A history of Hull organs and organists : together with an account of the Hull musical festivals and the formation of the various musical societies in the town

K^S<S^^S^SH^H?^?^

LIBRARY

UNIVERSITY Of
CALIFORNIA

HULL ORGANS AND ORGANISTS.

A HISTORY OF

HULL ORGANS AND
ORGANISTS

TOGETHER WITH AN ACCOUNT OF THE

HULT MUSICAL FESTIVALS, AND THE

FORMATION OF THE VARIOUS MUSICAL

SOCIETIES IN THE TOWN

BY

Dr. G. H. ^SMITH.

LONDON

A. BROWN & SONS, Ltd., 5 Farringdon Avenue, E.G.

AND AT HULL AND YORK.

PRIMED AT browns' SAVILE PRESS,
SAVILE STREET AND GEORGE STREET, HULL.

MUS\

TO MY FRIEND

H. R. CATTLEY.

625

PREFACE

THIS book owes its origin to a request made a year
or two ago by the editor of the " Hull Church
Porch " that I would write a series of weekly
articles deahng with old Hull organists and the instru-
ments on which they played. A number of these had
duly appeared, when I found myself obliged to dis-
continue them, not from lack of material, but from
lack of time. I have been repeatedly requested to
complete the work, and to issue it in a more per-
manent form ; and at odd moments of a busy life, I
have now been enabled to do so.

It has often been asserted, as a reproach against
organists generally, that their artistic outlook is apt
to be narrow, and that it is too often regarded from the
particular aspect of their own instrument. The record
of these pages, however, will shew that all the move-
ments connected with music in Hull — the Musical
Festivals, the formation of the various musical societies
and other institutions for the advancement of the art —
have been inaugurated or developed by organists ; and
whatever interest the book may possess, will perhaps
be found in the tale they tell of these efforts.

The form in which the articles were originally pre-
pared will account for some discursiveness in the text,
and occasional instances of overlapping of matter.
But while no literary merit is claimed for the book, it

vii

viii PREFACE

is hoped it may be the means of keeping from oblivion
the names and work of many who have done good
service for music in Hull, and may also prove an in-
centive to others to follow their example.

I wish to acknowledge my indebtedness ior assis-
tance in the preparation of the work to the late Mr.
John Robinson, who sang in the choir of Holy Trinity
Church in 1828, and whose memory embraced a period
of over eighty years ; to Mr. Joseph Kenningham,
who has an intimate knowledge of musical matters in
the town in the middle of last century ; to Mrs. H.
Cooper Gleadow, for many interesting particulars
concerning the time when her father, the late Mr.
G. J. Skelton, was the organist of Holy Trinity Church ;
to Messrs. Forster and Andrews, and other firms of
organ builders, for copies of organ specifications ;
and to scores of organists and other musical friends who
readily complied with my requests for information ;
among them I must specially mention my friend Dr.
A. H. Mann, the organist of King's College, Cambridge,
who has given me very valuable advice and help.

I much regret to say that while these pages were
being prepared for the press, the death occurred of
Mr. F. G. Edwards, the Editor of the ".Musical Times,"
who was the first to suggest the publication of the
book, and who had most kindly offered to read the
proof sheets. This latter task has been undertaken
by my Vicar, the Rev. W. E. Smith, M.A., Vicar of
Sculcoates, to whom I offer my sincere thanks.

CONTENTS.

PAGES

Introductory ...... 1-5

Tractarian Movement — Mid-Nineteenth Century
Church Music in Hull — Church Orchestra — Pre-Reforma-
tion Times — Organ Building — Hedon Church Organ —
Burstwick Barrel Organ — Old Organists — Modern
Tendencies in Organ Construction — Realistic Effects on
the Organ.

Holy Trinity Church (Section I.) . . 5-22

Archbishop of York's Letters in 1622-3 — P^^^"
Reformation Statutes — Holy Trinity Organ (1712) —
John Collings and Nathaniel Rogers — First Organist
of Holy Trinity — George Smith — Musgrave Heighington
— Wm. Avison — Charles Avison of Newcastle — Rev.
Wm. Mason — Matthias Hawdon — John Snetzler — An
Old Time Humorous Song — Matthias Hawdon's Com-
positions— Beverley Minster — John Hudson — Thomas
Hawdon — George Lambert — The Lamberts, Organists
of Beverley — Voluntary Choral Association — Holy
Trinity Choir in 1826 — George Leng— Metrical Versions
of the Psalms— Death of Geo. Lambert in 1838.

Holy Trinity Church (Section IL) . . 23-37

An Organist Election — Rev. J. H. Bromby — J. C.
Parker — Richard Cattley — Charles Harrison — Hull
Choral Society — Hull Musical Festivals of 1789, 1792,
1812, 1834, 1840 — Master Joseph Barnby — Renovation
of Holy Trinity Church— Rev. R. Athill— Holy Trinity
Organ in 1845 — First Full Choral Service — Rev. F. S.
Barff secedes to the Church of Rome — Hull Vocal Society
— Programme of First Concert — Sir Henry Bishop —
Specification of Re-constructed Organ in 1855 — Geo.
Skelton, Senr. — Holy Trinity Choirboys of 1854 — Death
of G. J. Skelton.

Holy Trinity Church (Section III.) . . 38-45

Death of Rev. J. H. Bromby — T. Craddock — Organ
Re-constructed in South Transept — Holy Trinity Choir-
men in 1868 — C. R. Moxon — Henry Toogood — Madame
Mudie-Bolingbroke — J. W. Hudson — Master Charles
Kenningham — G. F, Jackman— New Organ (1876) —
F. Bentley — Re-organisation of Vocal Society.

X

PAGES

St. Mary's Church, Lowgate . . . 45-64

James Green — Gift of an Organ in 1751 — Richard
Justice — Effects of Fanatical Puritanism — Bailey Marley
— John Blow, James Heseltine and B. Marley — Geo.
Atkinson— Specification of the Original Snetzler Organ —
Baldness of Musical Service — G. W. Atkinson — Election
of Organist by Parishioners — Dr. Camidge — Re-construc-
tion of Organ in 1850 — Rev, John Scott — Beverley Choral
Society — Sacred Harmonic Society — Hull Harmonic
Society of 1808 — Hull Oratorio Society — Sir Clifford
Constable — Star Vocalists — First Concert of Sacred
Harmonic Society — A Ludicrous Composition — Bethel
Jacobs — Death of George Leng — Robert Morison —
Removal of Organ — Father Smith Organ in Sproatley
Church — J. H. Nutt — Gregorian Tones — Walter Porter —
E. O. Dykes.

ScuLCOATES Parish Church . . . 64-71

Thomas Storm — The Old Parish Clerk — John Brad-
bury— York Festival, 1823 — Members of Mixed Choir —
Churchwardens' Music Expenses — The Misses Bradbury
— John Bradbury, Junr. — Disbanding of Orchestra — ■
Opening of Organ — Rev. John King — E. W. Haigh —
Miss Ayre — William Holmes — Charles Bradbury — New
Organ, 1877.

All Saints' Church ..... 71-76

Opening Service (1869) — Temporary Organ — Rev.
Charles Walsham — Thomas Hopkinson — H. W, Pitts —
Plainsong — Dual Offices of Organist and Choirmaster —
Misunderstandings — Rev. John Watson — Resignation of
Mr. Hopkinson — G. H. Smith — Early Choirmen of All
Saints' — Death of John Bradbury — New Organ (1887) —
Dr. John Naylor — Reconstructed Organ (1909) — Assis-
tant Organists of All Saints'

St. Peter's, Drypool .... 76-83

Demolition of Old Church — Four Musical Parish
Clerks of Hull — John Kenningham the Elder — Adam
Kenningham, Senr. — Joseph Kenningham — John Robin-
son— Organ erected 1834 — Inconvenient Position of
Organ — Handel Worship — First Organist of St. Peter's — -
Churchwarden v. Choirmaster — The Old Adam and the
Young — J. W. Holder — J. H. Geeve — C. Harrison
appointed Organist — Snuff- taking — John, Walter and
Alfred Robinson — G. H. Grindell — Specification of New
Organ, 1867 — Organ Opening — C. E. Hewitt — Arthur
Hewitt — Vessey King — Ernest Manston.

XI

PAGES

St. John's Church ..... 84-92

Extract from Minute Book— John Crosse, F.S.A. —
Organ by Elliott, 1815 — Specification — Thomas Dykes —
Master John B. Dykes— Dr. Beckett— Rev. H. W.
Kemp — Appointment of Professional Organist — Dis-
missal of Organist and Choir — Disruption of Harmonic
Society — Small Musical Societies — J. W. Stephenson —
Formation of Present Harmonic Society (1864) — Open-
ing Performance— Organists and Leaders of the Har-
monic Society — New Organ (1866) — Type of Musical
Service — Later Organists of St. John's.

Christ Church ...... 93-104

First Organ by Ward of York — Organ " Opening " —
Rivalry in Organ Building — First Organist of Christ
Church — Yorkshire Amateur Musical INIeeting in Hull —
Programme of First Concert^Opening of Public Rooms
— Clara Xovello — Valedictory Meeting of Amateur
Society — Col. G. H. Clarke — Miss Eliza Newbald —
John Camidge — Removal and Re-construction of the
Organ— Henry Haigh — Frederick Jackson — New Organ
(i860) — -Bishop and Starr's Tender — Rev. F. F. Goe —
Arthur Jarratt — Death of Charles Bradbury — E. W.
Healey — Hull Society of Organists — G. G. Wilkinson — •
Organ Removed from West Gallery — Later Organists
of Christ Church.

St. James's Church ..... 104-113

Rev. Wm. Knight — Opening of Organ in West
Gallery— James Miller— A Pluralist Organist — -Miss
Elizabeth Tarbotton— Edward Ackrill — A Musical Vicar
— John Kenningham — Mendelssohn Worship — First Per-
formance of " Elijah " in Hull — New Organ by Forster
and Andrews — Dr. W. Spark — Arthur Saunderson —
Charles Newton — Henry Cook — W. Hoskins — A. P.
Stephenson — Bernard Barton's Voluntary Choir-
mastership — St. James' Choirmen — Appointment of
J. W. Hudson — Hull Philharmonic Society — Previous
Philharmonic Societies in Hull — J, Rudersdorff — J. W.
Thirlwall — -Bitter Rivalry between Philharmonic Society
and Choral Society — Hull Arion Orchestral Union —
H. Hartog.

Mariners' Church ..... 114-122

specification of Organ by Ward (1839) — A Flowery
Criticism — J. A. Shaw — Henry Lambert — An Organist's
Hobby — H. Deval — Deval's Experiences on the Con-
tinent— His Compositions — His Restlessness and Com-

Xll

PAGES

posite Character — Choir of Mariners' Church — Kingston
Sacred Musical Society — Hull Subscription Musical
Society — Frederick Clay — London Madrigal Society
Prize — Deval's Romantic Experience — Joshua D. Hor-
wood — W. B. Lloyd — Specification of Organ by Forster
and Andrews (i86i) — Style of Musical Service— Alfred
Kenningham — W. N. Lewendon — S. Croshaw and J. C.
Kemp.

St. Stephen's Church .... 123-127

Consecration of Church — George Frederick Skelton —
A Mainzarene — T, F. Hewitt's Organistship — A Curious
Organ Specification — Jeremiah Rogers — T. F. Hewitt's
Reputation as an Organist — Word Painting on the
Organ — Anecdote of Hewitt and Skelton — George
Kenningham — Decay of Evangelical Type of ^Musical
Service — Edward Newton — Organ Removed and Re-
modelled by J. J. Binns — C. Carte Doorly — Later
Organists of St. Stephen's.

St. Mary's Church ..... 127-131

St. Mark's " in the Groves " — The First Organist,
George Crouch — The " Poetry of Motion " — Opening of
Organ in 1846 — Dr. T. A. Walmisley of Cambridge —
Specification of Organ — Dr. S. S. Wesley — J. H. Geeve
and J. Beeforth— W. P. IMoore's Long Period of Service —
T. G. Buffey — J. R. Stringer — Formation of Hull
Musical Union — First Officers of the Union — Edward
Corris — J. H. Green — Fred J. Harper.

St. Paul's Church ..... 131-132

An Incomplete Organ — Organ " Opened " by E. W.
Haigh (1852) — The First Organist — James Carr — W. T.
Marshall's Long Term of Office — Completion of Organ —
The Sissons Family.

St. Charles' Roman Catholic Church . 132-135

Characteristics of Roman Catholic Musical Service —
A Miniature Organ — Opening of Church, 1829 — An
Elaborate Service — Music at the Opening — Mr. Cummins
— T. F. Hewitt's Organistship — Mr. Sigmont's Com-
positions for the Church — R. W. Hall — J. Vincent
Bregazzi — Organ by Elliott acquired in 1866 — Specifica-
tion of Organ — Recent Re-build of Organ — Miss Jenny
Cudworth — A Summary Clearance of the Singers'
Gallery — Canon Randerson — F. R. Miiller — Bregazzi
Re-instated as Organist — Later Organists of St. Charles'.

xiu

Waltham Street Wesleyan Church and

Wesley Church ..... 135-140

Band of Instrumentalists — Organ by Nicholson of
Rochdale— Specification of Organ — A Loud Organ —
Organ Opening by Mr, Skelton, 1833 — Mr. Skelton's
Appointment as the First Organist — Mr. Bugg— George
Leng's Organlstship — Messrs. Hobday, Woodall Mayfield
and T. Gates— T. B. Holmes— Mrs. W. T. Watson-
Thomas Atkinson — Re-construction of Organ by Cuth-
bert — An Inconvenient Arrangement — New Organ by
Abbott and Smith — Dr. A. H. Mann — Organists of
Waltham Street since Thomas Atkinson — Generosity of
Trustees — Organists of Wesley Church.

Kingston Wesleyan Church . . . 140

An Ideal Position for an Organ — Specification of
Organ by Jones, of Shef&eld — First Composition Pedals
seen in Hull — Organ Opening, 1841 — First Performance
of a Bach Organ Fugue in Hull — First Organist of the
Church— G, D. Storry — Later Organists,

Albion Congregational Church . . 141-143

Extracts from Minute Book — A " Stupendous "
Organ — Description of Instrument — Octave Couplers —
Pumping of Swell Pedal — Organ Opening by Dr. Camidge
of York — Organists of Albion Church.

Index 161-163

APPENDIX A.
Specification of the Organ in Holy Trinity
Church ....... 147-149

Specification of the Organ in Queen's Hall 149-151
Specification of the Organ in Sculcoates

(All Saints') Parish Church. . . 151-152
Specification of the Organ in Coltman

Street Wesleyan Church . . . 152-153

APPEDDIX B.
The Hull and East Riding College of Music 154-156

APPENDIX C.
Past and Present Organists and Church

Musicians connected with Hull . . 157-160

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS.

The Author

Frontispiece

View of the Interior of Holy Trinity Church

AS IT appeared during THE FESTIVAL,

September 1834

G. J. Skelton ....

T. Craddock, mus. bag. oxon. .

Fredk. Bentley, mus. bag. oxon. .

G. F. Jagkman ....

Hull Vocal Society : — T. B. Holmes, H. R
Cattle Y, J. F. Heidrigh, G. W. Raw
storn, E. Sissons ....

Dr. J. B. Dykes . . . . .

J. W. Hudson, mus. bag. oxon

Hull Philharmonic Society : — A. S. Ayre, J. P.
W. LuscoMBE, Philip Chignell, f.r.g.o.
J. W. Hudson, mus. bag., oxon.

T. B. Holmes, J. P. ....

Hull and East Riding College of Music,
Original Officials of the College : —
Victor Dumoulin, Col. G. H. Clarke, V.D.,
E. Bolton, J. P., H. A. Learoyd, M.A.,
LL.B., G. H. Smith, mus. doc. oxon. .

Alfred Hollins

24
36
40
42
44

74
86

104

no
136

154
158

A HISTORY OF HULL ORGANS
AND ORGANISTS.

There let the pealing- organ blow,
To the fuU-voic'd choir below,
In service high, and anthems clear,
As may with sweetness, through mine ear
Dissolve me into ecstasies,
And bring all heaven before mine eyes.

'■'■ II Penseroso"

THE Tractarian movement of the middle of the last
century, apart from its doctrinal aspect, pro-
foundly affected the externals of worship, not
only in the Church of England but also among
the various Nonconformist bodies, and not the
least in the matter of music, but for various
reasons which it is not in our province to dis-
cuss, its influence was late to be felt in Hull. The
traditions of the Georgian period, with its debased
architecture and its cold artificial music, lingered long,
and in the fifties the only church with anything ap-
proaching a musical service was Holy Trinity.

It is somewhat remarkable that here a surpliced
choir was already to be found, and this at a time
considerably earlier than the riots caused by its intro-
duction in such " advanced " London churches as St.
Peter's, London Docks, and St. George's in the East.
But in the other churches, in the hands of clergy so
pronouncedly Evangelical as John Scott (father of the
late Canon Scott), John Deck, Thomas Dykes, Wm.
Knight and John King, anything of an ornate character.

2 HULL ORGANS AND ORGANISTS

whether in ceremonial or music, was rigorously avoided.
The ** use " was that of the black gown in the pulpit.
The Responses and Psalms were read, the hymns and
canticles alone receiving musical treatment. The organ
and mixed choir were placed in the west gallery, an
excellent position by the way, for musical effect,
indeed, it is questionable whether the more recent
plan of placing the organ in the chancel, often in a
confined chamber, is in any way an improvement.

The music in the Nonconformist places of worship
consisted of hymn singing varied by Jackson's Te Deum
in F on festal occasions, while at times of a more
mournful character the occasion was " improved " by
a rendering of *' Vital Spark." This was the time when
chant tunes like '* Boyce " and '' Mornington " were
performed in all their glory of trills, turns, and sundry
embellishments in the churches, and in the chapels
hymn tunes like " Heshbon," " Praise," " Zalmonah,"
and " Falcon Street," were sung with the spirit
commended by St, Paul. The music of this period
bore as much resemblance to our modern ideas of
church music as the cricket played by our forefathers
in top hats and braces resembled that of the present
day with its billiard board-like pitches, and its scientific
niceties. All the same their choral worship may
have possessed a reality not always present in our
more artistic efforts of this later time.

The organ in the west gallery suggests a still earlier
period, when the gallery was occupied by a band of
instrumentalists, when the sound of the flageolet, the
clarionet, the flute, and the bassoon were heard. It
is a moot point whether our progress since then has
been on the best possible lines, and whether it would
not have been better to improve the constitution of
the bands and the performance of the individual
players, rather than to introduce organs indiscriminately.
Certainly in one respect a distinctly retrograde step
was taken with the advent of the long sufiering (and

HULL ORGANS AND ORGANISTS 3

long suffered) harmonium. Inartistic to a degree,
and utterly destructive of good vocal tone, the
harmonium has much to answer for, and its supersession
of the village band was nothing short of a calamity.
Possibly in years to come, when the craze for large
organs shall have passed, we may revert to the old order,
and the sound of " instruments of music " may again
be heard from the west gallery. In saying this, one
would not wish to appear as averse to the employment
of the organ in divine worship. On the contrary, under
proper conditions, and in the hands of a master, its
effect is majestic and ennobling. But the master is
not always available.

