Time is running out for our historic Bevington Organ.
Join Us in Preserving East Hoathly Church’s Historic Bevington Pipe Organ
East Hoathly’s Pipe Organ has been untouched since it was installed in the late 1800’s It is now failing and needs to be completely restored and rebuilt.
Bevington & Sons
Bevington Organs represent some of the finest examples of Victorian pipe organ craftsmanship, built by a prolific London-based family firm that spanned four generations.
Founded by Henry Bevington in 1794 in Soho, London, the business grew into Bevington & Sons after his death in 1839, when his four sons took over operations.
Between 1794 and 1950, the company constructed over 2,100 instruments, establishing a legacy of robust construction, tonal excellence, and innovative engineering that populated country churches across the United Kingdom and reached as far as Australia and South Africa.
Bevington organs became widely celebrated for their distinct tonal palette and unique manufacturing techniques. While they built large, complex instruments, they were particularly famous for standardized, highly efficient designs for smaller country churches.
Despite often having a modest number of speaking stops, Bevington organs are highly regarded for their sweet, powerful, and versatile tone that easily fills a church’s acoustic space.
Though many instruments have been lost to modern electronic replacements, several historic Bevington organs remain highly prized and active today:
St Martin-in-the-Fields (London): Historically, one of the firm’s largest and most famous three-manual installations, completed in 1854.
St Mary’s Church (Hay-on-Wye, Wales): Home to a magnificent 1833 three-manual instrument with roughly 2,000 pipes, which was meticulously rebuilt and serves as a major centrepiece for international organ recitals.
St Mary’s Church (Kemp Town, Brighton): Features an exceptionally fine 1878 Bevington organ that incorporates older pipework and has been awarded historical recognition for its archaeological value.
Let’s make every effort to add our Bevington to this list!
East Hoathly’s Organ
Our organ has been failing for a number of years now, and many parts of it are now unplayable. When it is played, there are many anxious moments spent worying about when it will suddenly cut out and wheeze into silence.
While this can be humerous on a normal Sunday, it becomes acutely embarassing and distressing at Funerals or Weddings. Something has to be done, and done soon.
We need to raise an eye watering £100k to pay for the work, but once the restoration is complete our organ will easily fill the church and the village with music for the next 200 years or more.
I’m very keen to ensure that this is not a fund raising project that drags on for eons!
The village came together and raised an incredible sum of money for the purchase of the village pub in a few short weeks……….
Let’s see if we can do the same for our Church Organ……..
Our Organ’s Entry in the National Pipe Organ Register
Click here to view the specification of East Hoathly’s Organ
Let Everything That Has Breath Praise The Lord
Please help us to breath new life into the Organ. Without it we will not be able to share in all those life giving events that form the beating heart and breath of our village.
Baptisms
Weddings
Funeral Services
Remembrance Sunday
Christmas & Easter
Please help us by donating.
Any and all donations will be gratefully received. Let’s make this happen.
Become an Organ Donor!
If you are able to donate £250 or more; your name, or the name of a loved one will be recorded for ever in the church on a special benefactor’s board.
How To Donate…
There will shortly be a QR code by which you can donate directly to the Organ Restoration Fund.
In the meantime you can donate by BACS into the Church Account using the details below.
Please give ORGAN and your Surname as the reference.
Account Name: East Hoathly PCC
Sort code: 20-49-76
Account Number: 10348090
Bank: Barclays Bank Plc.
For more details please e-mail us at EastHoathlyOrgan@gmail.com