Job number: A502
The last large instrument to be built by Compton before World War Two was at Derby Cathedral and it was a wonderful surprise to be able to play this on my 32nd birthday which had been arranged by my fiancee Michelle!
The organ was built in 1939 and is one of the few left which contains another interesting Compton patent -luminous stop control system!
As is typical of Compton organs, the organ is built using the extension principal and the pipework contained in 3 fully enclosed chambers. However, some straight ranks of pipes have been incorporated from previous instruments here - 2 stops (the Lieblich Gedackt 8 and Stopped Flute 4 on the choir manual) from an organ by Elliot which lasted from 1808 to 1879 and 1535 pipes from an instrument by Stringer which was built in 1879 and replaced by the Compton on 1939. Most of these latter pipes are found on the swell manual.
Due to the outbreak of war in 1939, the organ was installed without any form of casework and it wasnt until 1963 when a case of dummy display pipes was designed by Sebastian Comper and installed.
In 1992 the organ was overhauled by Rushworth and Dreaper who had taken over the pipe division of the Compton company in the mid 1960s. New solid-state action was installed and some tonal alterations made.