It may be interesting to refer to the instruments on
which these old organists played. In Hadley's
" History of Hull " reference is made to an organ in
Holy Trinity Church in pre-Reformation times, but
there is a complete absence of any authentic informa-
tion concerning it. The first organ in that church of
which we have any record was erected in 171 1. I
have been unable to trace any exact 'particulars of it,
but we may form a good idea of its size from the fact
that for some years it was blown by a woman, one
Eliza Carter. It was a two manual instrument of
small scale, and contained twenty stops.

The art of organ building has made such rapid
strides during the last fifty years that it is not easy
to realise the type of instrument in vogue in the eigh-
teenth century, or even in the early part of last century.
The period conjures up visions of organs with " tenor
C " swells, and one octave of straight pedals with its
lowest note G. Such a survival can still be seen, and
heard, in Hedon Church. Interesting as it is from
an antiquarian point of view, it is extremely difficult
to manipulate, and it causes one to wonder why the
magnificent church of St. Augustine has not long ago
been provided with an organ more worthy of its
surroundings. Two or three so-called " G " organs

4 HULL ORGANS AND ORGANISTS

were still to be found in Hull thirty years ago, or even
more recently ; but I believe the one in Hedon Church
alone remains in this district at the present time,
a veritable light of other days. In the neighbouring
church of Burstwick a barrel organ did duty for several
years, and parishioners are still living who heard it and
sang to its strains during the Vicariate of the Rev.
F. B. King. But as the quality of a workman's labour
depends in a great measure on the nature of his tools,
so it is possible to judge of the standard of performance
in olden times from a knowledge of the old instruments.
In point of fact the old organists, excellent musicians
as many of them undoubtedly were, were not performers,
in the modern acceptation of the term, at all. A
favourite device with them was to thicken the chords
in the bass. They delighted in florid passages and
various fantastic embellishments, and the more fanciful
their playing was in this respect, the more skilful were
they considered.

The wonderful improvements in organ construction
during the last fift}^ or sixty years have been reflected
in the higher standard of organ playing, and it would
not be overstepping the mark to say that for one
trained performer a generation ago there are now fifty.
I well remember one of the old school of performers,
giving a recital many years ago, and his playing being
characterised in the newspaper report, much to his
indignation, " as staccato, flourish, and bounce." I
have no doubt these epithets were well deserved, but
this style of performance has long ago given place to
one more artistic and refined.

Satisfactory as this is, there are two sources of
danger ahead which organ builders and players alike
will do well to realise. The change from the old order
of things may be carried too far. Organ builders in
their eagerness to invent, seem to outvie each other
in multiplying mechanical appliances. Couplers and
methods of stop control are added in bewildering

HULL ORGANS AND ORGANISTS 5

variety, until these engage the player's thoughts and
attention, at the expense of the music he is perform-
ing. There is also a growing tendency to regard
the organ as an imitation of the orchestra. Such a
view is absolutely erroneous. The organ's basic
principle rests upon the presence of the diapasons,
whereas the orchestra's foundation is formed by the
violins, with their warm, nervous glow, and other
strings. The glory of the organ must always be
its distinctive character and its own characteristic
features as a complete work of art.

The accompanying danger so far as the per-
former is concerned, is seen in the modern craze
for realistic effects, such as the imitation of
thunder, the whistling of birds, and the ringing of
bells. These may catch the ear of the multitude, but
they are not music, and they certainly do not constitute
organ tone. The old organists may have been lacking
in executive power, but it must be put down to their
credit that they could appreciate pure diapason tone
and legitimate organ effects. A healthy development,
both in organ building and organ playing, is in every
way desirable, but it will be a grave reproach to us if
in the future it has to be said that in spite of our
superior advantages, we allowed our artistic judgment
to be warped, and a noble instrument to be misused
and degraded.

In giving an account of some of the organists, and
incidentally some of the choristers who have been con-
nected with Hull, I propose to deal with several of the
churches and chapels in turn, and naturally as the
mother church of the town. Holy Trinity will first
engage our attention.

The earliest reference to an organ in Holy Trinity
Church which I can find, is contained in a letter of the
Archbishop of York in 1622 to " my very loving
friends the Mayor and Aldermen of Kingston-upon-
Hull." It not only advocates the erection of an organ,

6 HULL ORGANS AND ORGANISTS.

but recommends one John Raper as the builder, he
" being a man of known quahty and skill for the making
of musical instruments, and well approved of for his
honest performance in matters which he undertaketh,
is authorised and hath a grant from me under my hand
and episcopal seal, to make and repair organs in all
churches within my Diocese, where, in former times,
they have been used." It proceeds — " And whereas
I am given to understand that the church of Kingston-
upon-Hull hath, in former time, been adorned with
organs to join with voices to the glory and praise of
God in time of divine service "

It would appear that the Mayor communicated with
the Vicar, and a reply was sent that the matter should
be considered ; but the following year, June 15th,
1623, the Archbishop wrote to the Mayor and Vicar
jointly, complaining that no steps had been taken, in
spite of their promise. A subscription was then invited,
but owing to the unsettled feeling in the country
consequent upon the dissolute habits of King James,
it only realised £36 ; the idea was therefore abandoned.

The Archbishop's letter refers to an organ in the
church at a still earlier period, but of this no trace can
be found. In Pre-Reformation times the statutes of
the church made provision for singing men and boys,
with an allowance for their support, and later, in the
thirteenth year of the reign of Queen Elizabeth, there
were singing boys to chant the service, two of whom
were always maintained by the clerk for four pounds a
year, but no mention is made of an organ or organist.
If the church contained an organ, it is only natural
to conclude that the Cromwellian mob, in their
insensate fury, were responsible for its destruction, as
we know that Holy Trinity Church suffered severely
at their hands.

It was not until 171 1 that further steps were
taken to provide an organ, and in December of that
year a meeting was held in the vestry, the Vicar,

HULL ORGANS AND ORGANISTS 7

the Rev. Robt. Banks, being in the chair, when it
was agreed to double the quarterly payments for
" pewidge," in order to raise an annual sum of £20 for
payment of an organist's salary.

The late Mr. John Crosse, F.S.A., writing in 1825,
mentions a prevalent opinion that this organ was built
b}^ Father Smith for St. Paul's Cathedral, but was
found to be too small. The historian Tickell, writing
still earlier, says, " At the west end of the auditory,
over the middle aisle, is a good toned organ, originally
built for the Cathedral Church of St. Paul, London,
purchased by voluntary subscription, which, with its
gallery, make up an agreeable form, and cause a
pleasing effect." It is quite possible that these
statements are correct, but there is no authentic in-
formation obtainable, as the Holy Trinity records
make no mention of the builders of the organ.

The organ was obtained principally through the
efforts of two sidesmen of the church, Mr. John Collings
and Mr. Nathaniel Rogers.* Mr. Collings was Chamber-
lain in 1708, and Mayor of Hull in 1713, and it was
probably owing to his connection with the Corporation,
that that body contributed considerably towards the
cost, £586 I2s. 7d., of the instrument. On Sunday,
March 2nd, 1712, it was used for the first time, and one
can well imagine the interest and wonder with which
the people heard the strains of an organ, most of them
for the first time in their lives.

The first organist, a Mr. Baker, held ofhce until 1715,
but the records do not mention the cause of his retire-
ment, indeed they are so meagre that even his initials
are not given. He was succeeded by George Smith,
who was elected by the parishioners at a meeting held
in the church on November 9th, 1715, but I have been
unable to gather particulars either of Mr. Smith or his
work. Following him came Musgrave Heighington,
who was appointed " in regard of his skill in music,"

* Elected M.P. for Hull in 1716.

a HULL ORGANS AND ORGANISTS

on September i6th, 1717, and his appointment was
confirmed at a parish meeting the following month,
October 7th. By its terms he was required to keep
the organ in tune. t

Heighington, who was the son of Ambrose
Heighington, of White Hurworth, Durham, and
grandson of Sir Edward Musgrave, Bart., of Hay ton
Castle, Cumberland, was born in 1680. He was a
musician of great skill, but he also appears to have been
a rolling stone. He only stayed at Holy Trinity until
1720. Where he went from there it is not easy to
ascertain, but in 1733 he was appointed organist of
St. Nicholas' Church, Great Yarmouth, the largest
parish church in England. He was also giving concerts
at Norwich about that time, at which his son, aged
seven, sang.

The terms of his appointment to St. Nicholas are
rather quaint. The committee who were responsible
for the appointment, " taking into consideration his
(Heighington's) great skill, recommended he be
allowed £80 a year, he providing an assistant (to
officiate at St. George's Chapel), and to keep both
organs in tuneable repair, and to instruct the Hospital
and charity children in singing to the organ the Psalm
tunes now in use, and such new ones as shall be thought
proper." In the Yarmouth records he is referred to as
'' Dr." Heighington, but the source of his degree
cannot be traced. His end at Yarmouth was an in-
glorious one, for it is stated he was " discharged,
having absented and removed himself and family from
this parish."

He left Yarmouth in 1746, and in 1748 we
find him the organist at St. Martin's, Leicester.
Later he is supposed to have resided in Dublin, and
about 1760 he was organist at the English Episcopal
Chapel in Dundee. Bishop Pococke, in his " Tour
through Scotland," when visiting Dundee in 1760,
wrote : — '' They have a neat chapel, and organ, of

HULL ORGANS AND ORGANISTS 9

which Dr. Heighington, a very eminent musician (who
took his degree in musick at Oxford and Cambridge,
and is about 80) is the organist." There is no record
of his graduation at either Oxford or Cambridge. He
died at Dundee, in 1764.

His compositions include some Latin and Greek
odes, and several songs, all of which are in the
British Museum. One of the songs, " The Dream of
Anacreon," in the key of B flat, is very fresh and
tuneful, and certainly justifies the reference to his
skill in music which occurs in the record of his ap-
pointment as organist both at Holy Trinity and at
St. Nicholas, Yarmouth.

When Heighington left Holy Trinity in 1720, there
were two candidates for the post, William Avison and
a Mr. Barlow, and the former was elected at a meeting
held in the church by 31 votes against 2 on November
7th of that year. Like his predecessor, he was required
to keep the organ in tune, from which fact we may
reasonably infer there was no professional tuner in the
town ; there was certainly no resident organ builder.
Tuners would probably be found in cathedral cities like
York and Lincoln, which possessed large organs, but
the expense of bringing them frequently to Hull would
be fairly considerable.

It is quite probable that William Avison was a
cousin of his contemporary, Charles Avison, the organist
of Newcastle-on-Tyne, who was well-known as the
author of a work which caused much controversy at
the time, " An essay on musical expression." He
also wrote " Sound the Loud Timbrel." The Hull
Avison's name appears in the list of subscribers to
Charles Avison's " Opera Terza," published in 1751,
and from this and other evidence, it is reasonable to
infer there was some family connection between them.*

* Richard Avison, " musitian, one of ye Town Waits," had eight
children baptised at St. John's, Newcastle, between 1703 and 17 13.
One of them was Charles (1707) but there is no mention of a

10 HULL ORGANS AND ORGANISTS

Certainly the old Holy Trinity organist was a man of
ability, and during his long term of ofQce, thirty-one
years, he exerted a good deal of influence on music in
the town.

During his time as organist the Rev. Wm.
Mason was appointed Vicar of the church, and his son
William, born 1725, who became widely known as
Mason the poet, was a distinguished musical amateur.
Most probably he was largely influenced by Wm.
Avison. He graduated M.A. at Cambridge in 1749, i
took orders in 1755, and became chaplain to the King,
and Canon residentiary and Precentor of York
Cathedral. He was the friend and biographer of the
poet Gray, he wrote several poems and essays on church
music, and was well known as the composer of the
anthem, " Lord of all power and might," which was
frequently sung in Holy Trinity Church. Wm Mason,
who died in 1797, was a notable Hull man, who should
not be lost sight of.

After Avison 's death, his pupil Matthias Hawdon,
was elected organist on June 12th, 1751, and during his
stay the organ was repaired by Snetzler, in 1756, at
a cost of £100, which was defrayed by an assessment
of eightpence in the pound on all lands and tenements
in the parish. Of Hawdon's performance on the organ
it is impossible to speak, as no contemporary accounts
of it exist ; but there is distinct evidence that he was
a very good musician, and one who did not allow his
energies to be confined by the limits of the organ loft.

He wrote an Ode on the King of Prussia, which
was published by Thomas Haxby '' at the Organ in
Blake Street, York, where may be had Great Choice
of Vocal and Instrumental Musick.'' The music of
this, written in the well-known idiom of the period,

William. The following- obituary notice appears in the Newcastle
Courant of May i8th, 1751 :— " On the 9th inst. at Hull, Mr. Wm.
Avison, Organist of St. Trinity's Church there who had enjoyed
that place upwards of 30 years."

HULL ORGANS AND ORGANISTS ii

is remarkably interesting and effective. It is scored
for strings and horns, and the instrumentation alone
bespeaks the well-equipped musician. In the list of
subscribers to the work appear the names of the Rev.
Mr. Bridges, (then Vicar of Holy Trinity) and his
daughters Betty and Fanny, also those of Broadley,
Hildyard, Hotham, Raines, Thompson, Wilberforce,
St. Quintin and other old Hull families.

Hawdon also composed songs, six of which were
published. They are unequal in merit, but one,
'' Long from the force of beauty's charms," is un-
commonly good. The words of these songs are very
quaint, and some of them appear to have been written
locally, possibly by Hawdon himself.

'* Ye shepherds of the pleasant vale
Where Humber glides along"."

recalls the pastoral scenes of the district a hundred
and fifty years ago, long before the fish docks and coal
hoists were contemplated. Another song, '* The Old
Maid's Ditty," shews Master Hawdon's muse in a
different guise, and I venture to give the words as a
specimen of an old-time humorous song —

" An Ancient Maid (the more the pity)
Thus sadly sang her doleful ditty :
Ah ! woe is me, mistaken Molly,
I now may sorely rue my Folly ;
My youthful pride dismiss'd poor Harry,
And now I've ne'er a chance to marry ;
I, like a Fool, my lover slighted,
Because hunchback'd and tender-sighted.

But should he court again my Favour,
He shall not blame my cool behaviour,
With his desires at once complying,
And no more squeamishly den3'ing,
I'll run to meet his dear Embraces,]
And give up all my charms and Graces ;
But 'tis in vain to whine and cry so,
For born a Virgin, I must die so.

1^ HULL ORGANS AND ORGANISTS.

Then I'll indulge my tongue and tell how

I'd not have such and such a fellow ;

Nay ne'er would change my blest condition,

To practice lessons of submission.

Poh ! Men, I cannot bear the Creatures^

There's that robustness in their Natures ;

In every place they buzz about me,

And swear they cannot live without me.

I'll treat with cold disdain their Anguish,
And see with pleasure how the}' languish,
'Tis thus no more my Fate bewailing.
But with dissembling, lying, Railing,
I'll try to avenge my Slighted Beauties,
And bring the Fellows to their Duties.
Thus ended Miss Threescore her Ditty,
And, Swains, I hope she's mov'd your Pity."

The accompaniment to these songs is, generally
speaking, very thin and meagre, consisting only of the
voice part and a ligm-ed bass, but the fifth of the set,
*' Delia," is an exception. The air itself is quite
charming, and is clothed with an accompaniment in
the style of a canzonet, which might have been written
by Haydn. This song and the one before alluded to
might well hold their own at the present day, indeed
they would put to shame many of the vapid productions
which have been so senselessly issued during more
recent times.

Quite a large number of Hawdon's instrumental
works are extant. They include two concertos for the
organ, harpischord or pianoforte, six conversation
sonatas for the harpsichord (dedicated to the Duke of
Devonshire), a set of six sonatas spirituale, and a
curious collection of pieces entitled, " The opening of
an organ — a choice set of voluntaries which may be
used at pleasure at any church or chapel." These
latter consist of a number of short movements, all in
the key of C major except the last, which is a loosely
constructed fugue in G.

On the erection of the Snetzler organ in Beverley
Minster in 1769, Hawdon was appointed organist of

HULL ORGANS AND ORGANISTS 13

that church. His wife Hes buried in the Minster
churchyard. In 1777 he left Beverley for Newcastle-
on-Tyne, where he had been appointed organist of
St. Nicholas Church (now the Cathedral), and where
he died in 1789. Both in Beverley and Newcastle
he was very active in the cause of music. He
directed oratorio performances on festival scale at
the inauguration of the Beverley organ, and in 1788
the opening of the Assembly Rooms at Newcastle
was celebrated by performances of Handel's " Judas
Maccabeus," " Messiah," *'Acis and Galatea," and
" Alexander's Feast " under his direction. Indeed,
he deserves much more than passing notice, from the
fact that he was the first to introduce oratorio per-
formances in the North of England. Handel, the
greatest of oratorio composers, only died in 1759,
and within a year or two following, the " Messiah "
was performed at Halifax, for the first time that any
oratorio had been performed north of the Trent.
Although the Beverley performance was a few years
subsequent to this, that at Newcastle in 1788 was the
first undertaken further north in this country, Let
us give honour to Matthias Hawdon, our old Holy
Trinity organist, for his enthusiasm and enterprise in
this direction.

Hawdon was succeeded at Holy Trinity by John
Hudson, who was elected by the parishioners on
October nth, 1768. Hudson's name appears in the
list of subscribers to Matthias Hawdon's Ode, and
very probably he was his pupil. Shortly after his
appointment the organ was again repaired or added to
by Snetzler at a cost of £25, and in 1782, the church-
wardens were once more requested to obtain an
estimate from the celebrated German builder for the
repair of the organ, and to ask Mr. Haxby, of York,
to come and inspect it, and also to give an estimate.

The instrument must have been giving trouble, for
in the meantime the organist was desired to *' put the

14 HULL ORGANS AND ORGANISTS

organ into repair by tuning the reed stops, and prevent
it cyphering." It appears to have been temporarily
patched up, for in September of the following year it
was ordered, " That the churchwardens do desire
Messrs. Snetzler and Jones to view the organ, and
make an estimate of the charge of effectually repairing
the same when they come to erect Mr. Walker's organ
at Rctherham."

John Hudson died on November 12th, 1787, and was
succeeded by Thomas Hawdon, a son of Matthias
Hawdon, who had previously held the appointment.
A pathetic interest attaches to his election, for the
other candidate w^as Mrs. Amelia Hudson, the widow
of the deceased organist. She received 348 votes against
396 recorded for Hawdon, and her agent demanded a
scrutiny, which she subsequently declined.

