The organ was installed in St. Luke’s in 1888 but appears
to have been built in two stages and there are suggestions it started
life in another church.
A number of features suggest an earlier original date. Through some quirk of circumstances we seem to have ended up with a finer instrument that had been built for somewhere much grander than a Brierfield parish church.
The case itself is of a bold gothic style with a fine 'waisted' cove and carved shades, which would have been old-fashioned by the time this organ arrived at Brierfield and would have been considered very grand for a parish church such as this.
The pipework is of excellent quality, being mostly ‘spotted metal’ that is rich in tin. This is relatively rare in Hill organs, which usually have a high percentage of lead, and it suggests that this was intended to be a rather special instrument.
Originally the organ had two manuals a third being prepared for when the organ was originally built and which was added in 1899 in memory of Mary Ann Wigglesworth.
In 1930 a Rockingham electric blower was installed; prior to that the instrument would have been hand blown. The same blower is still in service to this day.
From 1899 the organ remained unaltered until in 1963 Messrs Norman, Hill and Beard changed the Swell organ from tracker action to pneumatic action to lighten the touch and at the same time a Swell Balance pedal was installed.
In 2003 the organ was awarded a certificate as a Grade II instrument by The British Intitute of Organ Studies. It is listed in the Institute's Register of Historic Pipe Organs as bing an instrument of importance to the national heritage and one deserving careful preservation for the benefit of future generations.
Below you can also find a link to our record in the National Pipe Organ Register.
