THE ORGAN IN THE SHED 

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Len remembers once meeting a fellow Theatre Organ enthusiast, Mr Evelyn A.J. Johnston, who had installed a Harmonium in his house in Basingbourne, as well as a Wurlitzer Theatre Organ in a cowshed at the bottom of his garden!  Despite his advancing years, Len says that when he visited his home, he remembers that the house was immaculately kept.  When asked how he achieved this, he replied ……. Aaaaarh! The secret is to paint every bit of woodwork white; then it is easy to simply touch up whenever you notice anything amiss!  And matching up the colour is no problem! 

Apparently the sound produced by Mr. Johnson’s theatre organ fooled Len into thinking that Mr. Johnston was playing one of Len’s own recordings on a record player when he heard the sounds coming from the shed!  Mr. Johnson loved to tell how the sound produced by the organ could be heard clearly by the commuters waiting for their trains on the platforms of the local railway station several miles away!

Mr. Johnson and his wife, Hilda ‘G’, visited Len and his wife, Judith, at Wurlitzer Lodge (see Page 7: A Theatre Organ in the House – Part 2).  Len remembers that it was a joy to welcome the couple to the Lodge and to hear him play.  Len says that Mr. Johnson was a delightful rural character who though  he played the theatre organ in a very steady manner, it all made musical sense, and Len added that he learnt a few tricks of the trade from him.  Len is happy to say that he played a part in helping his Theatre Organ to be saved to an Organ Museum in Wales.

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WHAT FOLLOWS ARE NOTES AND NEED TO BE EDITED

The following paragraphs are from an email written by Len

Yet another little insight into dear Evelyn Johnson – He was,  very much a practical individual rather like my Father and I.    He was immensely proud of the effectiveness of his organ in a cowshed.     However, if ever you have experienced music making in the open air as opposed to in an enclosed building the sound seems simply to vanish (as opposed to rebounding of ceiling and walls)

I once played a Hammond on a boat on the river Thames and only when we went under a bridge did I have any idea of what I was playing  The sound suddenly seeming to be like that within a cathedral!!!.    Mr Johnson found his way of countering the apparent  loss of volume coming through the usual opening and closing swell shades of of the pipe chamber…………………...With a series of ropes and pulleys, plus a lot of oil on cow entry door hinges, he linked the opening and closing movement of the swell shades to the massive entry doors into the cowshed – it all looked very Heath Robinson!    BUT You certainly could certainly sit anywhere in the surrounding garden and fields and hear every fine detail of his performance!!     Thus I believe the story of it being heard at the the local railway station.

The short answer to your question is that ‘The organ in a cowshed’, as it was widely known as, is now playing once again in a former Welsh Chapel only a couple of miles from where I was born (Tonypandy, Rhondda) .     The address is Paul Kirner’s Music Palace. South Street. YNYSHIR. Porth. Rhondda, South Wales. CF39 0EW. –  Box Office: 01455 273630.

The longer story is that following Mr Johnson’s passing the organ went to a good friend of ours Michael Candy.     He was keen to duplicate the success of the Rawle installations. and I was pleased to be able to guide him to a piece of land not too  far from our home in Chorleywood.     We guided him every step of the way whilst building his own house.     In particular he took on board our principles of how to construct a domestic soundproofed organ chamber with two limited size tone outlets to keep the decibel level down to a comfortable level in the lounge where the console was placed.    This also gave a good stereophonic image from a single chamber installation..     The organ remained there until Michael passed away in 22nd Dec 2015.    The Wurlitzer was bequeathed to our organ society (ATOS – London and South of England Chapter) – and I took on the responsibility of finding a suitable new home for it.

The Cowshed organ was initially acquired by Michael Candy who wanted to build a house specifically for it using our own well established principles for residence design for home installations.    We did all we could to help and the installation was a success.    Michael was a long time good friend of the Rawle family and a member of various organ Societies as well as the Magic Circle.    We last caught up with him out shopping the week before he passed away.     His house has since been replaced with a totally new design.

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This organ is a 2 manual 8 rank Model F Wurlitzer. Originally installed in the Picture House, Leicester in 1925. It moved to the Exchange Cinema Northampton in 1935. In 1957 it was moved to a cowshed in Bassingbourn where it spent a few years until Michael Candy purchased it. Mike installed it in his purpose built house in Hemel Hempstead where it was enjoyed by many visitors until his death in 2015.

In 2016 the organ was purchased by the Theatre Organ Club using a legacy from Guy and Ursula Bland. It has been placed on permanent loan to the Music Palace.

The Model F was once ubiquitous in the UK, but this is now the only completely unaltered example left in the country – quite possibly in the world.

The pipe chambers are located behind the panelled wall.

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