In the life of the Rev. W. Richardson the incident is
narrated thus — " When the organist at the High church
in Hull died and left a widow in strait circumstances, her
friends solicited that she might have the place, though
she knew nothing of music, and be allowed to find a
deputy. Milner (the Lecturer at Holy Trinity and
Master of the Grammar School), who thought it wrong
to bestow upon people, under a notion of charity,
places for which they were utterly unqualified, said
to those who came to solicit his interest : ' As places
are to be disposed of on this principle, I hope that if I
should die before my mother, you will appoint her to
succeed me in the lectureship and school.' This speech
set the matter in so ridiculous and yet so just a light,
that the design was dropped, and the widow relieved
by a subscription."

Thomas Hawdon was appointed on December 12th,
1787, and the following week he issued this announce-
ment : —

" To the Parishioners of Holy Trinity.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
I beg you will accept my most sincere and grateful thanks
for the very great favour conferred on me, in electing me

HULL ORGANS AND ORGANISTS 15

Organist of your parish church. I trust I cannot more
acceptably shew my sense of the high obligation than by a
diligent attention to the duties of my office. So soon as my
health will permit, I purpose to wait upon you personally,
to express the gratitude which I owe on this occasion.
I am, with the greatest consideration and esteem, Ladies
and Gentlemen,

Your much obliged and most obedient servant,

Tho. Hawdon.
Hull, Dec. igth, 1787."

During his organistship the organ was again repaired,
by Ryley of York, and it is interesting to find that this
builder was recommended by George Lambert, who, as
will presently be seen, was the organist until his death
in 1838. At a meeting on August nth, 1788, it was
decided " that the front pipes of the organ be gilt, and
the case varnished on the most frugal terms, and that
the new trumpet stop ordered for the organ be approved
of." Although Snetzler had been invited a few years
previously to give an estimate for renovating and
adding to the organ, there is no record of his having
done any work in connection with it, beyond the
repairs in 1756 and 1758 ; indeed, as the additions
made by Ryley of York on this occasion were fairly
extensive it is all but conclusive that the German
builder was not again called in.

A notice of the re-opening is found in the Hull
Packet of December 30th, 1788, in the following terms :
" Last Thursday the organ in Trinity Church in this
town, lately repaired and improved with a new swell
and the addition of some new stops by Mr. Edward
Ryley, of York, was opened by Mr. Thomas Hawdon.
The tone and effect of the organ, and the elegance
and accuracy with which a very long voluntary,
adapted to the occasion, was performed, afforded the
highest satisfaction to a very attentive and numerous
congregation."

This was long before the organ recital came into
vogue ; but when it was customary to have a middle

i6 HULL ORGANS AND ORGANISTS

voluntary in the service. This was played immediately
before the second lesson, and it may not be inappropriate,
as bearing upon it, if I quote a writer on church music*
" At this period of the service the whole congregation
may be supposed to be assembled. They are therefore
able to dedicate an undivided attention to the opera-
tions of the organist. If the performance is in strict
keeping with the rest of the service, their affections
may be excited, their minds solemnized, in a higher
degree than when subject, as in the former instance
(that of the opening voluntary) to continued interrup-
tions. But if, as is too often the case, the organist
takes advantage of the opportunity to display his skill
or his vanity by light and secular movements, the very
situation of his audience, condemned to sit in silent
attention, renders his strains the less edifying, if not
the more pernicious. The contrast betw^een the gravity
and solemnity of a congregation, and the absurd and
wanton melodies which pour forth from the organ-loft,
might, if the occasion were less sacred, and the scandal
less flagrant, excite a smile — if it were not painful, it
would be ridiculous."

The very long voluntary which Thomas Hawdon
played at the re-opening of the Holy Trinity organ in
1788 would no doubt be this so-called middle voluntary.
Its use has long ago, perhaps not without reason, been
discontinued. Thomas Hawdon's stay at Holy Trinity
was of short duration, under two years, and the only
record of his doings which I can trace, in addition to
the re-opening of the organ, is on March 14th, 1788,
when he played the harpischord at a subscription con-
cert in the Assembly Rooms, Dagger Lane. The con-
cert was followed by a ball.

I have been unable to ascertain the cause of his
retirement. On the death of his father he returned to
Newcastle, and became the organist of All Saints'
Church, but only remained there a short time. Like

* Rev. J. A. La Trobe.

HULL ORGANS AND ORGANISTS 17

his father, he was a very able musician, but his com-
positions, though fewer in number, are much more
mature than those by the elder Hawdon. A piece for
the piano and violin, in two movements, in the key of
E fiat, is very well written indeed ; the first movement
is in strict sonata form, and the second a well con-
structed rondo. The whole piece is distinctly pleasant
to listen to, even at the present day.

Although Hawdon did not resign until October 1789,
his successor was already in the town, and he heralded
his appearance by the following advertisement as
early as June 1788 : —

" George Lambert, Junr.,
begs to inform the Ladies and Gentlemen of Hull and its
environs that on Monday, the 21st July, he intends to com-
mence teaching the harpischord, pianoforte, etc., on the
usual terms of one guinea, and a half per quarter, and half-a-
guinea entrance. He flatters himself that the attention he
has paid to the Schools in Beverley, during his residence
as an apprentice to Mr. Lambert, Organist, and the conduct
he has observed, will entitle him to their favours, which will
be respectfully acknowledged.

Mr. Lambert, not having yet fixed upon the place of his
residence in Hull, requests that applications may in the
meantime be addressed to him at Beverley, or at the printers
of this paper.

Instruments tuned."

On October 7th, 1789, an election resulted in the
appointment of Geo. Lambert, v/ho received 182 votes
against two recorded for a Mr. Snowden. He under-
took to keep the organ in tune, and the following year
the churchwardens contracted with Edward Ryley to
keep it in repair for the sum of ten guineas a year.
Mr. Lambert held the appointment over forty-eight
years, a longer period than any other organist of Holy
Trinity, and it was a coincidence that for many years
the contemporary organist of Beverley Minster was
also named Geo. Lambert. The organist of Holy
Trinity was a nephew of Mr. Lambert of Beverley,
and, as already seen, was trained by him. The

i8 HULL ORGANS AND ORGANISTS

Beverley Lambert resided in Flemingate, died in 1818,
and was succeeded by his son, G. J. Lambert, who
held the appointment until 1875.

The Holy Trinity organist for some years lived in
Lowgate, but from 1820 until his death his house was
33 Finkle Street. He was distinctly one of the old
school of church musicians, sound and reliable, a good
if not a great performer, but not strong as a choir
trainer. During the latter part of his life, he had
indifferent health, and the musical service at the
church suffered in consequence. Slackness and the
consequent slovenliness prevailed for a considerable
time.

Matters came to a crisis on Sunday, October
1 6th, 1825, when a formal complaint was made that
although the collections on that day were for the choir,
at the beginning of the service there was only one
occupant of the singers' pew in front of the organ ;
three more entered during the General Confession,
two at the beginning of the Psalms, and the remaining
five, including the females, some time before the lessons
were finished, Two of these also absented themselves
during the sermon.

Steps were taken to form a Voluntary Associa-
tion for the practice of anthems and church music,
in the hope of effecting an improvement, and the
committee of the Choral Society granted the use of
their room in Mytongate for rehearsals. Not much
good, however, resulted, so early in 1826 a meeting was
held in the vestry, " to take into consideration the
best means of improving the singing in this Church."
In addition to the Vicar, the Rev. J. H. Bromby, there
were present the Rev. G. J. Davies, and Messrs. C.
Thompson, T. Hewitt, junr., R. W. Gleadow, Edward
Stubbs, John Hall and T. W. Gleadow. At that
meeting it was resolved " that four directors be ap-
pointed, who, together with the Vicar and Church-
wardens, shall have the appointment of the singers,

HULL ORGANS AND ORGANISTS 19

the payment of their salaries, and the selection and
management of all music performed in the Church."

The four directors appointed were Messrs. James
Robinson, T. Hewitt, junr., T. W. Gleadow and T. L.
Burton, and the committee reported that subscriptions
to the amount of sixteen guineas had been obtained,
and that they had every reason to believe a sufficient
sum might be raised to place the singing on a respect-
able footing. On May 2nd of that year (1826) a further
meeting was held when the following singers were
engaged : — Trebles — Master George Leng, £3 per
annum, Miss Bainbridge, £3, Miss Gill, {2 2s., Miss —
Gill, £2 2s. ; Tenors — W. Wilson, A. Cudworth, £3 ;
Counter Tenors — R. Tankersley, £4, W. Freeman, ^3 ;
Basses — T. Peck, £3, Beeford, ;£3, Watson, £3 3s.
Wilson was to be allowed £8 per annum " on condition
that he attends at least one night per week to teach
such of the singers as may require it."

From this it will be seen that at this period Geo.
Lambert's duties were confined to playing the organ
only. The Master George Leng here mentioned, in
after life took a prominent part in the musical doings
of the town, and we shall later have occasion to refer
to him both as organist, and as the conductor of the
old Sacred Harmonic Society. The counter tenor
singer, Tankersley, had an exceptionally good alto
voice, and in a programme of the Musical Festival in
York Minster, in 1825, his name appears as a member
of the chorus, as does also that of Wilson, the tenor and
choir trainer. I believe that Mr. Tankersley was a
schoolmaster, and lived in Burton Lane.

It may be of interest to know the music sung in
Holy Trinity on Sunday, May 7th, 1826 ; here is the
list — Morning, Chant No. i, Mornington, Responses
No. I Jomelli, Psalm 23, No. i Abridge, Psalm 93 — 2 —
Pentecost. Afternoon the same Chant, Psalm 8,
Clark's nth. This was many years before the time of
Hymns Ancient and Modern, Church Hymns, or the

20 HULL ORGANS AND ORGANISTS

Hj^mnal Companion. The metrical version of the
Psalms was bound up with the Book of Common
Prayer, and was long invested with a kind of
semi-official authority.

Although the Wesley ans had a unique collection of
hymns as early as 1780, for generations the Metrical
Psalms were sung exclusively in the churches, and as
we here see, they were used at Holy Trinity in 1826.
At a later period hymns were gradually introduced,
but much inconvenience was caused by the diversity
of the collections of hymns, and complaints were
made respecting the standard of composition displayed
in some of them. To prove that these complamts
were not without justification, it is only necessary to
quote a verse from a hymn found in more than one
such collection : —

*' Come on, my friends, let's mend our pace, sing glory, glory,

glory,
For we shall see Him face to face, sing glor}', glory, glory,
With Abr'am, Isaac, Jacob too, who rest in glory, glory, glory,
Let's keep the blessed prize in view ; 'tis glory, glory, glory."

From the service list I have quoted, it will be seen
that at this time the music at Holy Trinity was as
simple in quality as it was restricted in quantity. On
special occasions, however, a special effort was forth-
coming, as on June 21st, 1812, when a sermon was
preached on behalf of the Infirmary, and it was an-
nounced that " Mr. Payne had offered to sing an anthem
on the occasion." It would be interesting to know
how much of the large collection, £84 14s, 5d., was due
to the said Mr. Pajme's anthem-singing, and how much
to good old Vicar Bromby's sermon.

During the long period of Mr. Lambert's organist-
ship, the town greatly increased in size and importance,
but it does not appear that he took a very active part
in its corresponding musical development ; indeed
except when presiding at the organ on the occasion of
the Hull Musical Festival held in Holy Trinity Church

HULL ORGANS AND ORGANISTS 21

in 1812, I believe he confined himself entirely to his
church duties and his private teaching. He certainly
took no part in the formation of the old Hull Choral
Society in 1823 ; neither was he associated in the
subscription concerts, which for many years previously
formed the sole musical events in Hull. His ill health
no doubt prevented him from entering more fully into
the musical life of the town ; he also spent much of
his time at Beverley. But another circumstance
materially affected the situation.

As the population increased, other musicians were
attracted to the town, and Mr. Lambert, infirm in
health and advanced in years, had in particular to
encounter the competition of Mr. G. J. Skelton, who,
as a young man, able, enthusiastic and energetic, took
up his abode in Hull as early as the end of 1825, or the
beginning of 1826. When Mr. Lambert began his
labours there were only two organs in the town, those
at Holy Trinity and St. Mary's ; towards the end of
his time there were at least a dozen in the various
churches and chapels which had sprung up, and Mr.
Skelton " opened " most of them.

The old organist would naturally look askance at
the newer and more advanced methods of the younger
man, who in his turn would quite as naturally regard
the other as hopelessly old-fashioned and out of date.
Their artistic ideals were entirely different, and I regret
to say there was little love lost between them. Both
had their partisans ; and complaints of the music at
the church were not infrequently made. It is only
just, however, to the memory of Mr. Lambert, to say
that he was deservedly held in high regard personally,
and though his work was on the old lines, it was done
faithfully ; and when he went to his rest on February
19th, 1838, his death was sincerely regretted.

Musicians still living, who heard Mr. Lambert play
at Holy Trinity, speak in high terms of his powers as
an organist ; one in particular recalls how the people

22 HULL ORGANS AND ORGANISTS

delighted to remain for his concluding voluntaries, of
which the last that he can recollect was Handel's Occa-
sional Overture. My informant also remembers the old
galleries in the church, and the imposing oak case and
gilt pipes of the organ, surrounded by angels, looking,
as he says, as if they were adoring the beautiful
music sent forth into the grand old church.

As already stated, Mr. Lambert lived for many years
at 33 Finkle Street, Mytongate, where he also died.
In those days Finkle Street was a residential quarter
of the town. Its houses have long ago either been
demolished or converted into warehouses and offices
with the exception of that once occupied by Mr.
Lambert, which is situated towards the north end of
the street, and bears the date 1687. Mr. Lambert was
buried at Beverley. He had been an ardent Free-
mason, and shortly after his death a mural tablet was
erected in the church to his memory. It is now
fixed in the south wall of the transept to the west of
the window, and bears the following inscription : —

In Memory of

GEORGE LAMBERT.

Late Organist of this Church, which office he held
upwards of 49 years, performing- his duties with
abihty and assiduity, rarely exceeded, affording
delight to all lovers of Sacred Harmony.

This tablet is erected by his musical and private
friends, aided by the brethren of the Humber and
Minerva Lodges of Freemasons in this town (he being
a member of the latter Lodge), that they might place
on record the high sense which they entertained of his
personal and professional merits.

He died February 19th, 1838, aged 70 years, and his
remains were interred at the Parish Church of St. John
in Beverley.

Though like an Organ now in ruins laid,
Its stops disordered, and its frame decayed^
This instrument , ere long neiv tuti'd, shall raise
To GOD its builder, 7iotes of endless praise.

HULL ORGANS AND ORGANISTS 23

The election of a successor to Mr. Lambert took
place on May 17th, 1838, and in consequence of the
large attendance, the meeting, announced to be held
in the vestry, was adjourned to the church. It
partook more of the character of a political contest
than of the election of a church official ; much high
feeling was generated, and the speeches were copiously
punctuated with hisses and groans.

At the outset a Mr. Armstrong questioned the
Vicar, the Rev. J. H. Bromby, as to the Act of
Parliament under which the meeting was called,
and controverted its legality. This gentleman,
who acted as the mouthpiece of the radicals, declined
to accept the Vicar's explanation, and as an
advocate for universal suffrage, considered that every
man and every woman who occupied a room, or
who " smoked a chimney " in the parish, had a right
to vote in the election. Further heated contentions
as to the amount of the new organist's salary then
followed, the principal speaker being a Mr. Duval,
well known in the town, especially at election times,
as Economy Duval. His remarks caused a great
uproar, more in keeping with the hustings than with
a place of worship, and after the matter had been
settled, Mr. J. C. Parker proposed, and Mr. Richard
Cattley seconded, the election of Mr. Skelton, who
was then the organist of Christ Church.

Mr. Parker was the first Mayor of Hull under the
reformed Corporation, and Mr. Cattley was the
grandfather of Mr. Harold Cattley, now one of the
best known amateur musicians of the town, and
chairman of the executive committee of the Vocal
Society, which Mr. Skelton was largely instrumental
in forming in 1850.

The other candidate, Mr. Charles Harrison, organist
of George Street Baptist Chapel, was proposed by
Mr. Armstrong, and seconded by Mr. Haller. The
show of hands was overwhelmingly in favour of Mr,

24 HULL ORGANS AND ORGANISTS

Skelton, but the supporters of Mr. Harrison demanded
a poll ; they being unable, however, to provide the
necessary contribution towards the expense, this was
refused by the churchwarden, Mr. Forrester. The
irrepressible Mr. Duval then suggested that the
two candidates being present, and the instrument
also being at hand, a trial of skill should take
place ; the Vicar, however, formally declared Mr.
Skelton to be duly elected, and the meeting ended.
Undoubtedly the choice was a wise one, and the better
man got the post.

Mr. Skelton was by no means a stranger either to the
town or to the church. Born in Lincoln, in 1801,
where he became assistant to his father, the organist of
the Cathedral, and subsequently the organist of St.
Peter's Church, Lincoln, he was introduced to Hull in
1826 by the old Hull Choral Society, From that date
onwards he had taken the chief position in musical
matters in the district, and as we have already seen,
had " opened " all the new organs and had directed
most of the principal concerts.

Prior to the opening of the Public Rooms, Jarratt
Street, several of the Choral Society's performances
were given in Holy Trinity Church — at one of them Mr.
Skelton made one of his few public appearances as
a vocalist, in Handel's " Tears such as tender fathers
shed " — and these no doubt prompted him to consider
the feasibility of holding a Musical Festival on a large
scale in the Church. In 1789 such a Festival had been
held in Hull, in which the famous soprano Mrs. Billing-
ton, Sperati the violoncello player, Miss Cantelo, Mr.
Harrison, and the boys of the Chapel Royal took part,
and the audience is said to have been exceeded only
by the Festivals in Westminster Abbey and at
Worcester.

This was followed three j^ears later, in September
1792, by a three days' Festival in Holy Trinity and
the Theatre Royal, at which the principal performer

I /^cyv-^:^^- \^y

Ftoiii an Eiigynviiig]

[by Greenwood.

\'iEW OF THE Interior of the Trinity Church x\s it

APPEARED DfRING THE FESTIVAL, SePT. 1 834.

HULL ORGANS AND ORGANISTS 25

was Madame Mara, one of the greatest Handelian
singers the world has ever heard, and then in the zenith
of her fame. The music performed was the Handel
selection as given at the Commemoration Festival in
Westminster Abbey, in 1784. The assistant conductor
at the Westminster Festival was John Ashley, and he
inaugurated and directed the Hull Festivals in 1789 and
1792. The proceeds of the latter, amounting to £52,
were devoted to the Hull Iniirmary.

Again in 181 2 one of these musical gatherings took
place in Holy Trinity, at which the equally famous
Madame Catalani, Mrs. Salmon, and Miss Travis
appeared as principal singers, and among the instru-
mentalists were Griesbach, Holmes, Erskine, and the
violoncello player Lindley, who in early life resided
and received instruction in Hull. The proceeds of
this Festival, amounting to £324 15s. 6d., were again
devoted to the Infirmary.

