Campaign launched to restore Grade I listed organ

A fundraising campaign has begun to help restore a rare 19th Century church organ.

Originally built in 1875, the Grade I listed instrument at Christ the Consoler in Skelton-on-Ure, near Ripon, has not been playable since the 1990s.

Now campaigners are hoping to raise £250,000 to bring the organ back into use and help conserve the church as it marks its 150th anniversary.

Guy Critchlow, from the Friends of Christ the Consoler, said if restored it was hoped the organ could be used to train future organists.

Matthew Hynes, an independent organ advisor, who has worked on the organ, said: "Although the organ is in a very poor way mechanically, it has survived intact basically from the day it was left by Thomas Christopher Lewis in 1875.

"Essentially the organ could be returned to as close as possible to a new condition as it was when it left the factory."

The church itself is situated on the Newby Hall estate and is looked after by both the friends group and the Churches Conservation Trust (CCT), a national charity which works to save historic churches at risk.

Completed in 1876, it was built in memory of Frederick Vyner, the only son of Lady Mary Vyner of Newby Hall, after he was murdered aged 23 whilst travelling in Greece.

To mark its 150th anniversary, both the CCT and Friends of Christ the Consoler are fundraising o support preservation work.

"The first thing we have to tackle in the church is humidity, so we're looking at putting conservation heating back into the church," Critchlow said.

"For some years the [organ] doors were closed on the front and when you leave them closed the humidity really gets into the keys and damages them."

If the organ is able to be restored, it is hoped it will then be able to be regularly used.

"We're creating a Newby bursary which will enable young organists who otherwise may not have access to one," Critchlow added.

"This is a fairly simple organ with only a few stops, it's a great starter organ for someone who is looking to convert from a keyboard up to a pipe organ."

Listen to highlights from North Yorkshire on BBC Sounds, catch up with the latest episode of Look North.