organ211
Organs
organ 211
January 2020
3 manuals
35 speaking stops
Click here for full spec
Tabernacle Welsh
Baptist Church
Cardiff
Builders
Griffen & Stroud, 1907
JW Walker, 1972
Henry Willis, 2010
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Organ of the Month archive
(contains over 200 organs)
In addition to organs played during OrganFest 2019 by professional recitalists, a number of Cardiff churches opened their doors for "open console" sessions, allowing those attending the festival the opportunity to play. One such was the Welsh-language Tabernacle in the city centre and your Webmaster took advantage of this opportunity.
A chapel has existed on this site since 1821, but it was rebuilt in the 1860s in an Italianate style. The front of the building is set back from the (now pedestrianised) road behind a forecourt fronted by wrought iron railings.
A substantial part of the cost of building the organ was provided by Sir Alfred Thomas MP, later Lord Pontypridd, who was a deacon at the Tabernacle from 1883 until his death in 1927. The original tracker action was replaced with electro-pneumatic by J W Walker in 1972 along with other essential repair work.
In 2010, Henry Willis performed a restoration including extensive releathering of the bellows and a solid state transmission system. The rededication recital was given by Huw Tregelles Williams.
You can hear Jonathan Scott playing another Cardiff organ visited during OrganFest 2019 as January 2020's Music of the Month.