In October, 1834, another three days' Festival was
held in the church, when Clara Novello, Braham, Henry
Phillips and others were the principals, with Sir Geo.
Smart as conductor, and Mr. Skelton assistant con-
ductor and superintendent of the chorus. Though
it was a success musically, the financial outcome was
disappointing, resulting in a considerable deficit.

With the laudable wish to emulate the enterprise of
his predecessors, Mr. Skelton conceived the idea of
another grand musical festival in Hull, and this took
place on October 6th, 7th, and 8th, 1840, under the
patronage of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert, and a
large number of the aristocracy. Sir Clifford Constable
interested himself greatly in the festival, but unfor-
tunately, it, like its predecessor, was a financial
failure ; for, though the receipts exceeded £2800, a
call of twenty per cent, had to be made on the
guarantors. Musically, it was a great success. It
opened with Handel's " Dettingen Te Deum," which
was followed b}^ a selection from Haydn's " Creation "

26 HULL ORGANS AND ORGANISTS

and Beethoven's " Mount of Olives." The concert
on the second day was secular, and took place in the
Public Rooms ; while on the third day selections from
Mendelssohn's " St. Paul " (which was only com-
pleted in 1836), Spohr's " Calvary," and Handel's
" Judas Maccabaeus " were given.

From a programme of the concerts which I have now
before me, it is most interesting to note the names of
those who took part. Sir George Smart (in whose
house Weber died in 1826), was the conductor, Mr.
Cramer and Mr. Loder the leaders, and Mr. Skelton the
organist and chorus superintendent. Among the
instrumentalists w^ere the foremost players of the day,
including Lindley (violoncello), Dragonetti and Plowell
(double basses), Puzzi (horn). Harper (trumpet),
and Chipp (drums). The assistant chorus master was
Mr. Peace, of Huddersfield, who brought a contingent
of singers from the West Riding. His son is Sir Walter
Peace, the late Agent-General for Natal.

Among the chorus singers were Master Joseph
Barnby, of York, who became famous as Sir Joseph
Barnby, the conductor ; Master Thomas Hopkinson,
of York, who became a well-known organist in Hull ;
Mr. R. S. Burton, later the organist of Leeds Parish
Church, and accomplished chorus master; five members
of the Kenningham family, three Coverdales, four
Bradburys and three Robinsons.

I make no excuse for dwelling at some length upon
the records of Mr. Skelton 's organist ship, for they
embody, to a large extent, the history of music in Hull
during a long and very interesting period. Soon after
he was appointed to Holy Trinity the transition from
the old order of things to the new was effected. The
cumbrous and unsightly galleries were removed ; the
equally objectionable high pews made way for the
present oak benches ; the mixed choir, otherwise
irreverently called the cock-and-hen choir, ensconced
in the gallery,_was disbanded, and a choir of men and

HULL ORGANS AND ORGANISTS 27

boys, decently vested in surplices, was established.
In short, both in its appointments and in the details
of its mode of worship the grand old church was
restored to something of its ancient glory.

The credit for the partial restoration of the church
was primarily due to the Rev. R. Athill, for many years
the Reader of Holy Trinity, who laboured for it long
and earnestly. One unfortunate mistake, however, was
made. Although the organ was re-modelled, it was
most inconveniently placed on either side of the west
door, partly obscuring the great west window. The
organ case was so constructed of common deal, painted
in imitation of oak, as to form a kind of inner porch.
But, alike in its appearance and in its great distance
from the choir, it was most unsuitably placed ; and
for ten years it remained an eyesore to the people and
a source of discomfort to the organist.

The re-arrangement of the organ was one of the
first commissions undertaken by our eminent local
firm of organ builders, Messrs. Forster and Andrews,
Its specification, as it thus appeared in 1845, may
prove of interest to organists : —

Great Organ— Compass GG to D in alt. Open Diapason,

Stopped Diapason, Principal, Twelfth, Fifteenth, Sesqui-

altra, Cornet Treble, Trumpet, Clarion.
Choir Organ — Stopped Diapason, Open Diapason (treble),

Flute, Principal, Vox Humana.
Swell Organ — Compass from Fiddle G. Stopped Diapason,

Dulciana, Principal, Oboe, Trumpet, Cornet.
Coupler Great to Pedals.. One octave and a half of pedals from

GG.

Early in September of this year (1845) Mr. Skelton
got together twelve boys, and took immense pains for
three months in developing their voices and making
them familiar with all the various points of the choral
service. His efforts were ably seconded by the Rev.
G. F. Noad, Vice-Principal of the Kingston College
on the Beverley Road, a great enthusiast in church

28 HULL ORGANS AND ORGANISTS

music, and the possessor of a remarkabty good voice.
He it was who, on the loth December, 1845, at the
re-opening service, sang the traditional music to the
versicles preserved for us by Thomas Tahis, probably
for the first time m the church. At that service,
which was attended by over 3000 people, the sermon
was preached by Dr. Hook, Vicar of Leeds, and the
newly-constituted choir, consisting of twelve boys,
three altos, two tenors, and three basses, was assisted
by two or three members of the Sacred Harmonic
Society. For the anthem Mr. Skelton chose one of the
noblest examples of English church music, Boyce's
" I have surely built thee an house," while the service
was Clarke in E.

December loth, 1845, is a memorable date in the
annals of church m.usic in Hull ; it may indeed be
called the birthday of church music in the town, for
on that day a full cathedral service was rendered for
the first time in the mother church, by a surpliced
choir of men and boys ; and to Mr. Skelton belongs the
honour of preparing and directing it. The full choral
service thus begun has been continued at Holy Trinity
without intermission since that time.

But Mr. Skelton's activities were not confined
to the church. As a result of his endeavours, a
meeting was held at the rooms of Messrs. Forster and
Andrews, Charlotte Street, on May 2nd, 1850, when it
was resolved to form the Hull Vocal Society. The
Rev. F. S. Barff, the Precentor of Holy Trinity Church,
was the first to suggest its formation. He was an
enthusiastic amateur musician, but unfortunately, his
stay in Hull was of short duration, as consequent on his
reception into the Church of Rome, he left Hull the
following year. The greatest consternation was felt
in the town when, on Sunday, July 4th, 1851, he and a
fellow curate of Holy Trinity received the Sacrament
of Holy Communion at St. Charles' Roman Catholic
Chapel. But though Mr. Barff originated the idea of

HULL ORGANS AND ORGANISTS 29

the Vocal Society, its fulfilment was entirely due to
the efforts of Mr. Skelton.

At the meeting, over which Mr. Geo. Parker presided,
there were present, in addition to Mr. Skelton, the Rev.
Rev. F. S. Barff and Messrs. Gleadow, Moss, Stacey,
Stephenson, Louth, Wilkinson, H. Kenningham, Geo.
Dykes, Morse and Wawne ; and in addition to these
gentlemen, the original members of the Society were
the Rev. J. H. Bromby, Rev. F. Athill, Messrs. R. L.
Sleight, Bethel Jacobs, R. Wallis, Lewis, Feetam, and
W. Field. The first officers of the Society were —
President, the Rev. J. H. Bromby, Vicar of Holy
Trinity ; Mr Parker, Treasurer ; Mr. T. W. Gleadow,
Hon. Secretary and Librarian ; Director, Mr. Skelton.
The weekly meetings were held on Thursday evenings,
and were a,ttended by both performing and subscribing
members. The subscription to performing members
was four shillings per annum, paid quarterly in advance.

The first rehearsal was held in the Hull and Sculcoates
Pubhc Rooms on May 9th, 1850, and it may be worth
recording who were present on that first night of the
Vocal Society. Here is the list — Subscribing members,
the Revs. Barff and Athill, Messrs. Jacobs, Moss,
Lewis, Parker, Geo. Dykes, Newbald, Beckett, and
Wawne ; performing mem^bers, Messrs. Stacey, Wilkin-
son, Morse, Holland, Stephenson, A. Kenningham, Gale,
Louth, ]\Ioat, Morison, and J. Kenningham. The
works rehearsed were — *' Awake JEolmn Lyre," Danhy ;
" Turn Amaryllis," Brewer ; "Go Damon go," Paxton ;
and Wehhe's glee, " Come, live with me," sung by
Messrs. Louth, J. Kenningham and Morse. The treble
part in these part songs was sustained by the choir
boys of Holy Trinity.

These weekly meetings of the Vocal Society quickly
became very popular, and the young men of the town,
" with a taste for music," eagerly sought admission as
subscribing members. Within a few months of its
formation we find the names of the following : — Vv". H.

30 HULL ORGANS AND ORGANISTS

Moss, H. Blundell, Dr. J. H. Gibson, Dr. Monroe,
E. Davis, Moxon, Dr. Cooper, (afterwards Sir Henry
Cooper), Beckett, Gale, Harrison, Wake, Westerdale,
T. Ayre, Frost, E. Wade, Chas. Ayre, Blyth, Shaw,
Thompson, Hardy, Till, Samuelson, Sidney Earle,
Buckton, Tall, Wilkinson, Dr. J. F. Holden, Loft,
Kirke, Helmsing, West, Norman, Dr. H. Gibson, Hall,
Hamilton, R. M. Craven, Junr. (afterwards Sir Robert
Craven), Mosely, H. C. Gleadow, Brodrick, Irving,
Dr. W. J. Lunn, F. Dykes, Ellermann, Beadle, Kidd,
Father Mottler, Oxtoby, Sanderson, Dr. Huntington,
Shipham, Gresham, Tarbolton, Rev. Newman Hall,
Runton, Oates, Pauling, Norwood, King, Arden, Dr.
Dossor, Reinhardt, Joseph Cattley, Thorney, T. W.
Palmer, McBride, Lawson, Simpson, Ingoldsby, Robt.
Jameson, Howard, Huffam, Marris, Kuhling, Kruger,
Storry, Priest, Bilton, W^illows, Glover, Lambert,
Bolton, Sissons, Malcolm, Cobb, Rollitt, Ostler, Harker,
a fairly representative list of Hull names of sixty years
ago.

In these early days of the Society the applicants
were so numerous that the committee (lucky men !)
decided to limit the membership, and a considerable
number had to wait their turn for election as vacancies
occurred. The Society's first concert was given on
November 13th, 1850, and opened with Danby's
" Awake ^Eolian Lyre," follovved by glees and madrigals
by Stevenson, Callcott, Paxton, Cooke, Morley, Webbe,
and Jackson, In the second part Locke's music to
" Macbeth " was given, in which the ist Witch was
sung by Mr. Geo. Dykes (brother of Mr. E. O. Dykes,
of Hessle), the 2nd Witch by Master Louth, and
" Hecate " by Mr. Bethel Jacobs.

For many years all the concerted parts were sung by
members of the Society, and songs and instrumental
items were conspicuous by their absence from the
programmes. A perusal of these early programmes
shews that Mr. Skelton had a decided partiality for

HULL ORGANS AND ORGANISTS 31

the works of Sir Henry Bishop, and some years pre-
viously, acting on his suggestion, the Council of the
Literary and Philosophical Society invited Sir Henry
to give a series of six lectures on Music, the illustra-
tions being prepared by Mr. Skelton. These were given
with much success early in 1848. Sir Henry Bishop,
who was the Oxford University Professor of Music,
offered to confer on Mr. Skelton the honorary degree
of Mus. Doc, probably in appreciation of his work,
a knowledge of which he had obtained during his
visit to Hull. To his infinite credit be it said, Mr.
Skelton declined the proffered honour.

The proceedings of the Vocal Society in its early
days reveal some amusing features. The performing
members who failed to attend the requisite number
of rehearsals, were dealt with in somewhat drastic
fashion. Instead of their being politely requested
either to amend their ways or withdraw, the records

bluntly state — " Resolved that Mr. be expelled

the Society for irregularity of attendance." The
members of the Committee, most of whom could
remember the time when the punishment which fitted
the crime of sheep-stealing was to be hanged by the
neck, would not be likely to deal too leniently with
an erring brother who had absented himself from
rehearsals. It is satisfactory also to note that the
attendance at one of the meetings was " numerous
and respectable." Mr. Skelton himself appears to
have had a nice sense of humour, for on one occasion,
when he was rehearsing the old madrigal by Richard
Edwards, "When going to my lonely bed," and a
member unfortunately lost his place, he promptly
advised him to get to the other side of the sheet.

One reprehensible feature of the Society's early work
must be noticed. Although the old English madrigal
writers, including Dowland, Morley, Weekes, Benet,
Edwards, Gibbons, and others, received due atten-
tion, the detached music of operas (" Maritana/'

32 HULL ORGANS AND ORGANISTS

" Preciosa," etc.), was given, a whole concert being de-
voted to a particular work of this class. Indefensible
as it is thus to divorce the music from what should be
an artistic whole, including the acting and the scenic
display, it must be remembered that the artistic
fitness of things was not so well reahsed then as now,
and the opportunities for hearing an opera properly
staged, rare enough in the present day, were much more
so sixty years ago.

The arrangement of some of the programmes also
would be singular to our modern ideas, a sacred piece
being sometimes oddly sandwiched between two
secular items, amorous and bacchanalian. This is not
so much a matter of surprise when we see that the
same kind of thing obtained even at the celebrated
London Concerts of Ancient Music, only two or three
decades earher. As bearing upon this point, it is
interesting to read the criticism of one of these Ancient
Music Concerts, in which the writer says : " After
being affected, even to tears, by that highly solemn
and devotional anthem, ' Hosanna to the Son of
David ' (Orlando Gibbons), we were hurled from our
pinnacle of enthusiasm into the mire, indeed ; for
what immediately followed ? ' Shepherds, I have lost
my love ! ' But the mischief did not end here, for
presently came ' For unto us a Child is born,' which
was followed by ' Soft Cupid, wanton amorous boy ! '
Could anything be more ludicrous ? " *

For eighteen years, indeed until the time of his
death, Mr. Skelton did splendid work for the Vocal
Society, which under his guidance, gradually increased
in efficiency and importance. He paved the way for
the developments which followed under his successors,
and after the society had been re-constructed ; but of
these we shall treat in due course. In addition to
the concerts of the Vocal Society, which he conducted,
Mr. Skelton organised others, at which he introduced

* Harmonican, 1823, page 57.

HULL ORGANS AND ORGANISTS 33

to Hull Lablache, Grisi, Mario, Clara Novello, Ernst,
Benedict, Tlialberg, Reeves, Hatton, and many others.

Shortly after the removal of the organ to the west
end of the church, the difficulty of accompanying
the choir from so great a distance began to be felt ; and
in the early fifties, the question of its being again
removed to a more convenient position was mooted.
It was not found possible to take immediate steps ;
but in 1854 it was decided not only to remove the
organ, but also to re-construct it. The re-opening
w'as held on May 23rd, 1855, when at the morning
service a setting of the Te Deum by Mr. Skelton,
Greene's anthem, " God is our hope and strength,"
and Handel's " Hallelujah " at the conclusion of the
service, were sung ; and in the evening, Wesley in F,
Purcell's " O give thanks," concluding with Haydn's
" The heavens are telling." The choir was reinforced
by several members of the Vocal Society.

The specification of the organ thus constructed in
the eastern corner of the south aisle, and as it remained,
with one or tw^o minor alterations, until 1875, may be
of interest.

Great Organ — Compass CC to F. Tenoroon, Large Open
Diapason, Small Open Diapason, Stopped Diapason
(treble), Stopped Diapason (bass), Keraulophon, Flute,
Principal, Twelfth, Fifteenth, Mixture, Trumpet, Clarion,
Cremorne.

Swell Organ — Compass Tenor C to F. Double Diapason,
Open Diapason, Stopped Diapason, Dulciana, Principal,
Sesquialtra, Hautboy, Horn, Trumpet.

Pedal Organ — CCC to F, 20 pipes, Double Open Diapason.

Couplers — Swell to Great, Great to Pedal.

The weak point of this scheme will be seen at a
glance. The best that can be said for it is that it w^as
a great improvement on the previous one with its
fiddle G swtII. But the utterly inadequate pedal organ
will at once strike the most casual observer. A per-
former must have been seriously handicapped in having
only one pedal stop at his disposal, and this, whether

34 HULL ORGANS AND ORGANISTS

he were playing on the full organ, or only on the stopped
diapason. So much may be said without the slightest
disparagement either of Mr. Skelton, who, presumably,
was responsible for the specification, or of Messrs.
Forster and Andrews, the builders. The organ was
quite typical of the best at this period, and was very
highly spoken of. Sheahan, in his " History of Hull,"
quotes a newspaper appreciation of it, which as a
choice specimen of contemporary music criticism, is
worth reproducing : — " We venture to say that the
many laurels which, in the practice of their art, they
(the organ builders) have gained, there are none greener
or more honourable than those which they have won
for themselves in this case " {sic).

In judging of the specification of this organ, unsatis-
factory as it appears to us, with its tenor C swell and
impoverished pedal section, it is necessary to remember
that the art of organ-playing at this time was very
different from that of to-day. The literature of organ
music will readily provide evidence of this. Writers
like Rheinberger, Merkel, Guilmant, and Widor, had
not then begun their work ; Mendelssohn's organ
sonatas had not been published ; and though the
incomparable works of J. S. Bach, written a century in
advance of their time, had a few years previously
been issued by the house of Novello, they were prac-
tically unknown in this country, except to a few
enthusiasts.

It is curious to recall that these preludes and
fugues of Bach were published with the pedal part
transcribed for the violoncello ; and in this form — of
organ (manuals only) and violoncello duet — were
played before the school of so-called pedal players
came into existence. The fact is that organ playing
as we know it, was not then understood. Mr. Skelton
was essentially a piano-player — and a very good one —
of the old classical school, having been in his youth a
pupil of Cramer. As an organist, he was inclined

HULL ORGANS AND ORGANISTS 35

towards a somewhat florid style, so far as the keyboard
was concerned ; but his accompaniments were always in
good taste, and bespoke the reverent and cultivated mind.

In 1850 Mr. Skelton's father resigned his connection
with Lincoln Cathedral and came to reside with his
son in Hull, after a very noteworthy career. Mr.
Skelton, Senr., entered the choir of Lincoln in 1782,
at the tender age of nine, the possessor of a very
beautiful treble voice. After his voice broke, he still
retained his connection with the Cathedral, and was
appointed its organist in 1793, when only twenty years
of age, thus serving it uninterruptedly as chorister and
organist for a period of sixty-seven years. Surely a
worthy record !

