School's pipe organ 'one of rarest in Europe'

A school in west London is trying to raise more than £250,000 to restore a rare pipe organ that was smuggled from Paris to London more than a century ago.

While it was originally believed the instrument at Sacred Heart High School, Hammersmith, was original to its Grade II*-listed chapel, a visit from an expert led staff and pupils to discover it was the UK's only known pipe organ and was built in France.

It emerged that the organ, by Belgian craftsman Hippolyte Loret, was smuggled out of Paris in the early 1900s to stop it being seized by the French government.

Alex Dijkhuis, from the school, said organ expert Dr William McVicker had described it as "one of the rarest in Europe".

McVicker, curator of organs at the Royal Festival Hall, visited the school in May 2024, having been asked to check on the condition of the instrument.

He was "surprised and delighted" to discover stops on the organ with French nomenclature.

McVicker suspected the instrument could be a Loret, and research revealed the Society of the Sacred Heart in France had indeed commissioned the Belgian to build the instrument for one of its Parisian school chapels more than 160 years ago.

But, in the early 1900s, hostility to religion by the French government led to the closure of convents across the country.

Sisters were expelled and the authorities announced their intention to seize the headquarters of the society in Paris, the school said, which is where the organ was located.

Mother Mabel Digby, who was then superior general of the Society of the Sacred Heart, was determined to save the organ and in 1904 worked to have it covertly dismantled and shipped to London.

The instrument was reassembled that same year in Sacred Heart's Chapel in Hammersmith.

Dijkhuis, head of communications at Sacred Heart High School, said McVicker "believes it to be the only Loret organ in the UK".

She said: "To me, Mother Mabel Digby is the heroine of this story. She was superior general at this time, and faced the greatest crisis ever to confront the society.

"She did so with a level of confidence, calm, strength and perseverance that women can still take inspiration from today."

Dijkhuis added: "We have a responsibility to the Sacred Heart sisters from Paris and to Mother Digby to save this precious pipe organ which serves as a symbol of the enduring nature of Sacred Heart education."

The school has said the story is being developed into a radio programme and podcast.

The restoration is being undertaken by specialist firm, and will require the instrument to be dismantled and removed before being reinstalled in the chapel.

The school has launched a fundraising campaign with a target of £257,000.

It said the instrument was in need of "significant restoration", but hopes that once it has been returned to its former glory it can be used for recitals and concerts.

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