Embedded Files
A History of the Christ Church Organs by Rob Blythe
Following my article in October’s issue, I wanted to share some of the history of our organ, Daphne. Much is known about the history of the village, but the history of the church organ is less clear. However, my research has established the following:
The William Hill & Son Organ, 1875
The choir at Christ Church was originally accompanied on a harmonium by Louisa Robinson of Northcote Farm.
Records show that a new organ by William Hill and Son was installed in 1875. It had one manual, arranged as a Great, with four stops and no pedalboard. It cost £100. This first organ may have been a gift from either Mrs Guthrie, later Mrs Arbuthnot, or John Michael Courage of Derry’s Wood. Courage was a member of the Courage Brewing family and a keen musician who spent much time playing his own organ in his music room.
The instrument appears in a June 1881 booklet listing the principal organs built by William Hill and Son. The booklet gives the organ’s location as “Shanley Green”, Cranleigh, probably a clerical misprint of Shamley. Even so, the listing provides useful confirmation of the organ’s builder and date.
The Lewis & Co Organ of 1910/12
Around 1910/12, a new organ by Lewis & Co Ltd of Brixton was commissioned to replace or rebuild the 1875 Hill Organ. It cost £300 and was presented as a memorial gift. The plaque on the organ reads: “To the Glory of God and in memory of his father Frederick Herbert Gossage this organ was the gift of Neil Gossage, Oct 1912.” Frederick Herbert Gossage (1831–1907) was a prominent 19th-century industrialist and a leading soap and chemical manufacturer. He was also a civic leader who served as the first Mayor of Widnes in 1892.
His son, Neil Gossage, did not have to manage the manufacturing factories day to day. His inheritance enabled him to move to Surrey in around 1910 and live as a respected English country squire at The Woodlands estate. He later served as a local magistrate. In 1912, he gave the Organ and dedicated it to his father’s memory.
John Michael Courage, Neil Gossage and Mrs Guthrie, now Arbuthnot, may have moved in overlapping church and social circles. As members of the affluent local Edwardian social elite, they most likely influenced the development of parish life. However, there is currently no cited evidence that they knew one another or collaborated on the Christ Church organ.
John Courage, who lived at Derrys Wood, owned Lewis & Co Organs. This may help to explain the choice of builder: he might have seen a local business opportunity! In 1915, Michael Courage funded and installed a Lewis Organ in St Augustine’s Abbey in Chilworth. Lewis also provided organs for other local Surrey churches.
A Possible Hill–Lewis Connection
One important question is whether Lewis & Co reused any pipework from the 1875 William Hill organ. The 1912 Lewis ‘Shop Book’ describes the work as a “rebuild” but does not show how much of the Hill instrument was retained. The Hill organ had served the church for only thirty-seven years, so its reuse would have been plausible. Makers’ marks, inscriptions or construction details on individual pipes may provide evidence.
During the repair and restoration, all of the more than 500 pipes will be removed. This will allow us to look for evidence of the earlier Hill organ. If evidence is found, the church will possess a rare “Hill–Lewis” hybrid. If none is found, the organ will remain significant as a particularly intact example of an entire Edwardian Lewis instrument. Either outcome demonstrates the historical significance of our organ.
Later Use and Significance
There is far more to our Organ than meets the eye, and I intend to continue researching its history. We already know that the organ records our worship, high Edwardian Society and philanthropy. It links the church’s modest beginnings to the work of two distinguished organ-building firms and to the families who supported church and community life in Shamley Green.
Much of the surviving story remains provisional. The forthcoming restoration offers an opportunity to test the remaining questions against physical evidence and to preserve an instrument that is dear to us all. It also allows us to cherish her place in the community and continue the preservation work carried out by others for over a century.
If you have any further information that might confirm my brief research, please contact me as we continue to investigate the history of our amazing organ.
With thanks for your continuing generosity to our appeal.
Rob Blythe, Director of Music and Organist.
YOUR CHURCH ORGAN NEEDS YOU!
The restoration of our Organ will require specialist craftsmanship to repair the organ’s inner mechanisms and soundboards, restore a reliable wind supply, and return silent or failing pipes to use. This is not simply a repair to an old instrument; it is a chance to protect a treasured part of Christ Church’s worship, music-making and community life for decades to come. (details of the organ repairs and history of the organ see below)
How You Can Help -The repairs represent a significant and unforeseen expense, so we are launching a fundraising campaign and warmly invite support from everyone who values the church, local history, heritage and music in village life. Every contribution, large or small, will help fund the specialist work needed to bring Daphne back to full voice.
We need to raise £50,000 to complete the essential restoration work, and we hope repairs can begin in the New Year. Please spread the word among friends, family and neighbours.