On his retirement to Hull he assisted his son at Holy
Trinity, frequently playing the organ at the Sunday
afternoon services. Although a very old man, his
enthusiasm for church music was unabated. On
one occasion a most improper, but at the same time a
ludicrous advantage was taken of his advanced age.
At this time the organ was placed adjoining the
south wall of the church, immediately within the
nave, and the Trinity House boys occupied the seats
next the organ at the Sunday afternoon services.
One fine afternoon these boys, who were born not
lacking in a due allowance of original sin, hatched a
little joke. When the old organist began a tune for a
certain hymn, the young scoundrels set up another,
and singing lustily, completely carried the day. The
only remedy the irate old man had wa.s to stand up at
the organ, the very personification of sorrow and
anger, and shake his fist at the boys, who naturally
enjoyed the fun as boys alone can. Mr. Skelton,
senr., ended his long and honourable life at the house
of his son in Story Street, on May 30th, 1859, having
resigned his appointment at Lincoln nine years earlier.

Among the choirboys at Holy Trinity during the
fifties were Jacob Horwood, W. T. Marshall, J. J.

36 HULL ORGANS AND ORGANISTS

Brown (who became the late much-respected Paragon
station-master), John and George Kenningham, Peter
Louth, Joseph Fox, E. Brammer, M, C. Peck, E. T.
Sharp (now J. P.), E. E. Staves, R. Hodgson, Henry
Bradley, W. Pearpark, Machin Newton, R. G. Graves,
Isaac Gale, James Summerson, and F. Jackson. Some
of these in later life became organists, and reference
will be made to them when we treat of the churches
which they served.

For several years previous to his death the Vicar
(Rev. J. H. Bromby) was too old and infirm to take
any practical part in the affairs of the church, and he
virtually relinquished its oversight to the successive
curates. A misunderstanding arose between one of
these gentlemen, the Rev. H. G. Kinnear, and Mr.
Skelton relative to the music of the church, and
during a few years the choirmastership was under-
taken by Mr. Robert Morison, who for a considerable
time was the organist of St. Mary's, Lowgate. Into
the details of this episode, w^hich caused Mr. Skelton
much pain and annoyance, it is unnecessary now to
enter ; suffice it to say that he was in no w^ay to blame,
and that he retained the warm regard of his choir and
the congregation generally.

Never a strong man physically, the wear and tear
of his busy life began to tell upon him, and early in 1868
he was far from well, although he remained closely in
harness. On Friday, February 7th, he was out and
able to do his work, but the next Thursday morning his
son-in-law, Col. Gleadow, visited him, and at four
o'clock his doctor, Sir Henry Cooper, called. Mr.
Skelton was then very weak, but apparently no worse
than during the previous few days. Immediately after
Sir Henry had gone he rose from his chair, his wife
alone being present, and knelt in prayer ; then, moving
up, sank back, and died from heart failure, the exertion
being too much for him. A servant was sent after
Sir Henry Cooper, who at once returned, only to see

Hj

pTT^^H^^^^F^

«^i

I- 1

B

i

y - ^£^E?B^^^I

HI

1^^!.:::.=

B

'j^^r^'iaj*^^^^^- .^

^^^^I^^S^I

1^3

!^H

^^^^^^^^^^^F/^*^

r-^ "^

*■- an

G. J. SKELTON.

HULL ORGANS AND ORGANISTS 37

that all was over. A more beautiful death, coming
after an eminently useful hfe, cannot well be imagined.

Mr. Skelton will long be remembered in Hull, not
only for his excellence as a musician, but perhaps even
more for those personal qualities which revealed him as
a man of high ideals, unflinching integrity, and earnest
purpose. For many years he worthily occupied the
most prominent musical position in the town, and this
at a time when the profession of music was not regarded
so favourably as it is now. As will presently be seen,
some of his contemporaries had not the same dignified
conception of their art which he possessed ; all honour
to him, therefore, for the path he pursued without
deviation throughout his life.

It is certainly remarkable that one who laboured so
long and so strenuously for music, especially church
music, should not have been honoured with a memorial
in the church he loved so well, and served so faith-
fully. The memory of his predecessor, Mr. Lambert,
is rightly perpetuated by a mural tablet in the south
transept, and it is very satisfactory to know that by
the courtesy of the present Vicar and Churchwardens of
Hoty Trinit}^ there is every prospect of a suitable
memorial being erected in the church to George
James Skelton in the near future.*

♦Since the above lines were written, a handsome brass mural
tablet has been placed on the south wall of the chancel, with the
following inscription ; —

t

In Memory of
GEORGE JAMES SKELTON,

born May gth, 1801, at rest February nth, 1868.
For thirty years Organist of this Church. A
musician of much skill ; a man of the highest
honour and integrity.

This tablet is erected by a few friends, in the
church he loved so well, and served so faithfully.

38 HULL ORGANS AND ORGANISTS

It was somewhat of a coincidence that within a few
weeks of the decease of Mr. Skelton, the death of the
Vicar, the Rev. J. H. Bromby, with whom he had
been so long associated, should also have occurred.
The old Vicar, who resigned his connection with Holy
Trinity a year previously, died at the Charter House
Residence on March 25th, 1868, at the patriarchal age
of ninety-seven. He had practically relinquished his
connection with the church many years before his
actual resignation ; indeed, born in 1771, and appointed
Vicar of Holy Trinity in 1797, he may be said to have
long out-lived his day and generation.

Though not a practical musician, Mr. Bromby was
deeply interested in the historical and philosophical
aspects of music I have a letter from him to Mr.
Skelton, in very quaint and old-fashioned caligraphy,
in which he gives, evidently in response to Mr.
Skelton's request, the probable derivations of the word
"Madrigal." He was a student of ancient Greek
music, and made a translation of Plutarch's celebrated
treatise, which, together with the original text, was
printed during his early days at Holy Trinity. It is
quite refreshing in these days of hurry and bustle,
when short cuts to knowledge are eagerly sought
after, to see how old " Vicar " Bromby thus spent his
cultured leisure.

On Sunday, March 28th, 1868, the services at Holy
Trinity presented a notable link between the past and
the future ; for they were in the nature of a memorial
to the late Vicar, and at the same time they served as
an introduction to the new organist, Mr. Thomas
Craddock. On that day the anthem at the morning
service was very appropriated the choral from
Mendelssohn's " St. Paul," " To Thee, 0 Lord, I yield
my spirit." Mr. Craddock was playing the organ as a
candidate for the post, and the same week he was duly
appointed Mr. Skelton's successor.

He was the first exponent of the modern school of

HULL ORGANS AND ORGANISTS 39

organ playing to become connected with Hull ; and this
may be said without in the slightest degree adversely
reflecting on the ability of his predecessors. Born in
1835, at Egloshayle in Cornwall, he shewed striking
musical aptitude at an early age, and becoming a pupil
of George Cooper, the organist of St. Sepulchre's Church,
Holborn, and Assistant Organist of St. Paul's Cathedral,
received the important appointment of organist at
the Church of St. Mary Magdalene, Munster Square,
London, when only eighteen years old. In 1856 he
became organist of St. Mary's, Truro, but a few years
later, wishing to return to London, he applied for the
vacant organist ship of St. Pancras Parish Church,
and was chosen out of seventeen candidates. From
there he migrated to St. John's, Paddington, his Vicar
being the Rev. Dr. Goulburn, later the Dean of Nor-
wich. From thence he came to Hull.

Mr. Craddock had a very fine technique — his pedal
playing was especially facile — but this was at all times
subordinate to refined taste and sound musicianship.
On the first Sunday after he took up his duties, his
" out " voluntary was Handel's Concerto in G, and
there was much astonishment when the demisemiquaver
passages in the bass were played on the pedals with the
most consummate ease. Though this w^ould not be
considered nowadays a very extraordinary feat, it
w^as regarded very differently forty years ago.

Needless to say, within a month of two of Mr. Crad-
dock's taking up the appointment, the pedal organ and
swell were to some extent modernised, and two or
three years later (in 1871) the instrument was re-
moved to the South Transept. But this was done
only as a temporary expedient until funds should be
forthcoming for the erection of an organ of ample
dimensions, the details of which were drawn up by
Mr. Craddock, and issued about this time with an appeal
for financial help.

The performances of the new organist were something

40 HULL ORGANS AND ORGANISTS

in the nature of a revelation, and many amateur
organists and other enthusiasts hurried from their
respective churches to hear his concluding voluntaries
at Holy Trinity on Sunday evenings. He speedily
became in request at organ " openings/' the first being
at St. Luke's Church in June 1868.

An excellent theorist, he was one of the first batch
of Hull organists to graduate in music at the University
of Oxford, taking the Mus. Bac. degree in 1873, at
the same time with his two pupils, Charles Bradbury
and E. W. Healey. He took a special interest in
choir training, and under his direction the choir of
Holy Trinity attained a very high level of excellence.
Among the choirmen with whom he was associated
were C. R. Moxon, H. Toogood, Richard T. Vivian,
J. S. Gair, H. Newton, C. W. Cheeseman, J. Fox, R. T.
Sales, R. A. Marr, J. T. Towler, Glover, A. Hudson,
A. Pratt, A. Hewitt, E. Dyson, Alfred Thoms, W. Dry,
J. Lodge, Geo. Thorpe, Alfred Robinson, George Ken-
ningham, and G. Hare.

Without any desire to be invidious, I think Mr.
Moxon deserves special mention. He entered the choir
as a boy in 1854, and his voice afterwards developed
into a pure tenor of exceedingly beautiful quahty. His
solo singing at the church will long be remembered.
Mr. H. Toogood, after twenty-five years' faithful
service as one of the basses, relinquished his connection
with the choir of Holy Trinity to become the enthu-
siastic choir-master of St. Augustine's Church, a post
he still retains.

As illustrative of Mr. Craddock's taste in church
music, a few of the anthems sung at the church while
he was the organist may be mentioned : — " It came
even to pass " (Ouseley) ; " The Wilderness " (Goss),
" Rejoice in the Lord " (Purcell), " Blessed be the
God and Father " (Wesley), " They that go down to
the sea in ships " (Attwood), " Judge me, O God "
(Mendelssohn), " Ascribe unto the Lord " (Travers),

T. CRADDOCK, xMus. Bag. Oxox.

HULL ORGANS AND ORGANISTS 41

" Cry aloud and shout " (Croft), " In that day "
(Elvey), " I was glad " (Attwood), " These are they "
(Dykes), " O Saviour of the world " (Goss), " Praise
the Lord " (Goss), " Wherewithal shall a young man
cleanse his way " (Elvey), " Great is the Lord " (Hayes).
These, of course, are perfectly familiar to church
musicians now, but they were not so well-known in
Mr. Craddock's time. The beautiful anthem, ** O
taste and see " — by the way a perfect model of what
an anthem should be — which seems as old as the hills
to us, was only produced by Sir John Goss in 1863,
four years before Mr. Craddock came to the town, and
when he introduced it at Holy Trinity it was quite
new. The " chief musician " of a church has so much
influence, either for good or evil, with regard to its
services, that too much credit cannot be given to Mr.
Craddock for the high standard he maintained during
his stay in Hull. It has certainly had a potent in-
fluence upon the work of many more recent organists.
The conductorship of the Vocal Society, in succes-
sion to Mr. Skelton, was undertaken by Mr. Craddock,
He worked on similar lines to those of his predecessor.
The choir boys of Holy Trinity continued to sing the
treble parts, and the programmes of the concerts,
though naturally more modern in character, possessed
the original features. One innovation, however, was
the introduction of lady solo singers. Miss Bolingbroke
(now Madame Mudie Bohngbroke), was the first lady
to appear at one of the concerts, on October 22nd,
1868. A few years later, when she, as a Hull student,
won the Parepa Rosa Scholarship at the Royal
Academy of Music, the Vocal and Harmonic Societies
joined forces to give her a complimentary concert.
The first part, consisting of a selection from Haydn's
" Creation," was conducted by Mr. J. W. Stephenson,
and the second, which was miscellaneous, by Mr.
Craddock. A violoncello obligate to one of Miss
Bolingbroke's songs was played by a youth named

42 HULL ORGANS AND ORGANISTS

J. W. Hudson. This, I believe, was the first pubHc
appearance of the present esteemed conductor of the
Hull Philharmonic Society. The concert, which
realised £45, was given on May 31st, 1874. Another
first appearance was made at the Vocal Society's
Concert on November 19th of the same year, when
the solo in Mendelssohn's " Hear my prayer " was sung
by Master Charles Kenningham, who afterwards
became known to fame as a member of the D'Oyly
Carte Opera Company.

Prominent members of the Society at this period
were Messrs. C. R. Moxon, John Harrison, R. T.
Vivian, H. Toogood, J. H. Green, R. H. Barker, J.
George Wood, J. Lodge, Dr. J. H. Gibson (President),
Dr. Evans (Vice-President), W. A. Sissons, C. T.
Ganderton, Thos. Priestman (Treasurer), Walton,
Hutty, John Leak, Chas. Newton, E. W. Garforth,
C. W. Cheeseman, J. Johnson Field, J. Spyvee Cooper,
Colonel Francis, Russell Starr, Thos. Witty, J. Chatham
W. H. Moss, J. J. Thorn ey, C. M. Lofthouse, S. R.
Henson, and W. T. Dibb.

Mr. Craddock resigned the organistship of Holy
Trinity towards the end of 1875, and, returning to the
west country, became first the organist of Upton
Church, Torquay, and subsequently the organist of
St. Mary's Church, Babbacombe. He also acted for
some time as choirmaster on H.M.S. " Britannia," at
Dartmouth.

In September 1877 he was offered the appoint-
ment of organist of Norwich Cathedral, vacant
through the resignation of Dr. Buck. The offer was
made by Dr. Goulburn, who had become the Dean of
Norwich, in fulfilment of a promise made during the
time he and Mr. Craddock were associated as Vicar
and organist of St. John's, Paddington. Dr. Goulburn,
who had a great admiration for Mr. Craddock's talent,
promised that if ever he received preferment, and had
the opportunity to advance his young organist's

FREDK. BENTLEY, Mus. Bac. Oxon.

HULL ORGANS AND ORGANISTS 43

interests, he would not fail to do so. Unfortunately
a difficulty arose, which prevented his acceptance of
the post, and he continued his work in Devonshire.
I regret to state that this brilliant musician died in
the Exminster Asylum on November 20th, 1903.

Mr. Craddock's successor at Holy Trinity was
Mr. G. F. Jackman, a pupil of Dr. John Hopkins,
organist of Trinity College, and the University. Cam-
bridge, and having previously been the organist of
Ewell Parish Church, Surrey. In one respect Mr.
Jackman was singularly fortunate, for on his arrival
in Hull he found the long contemplated new organ in
course of erection by Messrs. Forster and Andrews,
and he had the pleasure of presiding at its inauguration
on September 26th, 1876. It contained 45 stops,
distributed thus : — Great, 12 ; Swell, 10 ; Choir, 8 ;
Pedal, 8 ; Couplers, 7. In 1900 it was enlarged, a
fourth manual being added, and I believe further
additions are intended when the church is re-opened
next 3^ear, after the extensive structural repairs are
completed.* Mr. Jackman worthily upheld the best
musical traditions of Holy Trinity until his retirement
in 1881, when he was succeeded by the present accom-
plished organist of the church, Mr. F. Bentley, Mus.
Bac, Oxon.

Mr. Jackman took special interest in the work of the
Vocal Society, the conductorship of which he under-
took when Mr. Craddock left the town, and which he
retained for some time after he severed his connection
with Holy Trinity Church.

Towards the close of the seventies the interest in
the society began to flag, on the part both of the
performers and subscribers. Fashions change in
music as in other things, and singers were not content
to rehearse merely part songs and an occasional
cantata with piano accompaniment ; neither were the

* These additions have now been made. A specification of
the re-constructed organ will be found in the appendix.

44 HULL ORGANS AND ORGANISTS

subscribers particularly eager to attend concerts of a
class which might have been acceptable in 1850, but
was out of date in 1880. Re-organisation became
imperatively necessary.

Two courses were open to the committee — either to
confine the work to unaccompanied vocal music pure
and simple, and thus make the society one for the prac-
tise of glees and madrigals on artistic lines, which would
have been much in accordance with the original design ;
or to aim at the production of m.odern works of the
cantata class with a full orchestra. The sister Har-
monic Society, since the date of its formation, had
performed works, mostly sacred, for chorus and
orchestra, and it was felt that the Vocal Society might
undertake similar works of a secular character. In any
case, the day for mutilating operas had gone past, as
also for inadequately presenting other important
compositions. On the principle that half a loaf is
better than no bread, it may be defensible to use a
piano and harmonium in lieu of the orchestra, but,
thus robbed of its proper orchestral colours and tints,
a musical picture must proportionally suffer.

Mr. Jackman, who was supported by the entire
committee, warmly advocated the reconstruction of
the society on such a plan as would enable it to
perform important works for chorus and orchestra,
and at the Annual General Meeting on May 3rd, 1882,
the members formally decided that the Society should
be re-constituted on these lines.

It should be mentioned that a concert was given the
previous month (April 14th), tentatively, when
Sullivan's " Martyr of Antioch " and Barnett's " Build-
ing of the Ship " were performed with strings, brass
and drums, and as the committee could not raise the
wind for a complete orchestra, the wood wind was
raised on two Mustel organs and a harmonium — a
doubtful expedient — played by Messrs. W. Porter,
G. H. Smith, and F. J. Harper.

G. F. J AC KM AN.

: HULL ORGANS AND ORGANISTS 45

The following season, although the subscription was
increased, the number of subscribers was nearly
trebled, mainly through the exertions of a newly-
formed ladies' committee and Messrs. Starr and G. P.
Martin, while there was a large accession of chorus
singers, due largely to the labours of the Hon. Secretary
(Mr. Starr) and Mr. F. R. Helman, now a member of
the Leeds Festival chorus.

The first work given in this new era of the Society's
history was Gounod's '' Redemption " on February
26th, 1883, and it is a little curious to note that
each of the succeeding conductors of the Society,
Messrs. J. W. Hudson and G. H. Smith, began his con-
ductorship by a performance of the same work.

Mr. Jackman laid the Society under a debt of
gratitude for the signally successful w^ork he accom-
plished for it, and this was cordially acknowledged
when he resigned in 1885. Mr. Jackman retired from
the active duties of his profession many years ago,
and now resides at Tunbridge Wells.

ST. MARY'S, LOWGATE.

In Sheahan's " History of Hull " it is stated that
Snetzler built an organ in St. Mary's Church in 1715,
and this statement was reproduced in a hand-book of
a bazaar held in connection with the Church some
years ago. The statement is obviously inaccurate,
for Snetzler was only born in 1710. In point of fact he
came to this country about 1750, and one of the first
organs to be built was that at St. Margaret's, Kings
Lynn, in 1754. The late Dr. E. J. Hopkins relates an
anecdote in connection with this which shews that
Snetzler was something of a wag. There was an old
organ in the church ot Lynn, which was so much

46 HULL ORGANS AND ORGANISTS

decayed that portions of some of the pipes crumbled
to dust when they were taken out to be cleaned. The
churchwardens, however, wished to retain the organ if
possible, and asked Snetzler to state what it was
worth, and also what would be the expense of repairing
it. He said the organ as it stood was worth a hundred
pounds ; and if they would lay out another hundred
upon it, it would then be worth fifty ! This answer
settled the matter, and the new^ organ was ordered.

