The Church is fortunate to have two fine organs, The Binns Organ, made circa 1905 and moved to its present location within the church in 1991 and the Chamber Organ. The Chamber Organ is the biggest surviving chamber organ by James Bruce.
The Binns Organ
This organ was made circa 1905 at the Bramley Organ Works, Leeds, by the firm of James Jepson Binns. The instrument was initially installed in the West Church, Dalkeith, in 1906 and was moved to its present location in the north transept of St Nicholas Buccleuch Church in 1991, replacing the inadequate electronic instrument.
Almost certainly the finest organ in Midlothian, the instrument is of unusually high quality both in the materials used in its construction and in the range of its stops. The organ is also unusual in that it has survived a hundred years without any tonal or mechanical alterations.
A silver plaque on the console gives interesting details of the origins of the instrument.
TO THE GLORY OF GOD AND IN MEMORY OF HER FATHER EX-PROVOST WATSON OF DALKEITH THIS ORGAN IS DEDICATED BY THE LIBERALITY OF MRS SMITH, LATE OF STONEFIELD, ESKBANK ALONG WITH £500 FOR ENDOWMENT.
2ND DECEMBER 1906
Originally designed for a slightly larger building, the organ fits with less than an inch to spare in its new location. A large pit was excavated under the organ to house the blowing apparatus, the lungs of the instrument. This causes the slight hissing noise which can be heard when the instrument is powered up. The organ, in its previous location had a large wooden handle, about five feet in length, inside the case. This handle was pumped up and down by the organ-blower to supply air for the pipes – an easy job when the instrument is playing quietly but a very demanding task during loud passages! The organ blower had some indication of how hard he had to work as a brass weight on the end of a string moved up and down to show the amount of air left in the bellows. Many of these organ blowers have carved their names into the woodwork of the case around the pump handle.
The Binns organ has a wide range of stops giving a wider than normal range of tonal colours for a country church organ. There are two very fine Open Diapasons on the Great manual, wonderful soft, stopped flutes and several powerful reed stops. The Swell organ has a wide variety of tone-colours including a fine ‘string’ stop and an orchestral oboe. A cutting mixture stop of three ranks adds brilliance to the full Swell Chorus. A particularly well endowed Pedal department boasts powerful bass support down to a resultant 32ft. stop which adds wonderful depth to the full organ sound.
The Binns Organ
This organ was made circa 1905 at the Bramley Organ Works, Leeds, by the firm of James Jepson Binns. The instrument was initially installed in the West Church, Dalkeith, in 1906 and was moved to its present location in the north transept of St Nicholas Buccleuch Church in 1991, replacing the inadequate electronic instrument.
Almost certainly the finest organ in Midlothian, the instrument is of unusually high quality both in the materials used in its construction and in the range of its stops. The organ is also unusual in that it has survived a hundred years without any tonal or mechanical alterations.
A silver plaque on the console gives interesting details of the origins of the instrument.
TO THE GLORY OF GOD AND IN MEMORY OF HER FATHER EX-PROVOST WATSON OF DALKEITH THIS ORGAN IS DEDICATED BY THE LIBERALITY OF MRS SMITH, LATE OF STONEFIELD, ESKBANK ALONG WITH £500 FOR ENDOWMENT.
2ND DECEMBER 1906
Originally designed for a slightly larger building, the organ fits with less than an inch to spare in its new location. A large pit was excavated under the organ to house the blowing apparatus, the lungs of the instrument. This causes the slight hissing noise which can be heard when the instrument is powered up. The organ, in its previous location had a large wooden handle, about five feet in length, inside the case. This handle was pumped up and down by the organ-blower to supply air for the pipes – an easy job when the instrument is playing quietly but a very demanding task during loud passages! The organ blower had some indication of how hard he had to work as a brass weight on the end of a string moved up and down to show the amount of air left in the bellows. Many of these organ blowers have carved their names into the woodwork of the case around the pump handle.
The Binns organ has a wide range of stops giving a wider than normal range of tonal colours for a country church organ. There are two very fine Open Diapasons on the Great manual, wonderful soft, stopped flutes and several powerful reed stops. The Swell organ has a wide variety of tone-colours including a fine ‘string’ stop and an orchestral oboe. A cutting mixture stop of three ranks adds brilliance to the full Swell Chorus. A particularly well endowed Pedal department boasts powerful bass support down to a resultant 32ft. stop which adds wonderful depth to the full organ sound.
The Chamber Organ
This instrument is the biggest suviving chamber organ by James Bruce and is the best preserved. It is as close to being unaltered as any historic organ is. James Bruce lived from 1786 to 1856. He started life working in Edinburgh for instrument maker Andrew Wood and was in business on his own from the death of Wood in 1829. Bruce is considered to be one, if not the most accomplished of organ builders in 19th century Scotland.
Bruce chamber organs share some characteristics, they are all Gothic in appearance and the cases were probably made by an independent cabinet maker.
The case is of mahogany and rosewood with some veneer and carving work. The instrument was owned by Mrs Shiela Barnes whose husband, a former curator of the Russell Collection of Early Keyboard Instruments acquired the instrument from Glencorse House, Penicuik. Prior to being installed in the church in 2007, the organ was fully restored by Lammermuir Pipe Organs under the direction of Neil Richerby. The work was carried out by Otilia Farkas from Budapest. The restoration work included supplying a new blower, releathering the bellows, cleaning and revoicing the pipework, making replacements for missing carvings, fitting new boots to the Swell Hautboy, and replacing the silk behind the front pipes.
The stop list is:
Fifteenth 2 Swell Hautboy 8
Flute 2 Swell Principal 8
Principal 4 Swell Dulciana 8
Stop Diapason Treble 6 Sesquialtera III
Open Diapason Stop Diapason Bass 8
Further information is available from the National Pipe Organ Register.