Organ from flooded 'lost village' sold for £700
1818 AuctioneersA church organ saved from a village which was deliberately flooded to make a reservoir has sold for £700 - with the proceeds donated to a charity.
The instrument was used in Mardale's church before the Cumbrian village's demolition in 1937.
The proceeds have been donated to Cumbria Deaf Association, which came into possession of the organ when the charity moved into a former building of the Carlisle Diocese.
Auction manager and valuer Bill Nelson said it was a "beautiful piece of craftsmanship".
Mr Nelson said the organ had been kept "hidden away" and was "feared destroyed" in the office of the Carlisle Diocese, before it was moved to Kendal where it stayed for many years.
The Shap History Society discovered in 2008 that the reed organ was gifted to the Cumbria Deaf Association from the Carlisle Diocese in 1935.
Online bidding on the piece closed on Sunday where it sold for £700. The auction house said the item's buyer's premium would be donated to the charity too.
Cumbria Deaf Association said the funds would "continue to support deaf people to access help because they cannot get it anywhere else".
Mardale village disappeared when the Haweswater valley was flooded in 1939 to create the structure to provide water for the north-west of England.
Crowds gathered for the last service to be held at Mardale church, where the organ was used.