Snetzler built the organ in St. Mary's in 1755, and
though the date mentioned by Sheahan, 1715, is
incorrect as applied to it, it is possible that it may
have reference to an earlier instrument. One reason
for this surmise is that early in the eighteenth century
there was living in Hull an organist named James
Green. He edited a book of psalmody, the fifth edition
of which was published in 1724. A copy of a later
edition, 1734, is in the library of the Royal College of
Music, and is entitled " A Book of Psalmody, containing
Chanting Tunes for the Canticles and the reading of
the Psalms, with eighteen Anthems, and a variety of
Psalm tunes in four parts." The last edition appeared
in 1738, and was sold by booksellers in Gainsborough,
Hull, Nottingham, and Lincoln.

At this time the only two churches in Hull were Holy
Trinity and St. Mary's, Lowgate. St. Peter's, Drypool,
and St. Mary's, Sculcoates, were not within the boundary
of the town, and it is extremely unlikely that either of
them possessed an organ. James Green certainly was
not the organist of Holy Trinity, for, by kind permission
of the Vicar and churchwardens, I have been enabled
to trace each quarterly payment of the organist's
stipend since an organ was erected in that church in
171 1. Can it have been, therefore, that St. Mary's,
Lowgate, had an organ still earlier than that by
Snetzler, and that Sheahan had some authority for
mentioning the date 1715 ?

The St. Mary's records give no trace of it ;

HULL ORGANS AND ORGANISTS 47

but against this it may be advanced that the
early records are somewhat scanty, that in all
probabihty the organ would be quite an unimpor-
tant instrument, and that Green may have been an
amateur organist without salary, which would account
for the absence of his name from the disbursement
book. This, of course, is pure conjecture, but the
broad facts remain — that James Green w^as an organist
in Hull early in the eighteenth century, that Holy
Trinity and St. Mary's were the only two churches in
Hull at that period, that Green was not the organist of
Holy Trinity, and that the records of St. Mary's make
no mention of him. According to Dr. W. H. Cummings,
James Green lived in London in later life, and was a
great bell-ringer, having a belfry of his own at the top
of his house.

Leaving the dim mists of uncertainty for the clear
dayhght of fact, we find an entry in the St. Mary's
minute book recording a parish meeting held on July
29th, 1751 " to agree upon the right of nomination of
an organist for an organ proposed and intended to be
presented to this Parish," and it was then decided
that the contributors should have the sole right of
election of the first organist. There is an interesting
explanation of this.

The meeting was the outcome of another meeting
held the previous month, on June 12th, at Holy
Trinity, when Matthias Hawdon was chosen the
organist of that church. The unsuccessful candidate
was one Richard Justice. He appears to have
had some staunch friends, who showed their interest
in him in a very practical way. They agreed to
defray the cost of a fine organ for St. Mary's Church
on condition that they should be allowed to choose the
organist.

In all probability these good people would
be well-to-do merchants, resident in the parish ; and
to this day many of the spacious old houses in High

48 HULL ORGANS AND ORGANISTS

Street, with their handsomely decorated rooms,
bespeak the prosperity and well-being of their occu-
pants of a century and a half ago. Many of them,
with their families, would wend their way on Sundays
to St. Mary's ; and thus it came about that the fine
old church obtained its new organ, and Richard Justice
became its organist. But why was it necessary to
employ a German builder ?

The answer is found in an Ordinance passed by the
Lords and Commons assembled in Parliament only
a little more than a century earlier, in August 1643,
one clause of which ran thus : — " And that all organs
and the frames and cases wherein they stand in all
churches and chapels aforesaid shall be taken away
and utterly defaced, and none other hereafter set up
in their places."

This wanton decree, the outcome of a fanatical
and intolerant Puritanism, deprived the old English
organ-builders of their occupation ; and later, when
the dark winter of religious persecution and bigotry
drew to its close, the race was all but extinct. Then
it was that Bernhard Smith, and his two nephews,
followed later by John Snetzler and others, came from
beyond the seas, built famous organs, and reaped an
abundant harvest.

At the meeting on July 29th, 1751, it was also
agreed that provision should be made for the organist's
stipend of £25 a year by raising the pew rents. It
was not until four years later, in November 1755,
that the organ was completed, and Richard Justice
duly installed in the organistship. He had a brief
reign, as he died two years later (November i6th,
1757), and the minute book next records —

" In ye vestry on Monday, y^ 17th of February, 1758,
at a meeting of parishioners duly warned to choose an
organist, Mr. Bailey Marley was duly elected."

Marley was a young man of twenty-one, and had
been a choir-boy in Durham Cathedral, and afterwards

HULL ORGANS AND ORGANISTS 49

a pupil of James Heseltine, the organist of the Cathe-
dral, a portrait of whom is in the Music School at
Oxford. Marley's salary was raised to £30 at Easter,
1768, and on July 6th, 1812, it was raised to forty
guineas in appreciation of his long and valuable services.

For many years Mr. Marley lived in Blanket Row,
where his wife kept a ladies' boarding school, but some
time previous to 1790 he removed to Robinson Row,
which, if not quite a place of Arcadian beauty, was
nevertheless a very desirable place of residence, very
different from what it is now. There Mrs. Marley
taught the neatest of pointed handwriting, and the
daintiest of needlework and embroidery, together with
geography and the use of the globes, while her worthy
spouse gave the young ladies lessons on the harpsichord
and initiated them into the mysteries of thorough bass.

Bailey Marley's name appears in the list of sub-
scribers to " An Ode on the King of Prussia," by
Matthias Hawdon, the contemporary organist of Holy
Trinity, and it may be permissible to picture the two
men, with so many interests in common, and the only
organists in the towm, as excellent friends, and, to
quote the Psalmist, as " brethren dwelling together in
unity." There can have been few more familiar
figures in the town than that of Mr. Marley, for during
his long period of sixty-two years, he made his way down
to St. Mary's with the utmost regularity, But the
time came when the old organist played his last service,
for he died on July 4th, 1820, and was laid to rest the
following Saturday in the St. Mary's burial-ground,
Trippett, the Curate of St. Mary's, the Rev. W. Wilson,
officiating at the graveside.

After his death the widow removed to 21 Bond Street,
and there carried on the school a short time longer.

The obituary notice in the Hull Advertiser is worth
reproducing : — " On Tuesday, much respected, aged %-^,
Mr. Bailey Marley, sixty-two years organist of St.
Mary's Church in this town. He was one of the last

D

50 HULL ORGANS AND ORGANISTS

survivors of the old school of music, and received his
education in the choir of Durham Cathedral." This
reference to the old school of music was literally
accurate, for, as already mentioned, Marley was a
pupil of James Heseltine, for fifty-three years the
organist of Durham Cathedral (he died in 1763), and
Heseltine was a pupil of the celebrated Dr. Blow,
who was born in 1648, and who was one of the first
set of children of the Chapel Royal at the time of
the Restoration. Blow both preceded and succeeded
Henry Purcell in the organistship of Westminster
Abbey. It will thus be seen that the wide gulf of time
from 1648 to 1820 was spanned by three men, and it is
interesting to note that the third in this artistic
succession was the old organist of St. Mary's, Lowgate
Mr. George Atkinson, a young man of twenty, was
unanimously elected the organist on July 13th, 1820,
and the same day he issued this notice : —

To the Parishioners of St. Mary's.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
I take the earliest opportunity of returning you my best
thanks for the honour you have done me this day in electing
me your Organist.

I beg also to assure you that the promises of support I
received (should an opposition have taken place), will
ever be remembered by me with heartfelt gratitude.
I am, Ladies and Gentlemen,

Your obedient and humble servant,

George Atkinson.

Mr. Atkinson was a pupil of Samuel Wesley for the
organ and Ferdinand Ries for the piano.

As I cannot trace any record of alterations to the
organ, or additions to it, during Mr. Marley's long
tenure of office, I give the specification of the instru-
ment as Mr. Atkinson found it, and which, presumably,
was Snetzler's original design : —

Great Organ — Open Diapason, Stopped Diapason, Principal,

Twelfth, Fifteenth, Cornet, Sesquialtra, Trumpet,
Choir Organ — Stopped Diapason, Flute, Principal, Fifteenth.

HULL ORGANS AND ORGANISTS 51

Swell Organ — Open Diapason, Principal, Hautboy.
Coupler — Swell to Great : Compass of Great and Choir,
GG to D in alt ; Swell, Fiddle G to D in alt.

It is not surprising to find that soon after Mr.
Atkinson's appointment a small sum was expended in
repairing and improving the organ. The improve-
ments would no doubt include the addition of a set of
G pedals. Again, in 1838, {60 was spent on necessary
repairs. Mr. Atkinson had the reputation of being a
sound musician — he certainly was a busy teacher —
but his organistship, extending over the long period
of twenty-nine years, w^as singularly uneventful.
WTiatever his powers as a choir-master were, they found
no scope at St. Mary's. The bald type of service must
have been as unedifying as it was perfunctory. On the
first Sunday in November, 1825, the hymn " I'll praise
my Maker while I've breath," was led off on the organ,
to the tune of Luther's Hymn, with what effect may
be better imagined than described. Shortly after this
climax it was announced that " the minister of St.
Mary's had instituted an enquiry, and measures have
been adopted for rendering the singing more effective
in the church under his care."

Mr. Atkinson, who died in 1849, ^^^ ^-"^ least one good
service to Hull in presenting to it two of its most
prominent citizens in his sons, Mr. H. J. Atkinson
(late M.P. for Boston), and Mr. Joseph Atkinson, J. P.
His grandson, Mr. A. J. Atkinson, was for some time
the organist of Elloughton Church.

The election of Mr. Atkinson's successor, which
took place on June 21st, 1849, created so much interest
that the meeting had to be adjourned from the vestry
to the County Court Room at the Town Hall. The
candidates were Mr. George Leng and Mr. W. G.
Atkinson, a son of the late organist.

Mr. Leng had certainly had the longer experience,
for in 1834 he was appointed the organist of St.
Peter's, Drypool, leaving there in 1837 ^or Waltham

S^ HULL ORGANS AND ORGANISTS

Street Chapel, where he stayed twelve years. He was
strongly recommended by Dr. Camidge of York, and
Mr. Lambert the organist of Beverley Minster. He
was also well known as the founder and conductor of
the Hull Sacred Harmonic Society. Strictly speaking,
he was not a professional musician, as he had a printing
and book-binding business (he came of the same stock
as the late Sir W. C. Leng, the proprietor of the Sheffield
Telegraph), but he was, nevertheless, a very capable
man, and never so happy as when immersed in music.

Mr. Atkinson was a very young man, and had just
completed a course of study at the Royal Academy of
Music. His instrument was the piano, but it was
urged by his supporters that he would speedily make
himself sufficiently efficient in organ-playing to fulfil
the duties of the post satisfactorily. He was proposed
by Mr. Thos. Wilson (father of the late Lord Nunburn-
holme), and seconded by Mr. W. Brown (of the firm
of Brown, Atkinson & Co.), while Mr. Leng was pro-
posed by Mr. J. Malam, and seconded by Mr, J. Harris.

As usual at these election meetings, a good deal of
personal feeling was manifest. It appeared that the
Churchwarden, Mr. Pulleyn, had refused to have the
bellows blown the previous Wednesday evening, when
Mr. Atkinson had attended to play the organ, and this,
it was contended, was evidence of bias on the part
of the churchwarden, and calculated to prejudice the
young candidate's chance of success. Mr. Pulleyn
stoutly denied the inference, and recriminations
followed. The voting was very even, and after much
confusion and uproar, a poll was demanded.

Both sides did their utmost to beat up supporters,
but Mr. Leng's large following in the town stood him
in good stead, for at 8 o'clock the same evening, the
result was announced amidst great excitement : —
Leng, 230 ; Atkinson, 202. The chairman, the Rev.
John Scott, whose task had been a very unenviable
one, in acknowledging a vote of thanks, exhorted any

HULL ORGANS AND ORGANISTS 53

who might have in their minds the shghtest unpleasant
feehng, to leave it in the Com"t of Requests, where they
were, and he hoped they would not be summoned to
ansv.'er for what they so left. Thus happily the
meeting ended.

The customary overhauling of the organ after the
appointment of a new organist took place, and it was
badly needed. The fifteenth was transferred from the
Choir organ to the Swell, and a tenoroon added ; also
a cremorna was added to the Choir. The Pedal Organ,
which was carried dow^n to CCC, was provided with
a sixteen feet double open diapason, twenty notes,
though the compass of the pedal board was twenty-
seven notes, up to D. The fiddle G swell was carried
down to tenor C, and a coupler added, by means of
which the lowest octave of the choir organ could be
used on the swell. From this it will be seen that the
inadequacy of the tenor C arrangement was beginning
to be felt ; but why builders did not earlier recognise
it, and carry the swell throughout its entire compass,
is not easy to imagine. The alterations were com-
pleted by the addition of a composition pedal to take
off and put on the chorus organ. The organ-builder
to whom the work was entrusted was Mr. J. Beeforth,
Chariot Street, Hull, and the improvements he effected
were very marked ; indeed, competent judges declared
the organ to be by far the most effective in the town.
A sixteen feet open pipe had never been heard in the
church before, and this addition, together with the
double on the manual, made the general effect very
dignified and imposing.

Mr. Leng gave a private performance on Monday,
January 7th, 1850, at which three or four hundred
people were present, and the public re-opening of the
organ took place on January 9th, when works by
Handel, Haydn and Mozart were given. These
illustrate the style of music affected by Mr. Leng, and
most of the Hull organists of his day. Genuine organ

54 HULL ORGANS AND ORGANISTS

music had no place in their repertoire ; they played
arrangements of movements from the masses of Haydn
and Mozart, and the oratorio choruses of Handel.
According to a well-informed musician who often heard
Mr. Leng and his contemporaries, they could play the
people in, and play them out ; they could accompany
the canticles and hymns more or less effectively, but
from a modern organist standpoint, weighed in the
balances, they would be found wanting.

Mention of the canticles and hymns shows how
restricted Mr. Leng was in his church work. His
Vicar, the Rev. John Scott, a saintly man, would not
tolerate more than a minimum of music in the services.
The Psalms were read and the versicles and responses
said in the speaking voice, while anthems were dis-
allowed, and a Choral Celebration was a thing unheard
of ; indeed, music instead of being regarded as the
handmaid of religion, was relegated to a position of
cold neglect and undeserved suspicion.

In his previous appointment at Waltham Street
Chapel, Mr. Leng found the music still more restricted,
for the musical service consisted only of hymn singing.
Even an innocent Amen from the organ loft would
have been heard with pious horror. Little wonder,
then, that his craving for music was wholly unsatisfied
by his Sunday work, and that he and other kindred
spirits met night after night and revelled in the solid
delights of Handel's Oratorios. Not singers only, but
string and wind players also took part in these musical
carousals ; for several of the chapels, not having risen
to the dignity of an organ, still retained a band of
instrumentalists.

Some years previously, Mr. Leng had organised the
Beverley Choral Society, the first performance of which
took place in St. Mary's Church, Beverley, on December
22nd, 1837, when a selection from the oratorios of
Haydn and Handel was given by a band of seventy
performers and a large chorus under his direction.

HULL ORGANS AND ORGANISTS 55

And now, bending his energies to the task of organising
the musical forces in Hull, he called a meeting in the
Vicar's School (Holy Trinity), on November 28th, 1843,
to consider the formation of a musical society. The
chairman was Mr. W. Wilson, the Master of the School,
a strong enthusiast, to whom reference has already been
made as the choir-trainer at Holy Trinity several
years before, in Mr. Lam.bert's time.

Among those present were Messrs. J. Kenningham,
Isaac Thomas, Harvey, G. K. Hair, Aaron Shaw, O. P.
Tarbotton, J. Booth, S. Tarbotton, J. Buck, Holland,
Moody, and, of course, Mr. Leng. The result of the
meeting was the formation of the Sacred Harmonic
Society, with Mr. Bethel Jacobs as the first President,
Mr. Giles, leader of the band, Mr. Leng, conductor,
and the first six above named, the Committee.

The chairman observed that the countenance of
the chief musicians in the several religious congrega-
tions of the town had been secured, and the Committee
decided upon the following statement of the objects
of the Society. — " The Committee wish to state that
this Society has been formed for the purpose of improv-
ing the singing of Sacred Music, by providing an oppor-
tunity of practising Vocal and Instrumental music,
chiefly choral and entirely sacred ; and they hope the
endeavour will be appreciated by all lovers of the art,
but more particularly by the admirers of the sublime
oratorios of Handel, and other great masters. The
performances will be confined to the members of the
Society, assisted by such of the profession as may oblige
by their gratuitous attendance."

It may be of some slight interest if I briefly refer to
the previous Choral Societies in Hull. The first of
which I find mention was the Hull Harmonic Society
in the early part of last century. It consisted of a
number of gentlemen who met together once a week
for the practise of glee singing. Conviviality and
good fellowship were a feature of the meetings, which

56 HULL ORGANS AND ORGANISTS

were held on Saturday evenings at the *' Dog and
Duck," in Scale Lane. It was a semi-private society ;
indeed, the only public appearance of its members was
when they assisted at the Hull Musical Festival of
1812.

This Festival was a stimulus to music in the town,
and resulted in the establishment of the Hull Oratorio
Society, which for several seasons gave monthly con-
certs in the Adelphi Hall in Mason Street, and later in
the Salthouse Lane Schoolroom. Selections from the
oratorios were given by a small band and chorus,
mustering sixty or seventy, and the life and soul oiE
the society were the Misses Bradbury, m.embers of
a musical family which until three or four years ago
was intimately associated wdth music in these parts.
This was before the baton came into use, and for a
considerable time the concerts were led, or directed,
by Mr. White of Leeds, a prominent Yorkshire
musician, who led the band at the great York Festival
of 1825.

About 1820 the Oratorio Society began to languish,
and in 1823 the Hull Choral Society was formed, also
at a meeting in the Vicar's School in connection with
Holy Trinity. It possessed a room containing a small
organ, in Mytongate, which later was known as the
Temperance Hall. There the concerts were given,
though on several occasions the society was respon-
sible for performances in Holy Trinity Church. After
the erection of the Public Rooms, Jarratt Street, in
1832, the concerts were held there.

Sir Clifford Constable, the munificent patron of the
society, became also the cause of its undoing. At the
beginning choral music was kept well to the fore,
the rehearsals were well attended, and the society
prospered. Later, a miscellaneous element was intro-
duced, and, principally at the instigation of Sir Clifford,
star vocalists and other artistes were engaged for the
concerts.

