St Columba's Parish Church organ 'as important as Waverley'

The 'Father Willis' organ at St Columba's Parish Church was the centre of attention at an event held in the landmark seafront building at the weekend.

The Sowne of Organe group, which surveys, records and campaigns for Scotland’s historic church organs, organised the event to drum up interest in saving the instrument – amid fears it could go for scrap after the building closes.

It says the St Columba’s organ, which was installed in 1892, is “really extraordinary”, and that if it can’t be preserved in Largs it’s vital that a new home is found for it.

The church building will close at the end of this month following the Church of Scotland’s decision to unite its congregations in Largs, Fairlie and Cumbrae, and to hold its Largs services in the building formerly known as Clark Memorial Church, now Largs Community Church.

The St Columba’s organ is the work of the firm of Henry Willis, who also built the organs at the Royal Albert Hall and St Paul’s Cathedral in London as well as at the cathedrals in Durham, Salisbury and Hereford.

But unlike the organs at many other churches, there is no statutory protection for the instrument, even though the building itself has listed status.

St Andrews University academic Chris Bragg, one of the founders of the Sowne of Organe group, attended Saturday’s event and said he’d been heartened at the big turnout and the interest shown in preserving the instrument.

“It is really extraordinary,” he said of the organ, which was played during Saturday’s event.

“We had hardly any issues with it at all and it has performed beautifully.

“When the church building closes, the organ should be in Largs; it has been here for 130 years, It was built and designed on Willis’s drawing board.

“It should be here, but if that can’t happen, the important thing is that we can find a new home for it and that project is done in an artistically responsible way which reflects international best practice for the instrument.

“We will be watching the situation like a hawk.”

Steven McIntyre likened Father Willis organ to the Waverley in terms of its cultural significance (Image: Newsquest)

His Sowne of Organe colleague Steven McIntyre, organist at St Mary’s Episcopal Cathedral in Glasgow, said playing the St Columba’s organ was the musical equivalent of driving a Rolls Royce.

Mr McIntyre said he knew there were people far beyond Largs who would be interested in having the instrument removed and rebuilt elsewhere if it can’t be preserved in its home town.

He said: “If you think of the Waverley, which people queue up to get tickets for, this is the musical equivalent. It has nearly as many moving parts.

“It is a wonderful piece of Victorian engineering. We enjoyed it on Saturday, but it should be enjoyed daily.

“If this organ is not saved here, I know for a fact there are people in Europe who will try and see if it can fit in their buildings. It is super to play.

"Think of it like driving a Rolls Royce. It doesn’t have some of mod cons of a modern car such as air conditioning, but this is not why you are playing it. It is like putting on a wonderful pair of warm slippers.

“Many organs in this country have been modified over the years, not least when electronics came in the 1970s and 1980s, but this one survives in almost completely original condition, and that makes it incredibly rare.

“The British Institute of Organ Studies gave it a ‘grade one’ listing, but unlike listed buildings, this doesn’t carry any weights and there is nothing stopping this organ being destroyed, which would be a great shame.

“It is an integral part of this building and not only would it destroy the look of this wonderful space, it is incredibly high and tall, and anything that was done to the detriment of this would be the end of more than 130 years of history in the area.”

Steven added that the turnout at Saturday's event showed that “people are prepared to turn out in their droves” to listen to a classic church organ.

For the instrument to remain, and remain in use, in Largs would need a community group to take over the building.

However, at present, the smaller St John’s Church building in Bath Street looks the more likely to find a new use as a community building.

The Sowne of Organe group thanked the Rev Dr Graham McWilliams and St Columba’s Parish Church for supporting the event and for preserving and maintaining the organ to such a high standard, as well as paying tribute to those who attended the event.

St Columba's Parish Church held its last regular Sunday service last September; since then the only services held in the building have been for one-off occasions such as weddings and funerals.