrument was restored in 1998,and is in original condition and retaining the original hand pump, which can still be used today if there is a power cut!!
- nglican Church in Niteroi- Brazil, 1925 opus 2714, now at Saint Inacio de Loiola Parish, in Sao Paulo- Brazil. This is the only Brindley organ in Americas
List of works of restorations and renovations
- St Mary's, StainesSt Mary's, StainesSt Mary's, Staines, is a church in the town and parish of Staines, in the Spelthorne borough of Surrey and the Greater London Urban Area. Located on a rise not far from the Thames at the west end of the town, the church is part of the Diocese of London within the Church of England...
1871 (probable renovation) - All Saints Church, Bakewell 1883
- St Mary's Church, TickhillSt Mary's Church, TickhillSt Mary's Church is a Grade I listed church in Tickhill, South Yorkshire, England. Dating from the early 1100s and built with local magnesian limestone the structure today is predominantly of Perpendicular style with glimpses of earlier Norman, Early English and Decorated styles.- The Organ :The...
1898 - St Paul and St John the Evangelist (Monklands), Springwells Avenue, Airdrie, ML6, Scotland, UK 1998