HULL ORGANS AND ORGANISTS 57

He was never more happy than when dispensing
the almost regal hospitality of Burton Constable to
musicians, some of European fame ; and Mario,
Lablache, Grisi, Thalberg, and many other celebrities
thus appeared at the concerts of the society. But
the interest became focussed upon them, with the
inevitable consequence that chorus singing came to
take a subordinate place in its work ; so much so,
indeed, that its name, the Hull Choral Society,
became a misnomer. There was no violent disruption,
but gradually the change was made, until a complete
metamorphosis was effected ; Mr. Skelton became
responsible for a series of subscription concerts, and
thus the old Choral Society passed through a process
of painless extinction.

An effort was made in 1840 to revive the practice of
chorus singing, and the Sacro Harmonic Society came
into existence. It was, however, very short-lived, for,
lacking sufficiently influential support, it only survived
one season. The disastrous financial result of the Hull
Musical Festival in the autumn of that year appears
to have had a depressing effect ; possibly, also, it
exhausted the energies of the choralists, for during
a season or two there was no choral society in the
town. After the ground had thus lain fallow for a
time came Mr. Leng's opportunity, and he availed
himself of it by founding the Sacred Harmonic Society.

The opening concert was given in the Public Rooms,
on February 2nd, 1844, with Handel's Dettingen "Te
Deum " in the first part, and a selection from " Judas
Maccabeus " in the second. The members who sang
the principal parts were Messrs. Holland, Thomas,
Fox, J. Kenningham, Louth, and Wilson, in the "Te
Deum," and Mrs. Marshall, Mrs. Robinson, Messrs.
Bethel Jacobs, C. Harrison, Peck, Moody, Francis,
and John Robinson in the selection from '' Judas."
The concert was a great success, and was followed
two months later (April 4th), by the " Messiah," when

58 HULL ORGANS AND ORGANISTS

Mozart's additional accompaniments were used for the
first time in Hull.

In the programme of the first concert, the names of
the principals are not mentioned, and in the second,
the names only of the professionals — Mr. Harrison and
Mr. Couch — appear.

At the annual meeting on December 3rd, 1847, ^^
was decided to change the name of the society by
omitting the prefix " Sacred," in deference to the
wishes of many of the members who wished to introduce
secular works also. The committee at this time were
Messrs. F. Johnson, P. H. Harker, T. Peck, O. Tar-
botton, Clarkson, and G. S. Tarbotton, with Mr. John
Booth as Secretary.

The following season, which began the new regime,
proved to be a remarkable turning from the grave to
the gay, for at the concert on September ist, 1848, a
most extraordinary production by Mr. Sigmont, the
Society's leader, was given, entitled the " Red Cross
Knight." It was an incongruous pasticcio beginning
with a tenor solo, followed by a chorus in which " Rule
Britannia " was introduced ; then a snatch of Bishop
Heber's song, " When eyes are beaming," and a
mutilated version of Callcott's glee, the " Red Cross
Knight " ; then a song, " The Smile," leading to a
chorus, " Napoleon's Burial," ending with another
" Rule Britannia " chorus, in which *' Hip, hip,
hurrah ! " was very prominent.

It is not surprising to learn that the work was received
with howls of derision ; neither is it surprising that after
such an excursion into the realms of the grotesque,
the Society reverted to its former more sedate lines,
and directed its attention to works like Handel's
" Sam.son," " Deborah," and " Judas," Haydn's
" Creation," Romberg's " Transient and Eternal,"
the Masses of Haydn and Mozart, and Spohr's '' Last
Judgment."

Quite a feature of the Society's doings in these early

HULL ORGANS AND ORGANISTS 59

days was the annual tea party. There was a most
commendable sociability among the members, and at
this pleasant function good comradeship was promoted
as they joined in " Now is the m.onth of Maying,"
" Life's a bum.per," and many another old favourite.
Of course there were songs, and if they happened
to have a good rollicking chorus, so much the
better.

How these evenings Vv^ere enjo3^ed ! and by none
better than the President, Mr. Bethel Jacobs, who at
one of them caused shouts of laughter by singing an
extempore humorous song. He was a very versatile
man ; an excellent flautist, a good violoncello player
and singer (he took a principal part in the opening
concerts of both the Harmonic Society and the Vocal
Society), he had also a fine taste in music, and an
intimate knowledge of the old English school of
madrigal composers. He was the President of the
Literary and Philosophical Society, an office which his
son, Mr. B. S. Jacobs, occupied half-a-century later,
and he was largely concerned in the establishment of
the Hull School of Art. Altogether, the influence he
exerted in artistic miatters in the town was as great as
it was beneficial.

The successive leaders of the band in Mr. Leng's time
were Mr. Giles, Mr. James Gleadow, Mr. Sigmont, Mr. E.
Short, and Mr. J. Wilson ; and the organists were Mr.
Charles Harrison, Mr. W. M. Glenton, and Mr. R. W.
Hall. One of the violoncello players, Mr. John Dennis,
kept the Andrew Marvel Hotel in Whitefriargate, and
thereby hangs a tale. On the mornings after the
concerts and rehearsals, George Leng and a few kindred
spirits might have been found in the bar parlour,
eagerly discussing the merits of a certain singer or the
shortcomings of an unfortunate player, while all the
various details of the performances were passed under
review and duly commented upon. But meanwhile,
orders for book-binding and printing were being

6o HULL ORGANS AND ORGANISTS

neglected or missed, with the inevitable consequence, a
financial catastrophe.

Mr. Leng conducted his final concert (Haydn's
Imperial Mass), on March i6th, 1855, and resigned his
position at St. Mary's a few months later, one of his
last voluntaries being by his beloved Handel, " Then
round about the starry throne," from " Samson." He
went to London, and became copyist to Sir Michael
Costa, and also obtained a post as violinist in the band
of the Adelphi Theatre. He died February 15th, 1862,
aged fifty-four. For a short time after Mr. Leng's
retirement, the organ was played by Mr. Gale, the
master of the Salthouse Lane National School.

There were four candidates for the vacant organist-
ship, Messrs. R. Morison, Joshua D. Horwood, J. W.
Stephenson, and J. T. Trumble, and the election,
w^hich took place on May 15th, 1856, was the last in
Hull previous to the abolition of Church rates. As the
parishioners paid the piper, they also exercised the
right of electing him, even if they could not go to the
extent of choosing the tune. In marked contrast to
the election when Mr. Leng was appointed, there was
an absence of excitement, and the show of hands being
in favour of Mr. Morison, Mr. Stephenson and Mr.
Trumble retired. Mr. Horwood, however, demanded
a poll, which was fixed for the same day from twelve
o'clock until two, and the next day from eleven until
two, but at the end of the first day, the figures being
Morison 117, Horwood 62, the latter retired. Mr.
Stephenson was the organist of Albion Chapel, and Mr.
Horwood of Mariners' Church, and we shall have
occasion to speak of both of them later.

Mr. Morison was not a solo player ; in fact, a genera-
tion ago solo organists were by no means plentiful.
It was an age when players indulged in a free use of the
swell pedal, and while the right foot was thus busily
employed, the left had to perform certain gymnastic
movements, more or less staccato, in a vain endeavour

HULL ORGANS AND ORGANISTS 6i

to put in the bass notes of the harmony. Mendelssohn^s
" War March " from " Athahe," was a favourite show
piece, and Costa's " March of the Israehtes " and his
march from " Naaman " were much in request. But
though Mr. Morison did not lay himself out for solo
playing, he was an admirable accompanist, especially
of the Psalms, and he invariably played from open
score.

It often happens that a good accompanist is also a
good choir trainer, and this was borne out in Mr.
Morison's case. He was in much request in this
capacity — in addition to his duties at St. Mary's, he
undertook the choir work at Holy Trinity, St. Mark's,
Beverley Road Chapel, and other places — and his
success was probably due as much to his kindly sym-
pathetic nature as to his musicianship. He was a
good theorist of the old school, and his pupils still
speak highly of his accomplishments.

His skill as a choir trainer stood him in good stead,
for on his appointment he found the music at St.
Mary's in a somewhat parlous condition. I have
before me a copy of the Canticles pointed for chanting
by his predecessor, Mr. Leng, and used in the church
during his time, which, unless modified in actual use,
must have produced an extraordinary mutilation of the
sense of the words. It suggests either that Mr.
Leng's musicianship was not seen at its best in this
department of his work, or that if it was typical of the
period, church music must have been at a very low
ebb in the middle of the last century, and we have
much to be thankful for now.

Mr. Morison did much to place things on a more
modern footing, and shortly after Canon Scott became
the Vicar (in April, 1864) the Versicles and Responses
were sung. Some little time, however, elapsed before
the mixed choir was dispensed with, but at the harvest
festival on September 21st, 1866, the choir appeared
in surplices for the first time, and on the same occasion

62 HULL ORGANS AND ORGANISTS

a choral service was introduced, rightly of the congrega-
tional or parish church order, rather than of that per-
taining to a cathedral.

The organ was placed in the hands of Messrs. Forster
and Andrews in 1856, who fitted it with new keys,
pedal board, action, coupler, and four composition
pedals, and mitred the great organ reeds. At the same
time the old keys disappeared : they had the naturals
black, and the sharps and flats white, as may still be
seen in the small organ by Father Smith in Sproatley
Church. Seven years later, in 1863, the organ was
removed from the v/est gallery to its present position at
the end of the south aisle, and entirely remodelled.
The handsome black oak case and gilt pipes, which had
been admired for so many years, were taken down, a
new case substituted, and decorated pipes, consisting of
a new open diapason and tenoroon added. The further
additions were new great and swell sound boards, new
swell box, and two couplers, swell to pedal and choir
to great sub-octave ; indeed, the pipes were the only
remaining part of Snetzler's original organ.

At the re-opening on August 27th, 1863, Mr. Skelton
of Holy Trinity, and Mr. Morison presided at the
organ, and the choir of Holy Trinity sang the service.

Mr. Morison resigned his appointment in 1869, and
went to London. His successor was Mr. J. H. Nutt,
an amateur organist, who gave his services voluntarily.

About this time Mr. Craddock, the organist of Holy
Trinity, was engaged to train the choir in plain-song.
As generally taught at this period, plainsong was
nothing short of an artistic blunder, for the severely
diatonic melodies were clothed with a free accom-
paniment of an ultra chromatic and modern kind.
It was as much an anachronism as if an actor imper-
sonating a courtier of Charles the First, and dressed
handsomely according to the fashion of the Stuart
times, were to complete his attire with a modern silk
hat.

HULL ORGANS AND ORGANISTS 63

In whatever guise plainsong was presented at
St. Mary's, it did not take permanent root, and this is
not surprising, having regard to the traditions of the
church. For generations the music had been of the
baldest possible description. Only a few years pre-
viously the good Vicar had engaged in a newspaper
war on the work and office of choirs. The schoolmaster
connected with St. Mary's, in his zeal for a choral
service, wrote a letter to one of the local papers, and
evidently expected to clinch the argument by quoting
the scriptural injunction, " O come, let us sing unto the
Lord." The Vicar's rejoinder was a sermon from the
text, " And let all the people say Amen." It was
scarcely likely that within half a dozen years of his
death music expressed in such an unfamiliar idiom
would be either understood or appreciated.

Mr. Nutt was succeeded by Sir. Henry Wells, who
was appointed on March 23rd, 1872. He only stayed
at St. Mary's a little over two years, and is now the
organist of the Durham Street Methodist Church,
Christchurch, New Zealand. His successor, Mr. S. J.
Brooks, had a still shorter reign, making way for Mr.
Walter Porter, F.R.C.O., in 1875. Mr. Porter, who
had been the organist of Bourne Abbey, played his
first service at St. Mary's on Advent Sunday of that
year, and it is the earnest hope of his innumerable
friends that he may outlive the most venerable of his
predecessors, Mr. Bailey Marley, who remained in office
sixty-two years.

This short account of the music at St. Mary's
would be singularly incomplete without reference to
Mr. E. O. Dykes, the only surviving brother of the late
Dr. J. B. Dykes, who was a native of Hull, and whose
service to English church music will be held in lasting
remembrance. Mr. Dykes, a devoted church musician
of unerring taste, joined the choir of St. Mary's many
years ago, and was responsible for the introduction
of the annual special service on Low Sunday. For

64 HULL ORGANS AND ORGANISTS

several years Gounod's Messe Solennelle has been sung
at the High Celebration on that day with orchestral
accompaniment, and Mr. Dykes has collaborated with
Mr. Porter in making it at once dignified, reverential
and artistic.

Mr. Dykes' enthusiasm in the cause of church music
also prompted him in conjunction with another old
choirman of St. Mary's, Mr. J. Spyvee Cooper, to in-
augurate festivals of the combined church choirs of
the town, and these took place at Holy Trinity, St.
Mary's, St. John's and All Saints', under the conductor-
ship of Messrs. Bentley, Porter, Hudson and Smith.

A further instance of Mr. Dykes' devotion to church
music and to the church of St. Mary was seen two years
ago in his noble gift of the new organ by Messrs.
Brindley and Foster of Sheffield. The handsom.e
screen to the console was given by a few friends of the
late Dr. Dykes, and it is very satisfactory to know
that thus will be perpetuated the memory of one whose
name will live in the annals of English church music,
and of whom Hull has just cause to be proud.

SCULCOATES PARISH CHURCH.

Unlike Holy Trinity and St. Mary's, the other two
ancient parish churches of Sculcoates and Drypool
were comparatively unimportant so far as music was
concerned ; nevertheless, their musical associations
were by no means devoid of interest. The old church
of St. Mary's, Sculcoates, was pulled down in 1760,
and upon its site the present church was built. It
was consecrated the following year. Practically a
village church, pleasantly situated near the river
bank, its singing, such as it was, was led by Thomas
Storm, the Parish Clerk.

HULL ORGANS AND ORGANISTS 65

In the eighteenth century, from various causes,
the status of the office had much deteriorated, and the
Parish Clerk of that day is generally quoted either to
illustrate the slovenly way in which the services were
conducted, or as an embodiment of quaint unconscious
humour. Mr. P. H. Ditchfield tells of a Parish Clerk
at Eccleshall, near Sheffield, who had been in the days
of his youth a good cricketer, and always acted as
umpire for the village team. One hot Sunday morning,
the sermon being very long, old Thompson fell asleep.
His dream was of his favourite game ; for w^hen the
parson finished his discourse and waited for the Clerk's
Amen, old Thompson awoke, and to the amazement of
the congregation shouted out " Over ! " Clerics were
also caught napping, as in the case of the cricketing
curate, who, after reading the first lesson, announced :
" Plere endeth the first innings ! "

But the old Parish Clerk is interesting to us less
because of his oddities and vagaries than for the part
he took in furthering the music of the church. Thomas
Storm's time was part of that in which the village
orchestra flourished, and which came to an end with
the gradual introduction of key-board instruments.
It was the time when Robert Brass kept a music and
perfume shop in Church Lane and announced
" Country churches supplied with string and wind
instruments, etc., for psalmody on the shortest notice."

Brass (a not inappropriate name for an instrument
dealer), was not only prepared to shave and trim the
hair of the church minstrels, but was ready to repair
their flageolets and bassoons, and to supply them with
violin strings and resin. Doubtless he provided
Thomas Storm with his pitch pipe, and William Bee
and William Holton with their bass fiddles while
they did duty in Sculcoates Church.

Storm's successor w^as James Brooks, after whom
came, in the early years of the last century, John
Bradbury. Music with him was a passion. At a time

E

66 HULL ORGANS AND ORGANISTS

when there were fewer distractions than now, but \^'hen
the opportunities for music study were very Hmited, he
spent all his spare time in its pursuit. He trained
singers and players for the church as a labour of love,
and in course of time gathered round him the best
musicians in the town. Had Mr. Lambert, the organist
of Holy Trinity, been less easy going, he might have
found his task more difficult, but as the Sculcoates
churchwardens found it possible to provide a modest
stipend for the principal singers, the church came to
possess by far the best choir in these parts, its chief
competitor being St. Peter's, Drypool, of which John
Kenningham was clerk and chief musician.

Mr. Bradbury took an active part in the work of the
Hull Oratorio Societ}^, and as the solos at the monthly
concerts were sung by members of the society, it
provided him and his devoted disciples with plenty
of congenial work ; indeed, more whole-hearted
enthusiasts than Hull possessed at this time it would
be difficult to find.

Dr. Camidge, the organist of York Cathedral, who
came occasionally to the town to lead concerts, invited
Mr. Bradbury to prepare a contingent for the great
York Festival of 1823, and it is interesting to note
that of the twelve singers which Hull provided, seven
were members of the choir of St. Mary's, Scul-
coates. No prouder man than John Bradbury could
have been found when he set off on the stage-coach
journey to York with his elder daughter, his son
William, Miss Holdstock, Miss Mary Holdstock,
Robert Tankersley, and Robert Coverdale, and among
that noted chorus no more efficient or reliable singer
would be found than he. John Dixon, one of the St.
Mary's double bass players, was also of the party.
Two years later, at the last but one of the York Fes-
tivals, the Hull contingent numbered twenty-five.

In 1830 a double quartet of singers was paid —
John Bradbury, Thomas Jackson, Abraham Thompson,

HULL ORGANS AND ORGANISTS 67

David Mctcalf, Ann Livingstone, Sarah Livingstone,
Mary Holdstock, and Emily Bradbury, in addition to
two bass players in John Dixon and J. C. Stickney.
The churchwardens also incurred other expenses in
connection with the music, paying £10 for a new
double bass, £4 for a violoncello, besides items for
repairing instruments and music copying. Two or
three years later John Bradbury induced the church
wardens to pay ten singers, but this was too much for
the oppressed and unwilling ratepayers, so at the
Vestry meeting on February 28th, 1833, strong objec-
tion was made to the expense of the singers and
instrumentalists. As each annual meeting came
round, protests were made against the unwonted
extravagance, but with no avail. Although only two
instrumentahsts were paid, the double bass and 'cello
players, the band contained wood wind and one or
two brass players.

It is curious to note that here, as elsewhere, there
was for a long time a rooted objection to the employ-
ment of violins ; but their use as an accompaniment
to drunken ditties in taverns and ale-houses was
supposed to render them unfit for the church. It is
also curious to notice that many members of the church
orchestra were connected with taverns and inns, and
it was not at all an uncommon thing for the best of the
singers to assist an instrumental comrade who
happened to possess a public-house, at a free-and-easy
— conducted, I have no doubt, on quite irreproachable
lines.

Before taking leave of John Bradbury and the
occupants of the west gallery of Sculcoates Church,
reference should be made to his daughter. Miss Brad-
bury, than whom Hull never produced a finer singer.
Possessed of a soprano voice of very beautiful quality,
and keen musical instinct, she was in frequent request
to sing in the West Riding towns, Scarborough, York,
and as far afield as Edinburgh ; and this at a time when

68 HULL ORGANS AND ORGANISTS

it was -anrtsiial for a provincial vocalist to sing otherwise
than locally. She and her sister Emily left Sculcoates
in the thirties, to join the choir of H0I3' Trinity, and
for several years previous to the appointment of Mr.
Skelton she practically directed the music of that
church.