Make a gift by bank transfer through your online banking account or app. To the Business Account of:
Account Name: The Parochial Church Council Shamley Green Organ Appeal
Sort code: 60-06-19
Account Number: 30701007
· You can also donate online through our JustGiving Webpage www.justgiving.com/charity/SHAMLEY-GREEN-PCC
· Or Scan our QR Code with your phone camera to donate instantly. This is a secure, free direct checkout.
Or to give by cash or cheque, you can send/deliver to the Vicarage as follows: envelopes marked ‘Organ Appeal’, cheques made out to ‘Shamley Green Organ Appeal’, addressed to Treasurer Tony Robinson, c/o The Vicarage, Church Hill, Shamley Green, GU5 0UD.
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If you are a UK taxpayer, you may also be able to boost your donation through Gift Aid. Please tick the relevant box on the Just Giving Page, use one of the yellow giving envelopes marking it “Organ Appeal” or see the church website for details. Gift Aid can add 25p for every £1 donated at no extra cost to you.
Restoring the Heartbeat of Christ Church
Christ Church Organ Appeal
For more than a century, the organ of Christ Church has filled Shamley Green with music celebrating life’s happiest moments and bringing comfort in times of sorrow. Now her voice is fading. Director of Music and Organist Rob Blythe explains why this treasured instrument matters so deeply, and how the community can help her sing again.
“The Christ Church organ is a wonderful instrument to play. For around 116 years she has served our village church with faithfulness, beauty and distinction.
For the last three years I have had the privilege of playing this remarkable pipe organ, built by Lewis & Co of Brixton. She is an Edwardian masterpiece in the English Romantic tradition, with a voice known for warmth, richness and clarity. I call her Daphne, after the late Daphne Hamilton, Director of Music at Christ Church before me; and like her namesake, she has become part of the character of this place. Her pipes have carried worship, marked village occasions, and filled Christ Church with a sound that is both dignified and deeply human.
Week after week our organ enriches our worship, yet her meaning reaches far beyond Sundays. Her voice has shaped generations. She is the heartbeat of our village, a constant, faithful presence woven through the moments that define our lives. Her music lifts us into the joy of Christmas and Easter, weddings and baptisms; and when words fall short, she carries us with dignity and compassion through funerals, memorial services and Remembrance.
Daphne Hamilton by Tony Hart
It is therefore a matter of real sorrow that, in recent months, it has become clear that the organ has not been well. Some issues had begun to appear over the past year, and the exceptionally hot summer seems to have made them worse.
Daphne has now reached the point where she is almost unplayable. With great care and dexterity, I can still coax her to sing, but it is only a shadow of her full voice. Without proper restoration, one of the village’s most cherished voices will fall silent altogether.
Although maintenance work was completed in 2008, Daphne now needs further tender loving care if she is to continue serving the church and community into the future.
Yet alongside our sadness there is hope. This unique, historic and treasured instrument can be restored, not only as a piece of church heritage, but as a gift held in trust for the whole community. With support, Daphne’s voice can be renewed, her strength recovered, and her place at the heart of worship and village life safeguarded for future generations. To restore her is to honour all she has given us in the past and present, and to share a vision of music continuing to lift, comfort and unite those who will come after us.
What Has Gone Wrong? -The organ is often called the King of Instruments because of its size, power and unique ability to imitate an entire orchestra. Built by Lewis and Company of Brixton, the Christ Church organ is of significant historical value and belongs to the English Romantic organ-building tradition. Pipe Organs are the most complex of instruments and need highly specialised craftsman to maintain.
Concerns about the organ were first raised in 2025, when Daly Organs, our organ tuner, noticed visible damage to both the Great and Swell soundboards during routine tuning and advised that repair work would be needed. A further inspection took place in September 2025, and a quotation for repair and restoration was provided.
In February 2026, the Diocesan Organ Advisor inspected the organ. Although the organ still sounded well at that stage, the Organ Advisor acknowledged that the necessary work would need to be undertaken in due course and advised continuing to play the organ for the time being.
By July 2026, however, the situation had deteriorated. The organ began making unusual noises when certain stops were drawn, even when no keys or pedals were being pressed. Heat and humidity appear to have contributed to worsening wind leakage through the damaged soundboards.
During an interim tuning in August 2026, Daly Organs found the organ increasingly difficult to tune because of continuous sound from wind leakage. Three stops were no longer usable, the pedals were sounding weak, and more wind was escaping through holes in the soundboards than reaching the pipes.
On Sunday 11 October at 11.15am, we launched the appeal after our morning service in church. Over the coming months, please also look out for fundraising events and repair updates and opportunities to learn more about the organ in the Parish Magazine and on notice boards around the village, including the Big Carol Sing on Saturday 5 December.
If you would prefer to speak to someone directly about the appeal, please contact the Vicar or Treasurer. Their contact details are in the Who's Who page on this website. Please give today if you can and help us bring Daphne back to full voice for the whole community.
Your donation — and your help in spreading the word — will make a real difference.
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