St Anthony Of Padua, Austral
In June 2026, Gutteridge Pipe Organs was commissioned by the Catholic Church of St Anthony Of Padua in Austral to relocate the 1970 Roger Pogson 2 manual instrument from ST Luke's Anglican Church, Liverpool.
Having provided reliable service to the parish of St Luke's for over half a century, the recent lack of use and upcoming structural works in the church meant that this wonderful two manual instrument needed a new home.
The Church of St Anthony wasted no time in grasping the opportunity and they called upon the the services of Gutteridge Pipe Organs to carry out the project.
Week 1 on-site at St Lukes Liverpool
With the Church structural works imminent, we got started on this project right away. After a pre dismantling assessment was carried out where any issues were documented, we got underway with the removal of the Great and Pedal pipework. With improved access due to the absence of the pipes, we spent the following two days disconnecting the mechanical linkages between the console and the various divisions of the instrument, with almost every part being unique this requires very strategic labelling to ensure every component goes back in to its rightful place.
Once all the mechanical action was removed we moved up top to the swell box where we had more than 700 pipes to remove and carefully store ready for their transport to Austral. With all the pipe work now removed, the focus shifted to lightening the swell soundboard as much as practically possible, to aid with its removal from its position almost 4 meters up in the organ.
Week 2 on-site at St Lukes Liverpool
A new week seen the beginning of the casework dismantling process. The polished hardwood case has held up remarkably well over the last 56 years, with only very minor wear and tear to be seen. Piece by piece we worked our way from the top, separating as much as possible to reduce the weight of the individual components. By far the most cumbersome pieces were the two end frames which house the four hinged panels which are used to access the organ during tuning and maintenance. With these safely lowered down to ground level, the bottom half of the case came apart with relative ease. Attention was paid to how the casework integrates with the main building frame to ensure the main structure is reassembled in a position that corresponds to the correct placement of the casework.
By the middle of the second week, all that was left was the main structure, three soundboards, swell box and the pedal bass pipes sitting against the wall. With the help of a 300kg capacity materials hoist, we made light work of what would have been a very difficult removal of the upper components. As pipe organs are dismantled they become more and more precarious as their supporting structure is removed. Being able to safely lift heavy components such as this from the safety of ground level with readily available equipment is a luxury that many organ builders wouldn't have had back in the day, instead relying on shear man power to get the job done.
Week 3 On-site at St Anthony Of Padua, Austral
With all components carefully transported to their new home in Austral, work could begin on the cleaning process prior to the reassembly of the instrument. Being of relatively modern construction with most exposed surfaces being polished, a good vacuum and clean with sugar soap was sufficient to remove the decades worth of accumulated dust and grime.
Once all the building frame components that form the main structure of the instrument had been cleaned, we positioned and levelled the base frame which provides a stable foundation for the organ. The two main side frames were then located on their footings before being tied in with horizontal rails. It was then time to install the two sets of "mouth organ" pedal bass pipes which are perched on the rearmost rail against the wall. These pipes are supplied with their wind via conveyance tubing from pedal soundboard below.
With the bass pipes installed and rest of the building frame rails in place, it was time to hoist the 200+ kg swell soundboard on to the upper rails of the structure, before surrounding it with the panels that form the swell box. Work then moved down to the bottom of the organ where we installed the pedal soundboard, the last of the three divisions.
Now that the main structure was complete supporting the bulky components, we began attaching the decorative hardwood casework. This transforms what is really a strong, rugged construction into a delicate looking piece of furniture that is in keeping with the interior of the church. With that said, the casework provides a significant amount of rigidity, which is very evident when moving around on the upper reaches of the instrument.
To finish a very productive week on-site, the side access panels were installed in their frames and the decorative mouldings were carefully fixed, ensuring seamless mitres and joins. The Eagle eyed may notice the missing finial from the top centre of the ornate. This very nicely turned piece of mahogany will be kept aside and installed on the final day to signify the completion of the project.
