Wiltshire church organ restored to original decor

A nearly 150-year-old listed church organ is being restored to its “complicated” design and colours.

The Victorian instrument at St Mary’s Church in Steeple Ashton, near Trowbridge, was restored to full working order again in 2012, but this did not include its original decoration, which had been covered up.

Two specialist restoration artists are now working on it. One of them, Debra Miller, said, “You want to fulfill the design that was actually there. You want it to be perfect, to recreate exactly like they did.”

So far it has cost £70,000 to get the organ working again and then repainted.

Ms Miller works in a team with Robert Woodland and they have restored organs in famous places such as York Minster.

Mr. Woodland explained that the hardest part is finding the original designs in the first place: “Finding the right colors, that we do all the sketches, basically replicating it as it was done.”

He said they are careful not to damage anything, and the locals take care of them: “Different people take us into their homes one evening, feed us.”

The restoration process takes patience, Ms. Miller explained, because it “intertwines between the pipes.

“Some are 12, 15 feet tall and have a design, and then you have one that’s three or four feet tall and goes from small to large.”

The money to restore the organ to working order came from the fundraising efforts of a late Steeple Ashton resident, whose widow continued to raise money.

The church has its own charitable conservation trust, which will contribute more if needed.

The artists have a lot more work to do, but they say the end will be worth it: “The best thing about the project is when the pipes go back to the casing, to see everyone singing and singing together,” Ms Miller said.