Mr. Bradbury died on November 29th, 1846, aged 70,
and v;as succeeded in the clerkship by his son John,
hitherto known as John Bradbury, Junr. He was a
very efficient clerk, but it cannot be said that he
possessed either the mLUsicianship or the personality of
his father. He had sung in the choir for many years,
(he had an alto voice), and possibly for that reason
lacked the necessary authority ; certain it was, how-
ever, tha.t the music at Sculcoates, once so famous,
began to wane. It was the only church in the town
which still retained a band of instrumxcntalists, and
already suggestions of the desirability of an organ had
been made.

The days of minstrelsy were numbered, and in the
Spring of 1848, it was decided to have an organ, the
order for which was according!}/ given to Messrs.
Forster and Andrews. It was a sm^all one manual
instrument, containing an

Open Diapason, Stopped Diapason Bass, Stopped Diapason
Treble, Clarabel Flute, Dulciana, Principal, Fifteenth.

It had an octave and three quarters of German
pedals, three composition pedals, and was enclosed in
a general swell. Its most interesting feature was the
Gothic case, with octagon towers made from the old
Holy Trinity oak case, of which it was an exact m.odel
on a smaller scale.

The opening service was held on September 15th,
1848, when a sermon was preached by the Rev. John
King, Vicar of Christ Church, from the text — " God
is a Spirit ; and thej^ that worship Him must worship
Him in spirit and in truth." Mrs. Robinson [nee

HULL ORGANS AND ORGANISTS 69

Kenningham) sang the air, '' But thou did'st not leave "
from the Messiah, and this was followed by the Halle-
lujah Chorus. The organ was played by Mr. E. W.
Haigh, who also received the appointment of permanent
organist.

The introduction of the organ, which put an end to
an interesting phase of church life in Hull, would
probably be regarded with scant favour by the instru-
mentalists whom it superseded. At one church in
Kent, where a similar change had taken place and a
kind lady had consented to play the new harmonium,
the clerk, village cobbler and leader of the parish
orchestra, gave out the hymn in his accustomed fashion
and then, with consummate scorn, bellowed out,
*' Now then, Miss F , strike up ! "

In whatever light the new departure was viewed, it
did not appease the ratepayers, who at each succeeding
vestry meeting, made their perennial protest against
the expense of the music. They became more and
more persistent, and in April 1853, 'the churchwardens
had to write a pathetic letter to the four paid singers,
Mrs. Bentley, Miss Newman, Mr. Wm. Walker and Mr.
Robert Coverdale, informing them that as the parish-
ioners in vestry assembled had intimated that for the
future they would not pass any charges incurred for
singing and music, he had to intimate to them, with
regret, the termination of their engagement. This
was a reversal of the scriptural order, for on this occa-
sion the minstrels went before, the singers followed
after.

The next year better counsels prevailed, and four
paid singers, Mrs. Bentley and Messrs. Moat, H.
Kenningham, and Holland, were again engaged.
Mr. Haigh resigned the organist ship in January 1853,
and in deference to the economical zeal of the parish-
ioners, it was decided to obtain the services of voluntary
organists. The first of these was Miss Ayre. Her
nephew, Mr. A. S. Ayre, J. P., is now the chairman of

70 HULL ORGANS AND ORGANISTS

the Executive Committee of the Hull Philharmonic
Society, which he (together with Mr. Victor Dumoulin,
Col. G. H. Clarke), the late Mons. Henri Hartog, and
others, was largely instrumental in founding. He
played a cornet at the first concert of the Society on
April 19th, 1882.

Miss Ayre's successor was Mr. William Holmes, a
brother of the late Mr. J. Dalton Holmes, J. P. He
retained office for five years, until September 1858,
and is now residing in Doncaster. He was followed
at St. Mary's by Mr. W. H. Mines, the Master of the
Church School.

Mr. Bradbury's elder son, Charles, who evinced decided
musical aptitude as a child, cam^e into notice a few
years after Mr. Mines' appointm.ent, and at the pre-
cocious age of nine, played his first service. His
hereditary talent soon brought him to the fore, and
Mr. Mines, who was of a very retiring disposition,
allowed him to take the organ as often as he chose,
until, indeed, the 3^oung player became the recognised
organist of the church, and his name thus appears
from 1865 onward to the opening of All Saints' Church,
four years later, to which he w^as appointed.

After Charles Bradbury left, Mr. Mines resumed office,
and in 1877, when the church was renovated and the
galleries removed, a new organ w^as built by Mr.
Cuthbert. This w^as opened by Mr. Mines on January
2oth of that year, and is a one manual instrument
containing the following stops : —

Open Diapason, Horn Gamba, Stopped Diapason Bass, Gedact
Treble, Flute, Principal, Orchestral Oboe, Pedal Bourdon,
and Coupler Great to Pedals.

Mr. Mines remained at the old church until his death
in 1897, thus completing thirty-five years of voluntary
service. A tablet has been erected in the church to
his memory.

Mr. Ernest Smith (now the organist of Marileet

HULL ORGANS AND ORGANISTS 71

Church), succeeded Mr. Mines; his successor being
Miss F. A. HolUngs. The present organist is Mr.
R. Cook.

The foundation stone of the new Parish Church of
Sculcoates (All Saints'), was laid on St. Luke's Day,
1866, by Canon Jarratt, Vicar of North Cave, and the
church was consecrated on August loth, 1869. The
opening service was sung by the choir of Holy Trinity
Church, and Mr. Craddock played the organ, the
anthem being Boyce's " I have surely built thee an
house."

The architect was Mr. G. E. Street, and not the
least satisfactory feature of the design was the lofty
organ chamber at the north side of the chancel. In
it was placed a small temporary organ originally
intended for the church of St. John the Evangelist,
Prospect Street (now the Presbyterian Chapel), con-
taining one manual and the following stops : —

Open Diapason, Stopped Diapason Treble, Stopped Diapason
Bass, Dulciana, Flute, Oboe, Principal, Pedal Bourdon,
Coupler Great to Pedals, and two Composition Pedals.

All the stops except the Open Diapason w^ere en-
closed in a swell. Limited as the design was, the
effect of this small organ in the large chamber was
extremely good, and gave the impression of a much
larger instrument.

A few months before the completion of the church,
the Vicar, the Rev. Charles Walsham, engaged Mr.
Thomas Hopkinson as the organist, and a large volun-
tary choir began rehearsals in preparation for the open-
ing services.

The famous London Church of All Saints', Margaret
Street, contiguous to Cavendish Square, was taken as
a model in certain particulars. The new Hull church
situated in Margaret Street was dedicated to All
Saints, and the space surrounding the church was
named Cavendish Square. The Vicar also wished to

72 HULL ORGANS AND ORGANISTS

follow the lead of the London church in the use of the
so-called Gregorian tones for the Psalms, and this
probably led to Mr. Hopkinson's withdrawal of his
acceptance of the post, for he was entirely out of
sympathy with music other than that of the strictest
Anglican type. The organistship was thereupon offered
to Charles Bradbury, then a youth of sixteen, who
vacated his post at St. Mary's to undertake it ; and
Mr. H. W. Pitts, the St. Mary's schoolmaster, supplied
a choir of boys and became choirmaster. Mr. Pitts is
still a highly valued member of the choir, having sung
uninterruptedly at All Saints' since the opening.

Mr. Bradbury remained at All Saints' until December
1872, when he became the organist of Albion Chapel,
vv^here Mr. Hopkinson had officiated for many years.

Like the experiment at St. Mary's Lowgate about
the same time, the introduction of plain-song had not
been a success ; it was therefore discontinued in favour
of an entirely Anglican form of service. This led to
the re-engagement of Mr. Hopkinson, who thus
exchanged appointments with Mr. Bradbury.

Mr. Hopkinson's first appearance in Hull was when, as
a York Cathedral choirboy, he sang at the Hull Musical
Festival of 1840, in Holy Trinity Church. Sixteen years
later he settled in the town on becoming the organist
of St. John's, but fuller reference vv^ill be made to this
when we come to speak of that church. Suffice it to
say that he was a man of hyper-sensitive tempera-
ment, highly strung, and almost morbidly introspective.
His constitutional nervousness and irritability had on
more than one occasion seriously affected the success
of his w^ork ; it was therefore decided that he should
undertake the organistship only, a mem.ber of the
clerical staff acting as choirm_aster.

A dual arrangement of this kind can onty be success-
ful if those undertaking it are men of like ideals, and
their respective duties are clearly defined. Mr. Hopkin-
son's co-worker as choirmaster was the Rev. John

HULL ORGANS AND ORGANISTS 73

Watson, who became a curate of the church in
1872.

Never were two men more unequally yoked. The
organist hated and abhorred all manner of plain-song,
or anything approaching the archaic in music; the choir-
m.aster dearly loved a stately old tune, and if it were
expressed in the ancient tonality so much the better.
The organist delighted in so-called expressive playing,
which took the particular form of introducing rallen-
tandos and pauses not provided for in the musical
text ; the choirm^aster, with a keen ear and an equally
keen sense of rh3^thm, could not listen without pain and
grief, to any divergence from the natural rhythmic
flow of the music, and he was undoubtedly right. In
short, both in temperament and their musical outlook,
they were diametrically opposed.

So long as a final court of appeal existed in the person
of the Vicar — who, by the way, had a great admiration
for Mr. Hopkinson's talent — so long was it possible
to maintain an outward semblance of smoothness.
But when Canon Walsham died, and Mr. Watson suc-
ceeded him as Vicar, the conditions were materially
changed. Two or three years previously Mr. Watson
had left the church on his appointment as Vicar of
Hanley, and on his return to All Saints', he again took
charge of the music.

The inevitable rupture occurred on the first Sunday
in Advent 1882, its immediate cause being the singing
or rather the playing of the old melody " Veni
Emmanuel," which Mr. Hopkinson cordially disliked.
Its rugged cadence jarred upon his ears, and he would
have liked to introduce a D sharp in the penultimate
chord had he dared ; but stopping short of this, he
altered the time in a most exasperating manner,
completely ruining the effect of the hymn. After the
service there was an acrimonious discussion, and Mr.
Hopkinson tendered his resignation. On leaving All
Saints' he was appointed the organist of Christ Church,

74 HULL ORGANS AND ORGANISTS

but only stayed there six weeks, the Vicar and choir
finding it impossible to work with him.

As Mr, Hopkinson occupied a conspicuous position in
the musical life of the town for nearly fifty years, and
as I succeeded him at All Saints', it may be permissible
for me here to make a short personal digression.
For two years previously I had been the organist of
Christ Church ; we therefore exchanged appointments,
though without any pre-arrangement. He resented
my acceptance of the post at All Saints', and only once
again had I the opportunity of speaking to him.

In November 1904, hearing he was very unwell (for
years he had been troubled with asthma), I ventured to
call upon him. He received me most kindly, and thus
was broken a silence of over twenty years. The solitary
old man spoke of old times, and bemoaned the fact that
he had been consistently misunderstood. With much
bitterness he referred to certain episodes in his life,
so I turned the conversation towards music, and begged
him to play me some of the voluntaries he used to play
at All Saints'. He protested that he had not touched
an instrument for some months, and never expected
to do so again; however, at my earnest request, he went
to the piano, and with trembling and uncertain fingers
played some movements by Hopkins and Stephens.
He was delighted with my appreciation, and begged me
to call and see him again as soon as possible. I
believe that was his swan song, for I had to leave home
the following week, and on my return he was dead.

Among the early choirmen at All Saints', in addition
to Mr. Pitts and Mr. Bradbury, were Messrs. T. M.
Evans, Wellsted (now Colonel), R. H. Barker, J.
Jebson, John Robinson, Geo. Pyburn, B.A., Albert
Dixon, W. G. Coatsworth, Grant, Lewin, Horsfield,
George Kenningham, Brown, T, Theaker, Brigham,
Lee, L. Stromberg, Charles Kenningham, Kirk, J.
Thackeray, and J. Belt.

On March ist, 1883, I began my duties as organist

HULL \'()CAL SOCIETY

H. K. CATTLEY,

C Ik (inn an of the Executive
Committee.

J. F. HEIDRICH,

Hon. Treasurer.-

T. B. HOLMES, J.P.,

President.

G. W. RAWSTORX,

Joint Hon. Sec.

E. SISSONS.
Joint Hon. Sec.

HULL ORGANS AND ORGANISTS 75

and choirmaster of All Saints'. Out of the choir of
that day only two members now remain, viz., Messrs.
Pitts and E. Kenningham. Within a few months, and
as vacancies arose, others joined, including Messrs.
H. R. Cattley, C. H. Horncastle, Henry Thompson,
W. Spencer, R. A. Marr (who for many years did
invaluable work as the choir secretary), A. Pratt,

E. Smith, H. Brochner, F. Runton, T. Stephenson,
J. F. Harper, A. B. Priest (the present choir secretary),
A. W. Mullins, M.A., H. Hanlon, C. H. Briggs, W. C.
Townsend, J. P., Needham, P. Lawson, Phihp Shepherd
W. R. Barker, King, J. Bradbury Junr., Hanson, J.
Coster, Mason, Young, Simpson, Chas. Ratchfle,

F. Blyth, Bean, Dr. A. W. Scott, Sydney Biggs, Meredith
Roberts, C. E. Baldwin, A. Atkinson, Proctor, Cromp-
ton. Bell, J. 1\ Heidrich, H. Priest, Pape, Hopper,
F. Briggs, J. Wray, and H. Bell. Mr. Bradbury died
on October 4th, 1886, aged 76.

There are few things more impressive than the
funeral of a choirman, and as Mr. Bradbury's old fellow-
choristers sang " Now the labourer's task is o'er "
at his graveside, this feeling was accentuated by the
knowledge that he was the last of the long list of
Clerks of the ancient Parish of Sculcoates.

The small organ, thanks to the acoustic properties
of the church, had an extended term of temporary
existence, and was not supplanted until 1887, when the
present instrument was built by Messrs. Forster and
Andrews. It was opened on Easter Day, 1887, by
Mr. G. H. Smith, recitals being given also by Dr.
Naylor, organist of York Cathedral, and Mr. John
Camidge of Beverley Minster. It has recently (1909)
been considerably enlarged, and now contains forty-
three stops, and is very eliective. Re-opening recitals
were given by Dr. G. H. Smith, Mr. Tertius Noble,
Dr. H. W. Richards, Mr. F. Bentley, Mr. C. Carte
Doorly, Mr. J. W. Hudson, and Mr. Bernard Johnson.*

* The specification will be found in the appendix.

76 HULL ORGANS AND ORGANISTS

Among the assistant organists of All Saints' have
been Messrs. C. Johnson, F.R.C.O., L. Ohlson, H. E.
Nichol, Mus. Bac. Oxon., P. Kirby, Mus. Bac,
A.R.C.O., J. W. Reeder, W. Hodgson, \V. Horwood, and
Miss Lucy Hill, A.R.C.O.

ST PETER'S, DRYPOOL.

A memorable service vv^as held in the Parish Chmxh
of St. Peter, Drypool, on Sunday, April 14th, 1822.
It was the last service in the old church previous to
its demxolition, and an impressive sermon was preached
by the Curate, the Rev. Richard Moxon, from the text
" But the end of all things is at hand " (ist chap, ist
Peter 7th verse).

The church had no special architectural features to
recommend it, the exterior was as unsightly as its
interior was uncomfortable, but yet within its walls
lingered many hallowed associations, and we can well
imagine a certain sadness Vv^hich the congregation
would feel in taking leave of the church in which they
and their forefathers had worshipped so long.

The work of dismantling began the next day, and for
fourteen months service was held in the Charter House
Chapel. At the re-opening service on June 20th, 1823,
the preacher was the Rev. W. E. Coldwell, and the
music was undertaken by the choir and orchestra of the
church, assisted by singers and players from Sculcoates
and other churches. The Parish Clerk and leader of
the choir was Adam Kenningham.

Until 1834, St. Peter's, like its sister church of
Sculcoates, did not boast an organ, but relied for its
music upon the services of its Parish Clerk. The
introduction of choirs has so much over-shadowed the
clerk's office, that the principal part of his duties is
almost forgotten. He assisted the clergy in saying

HULL ORGANS AND ORGANISTS 77

and singing Divine service, attended some minor
offices as those of burial, weddings, churchings, and so
forth, and led the responses of the people. When, as
sometimes happened, the clerk was musical, his work
in organising and training a choir and band w^as very
valuable.

In the early twenties the four parish clerks of Hull,
Mr. Wilson of Holy Trinity, Mr. Harvey of St. Mary's,
Mr. Bradbury, of Sculcoates, and Mr. Kenningham,
of Drypool were all good musicians, and Drypool and
Sculcoates especially, not possessing organs, v/ere
greatly indebted to their parish clerks for their music.
The clerks of these tv/o churches were representatives
of families which have rendered splendid service to
Hull, and as reference to the Bradburys has been made
when speaking of Sculcoates, it may not be inappro-
priate to briefly refer to the Kenningham family, which
for a long time was similarly associated with St. Peter's,
Drypool.

There are few church choirs in Hull where might
not have been found at one time or another during
the last century a member of the famiily of Kenningham,
indeed its record " in quires and places where they sing"
cannot easily be beaten. John Kenningham was
connected with Drypool Church at the end of the
eighteenth century. In April 1801, he attended a
parish meeting when it was decided to have a peal of
bells, and thirty years later his name appears among
the subscribers to the organ fund ; it is probable there-
fore that he was musical.

His son Adam, who was appointed Parish Clerk of
Drypool in 1817, was passionately devoted to music,
and for twenty-eight years conducted the choir of
St. Peter's, in which he took much pride. He was a
good violoncello player, and a still better bass singer,
and formed one of the Hull contingent which took
part in the York Festival of 1825. He was also an
original member of the Hull Choral Society.

y% HULL ORGANS AND ORGANISTS

Of his numerous children, who all took their places in
turn in the choir of St. Peter's, and who were brought
up to read music as naturally as they would read prose,
the most notable was his son Joseph. Like his father,
he has a most excellent voice, which is still in a remark-
ably good state of preservation, notwithstanding the
fact that he is now in his seventy-ninth year. On
leaving St. Peter's, and singing successively in the
choirs of Mariner's Church, St. James' and Holy Trinity,
Mr. Joseph Kenningham, in 1856, was appointed a
bass singer at Salisbury Cathedral, subsequently
receiving offers of appointments at York and Gloucester
Cathedrals. As a deputy at St. Paul's Cathedral,
Westminster Abbey, the Chapels Roj^al, and the
Foundling Hospital, he has had a very varied and
interesting experience, and is still actively and enthu-
siastically engaged in musical pursuits. His son, Mr.
Ernest Kenningham, is a member of the choir of St.
Mary's, Lowgate.

Mr. Adam Kenningham's daughter, Mary, who had
a very beautiful soprano voice, was much in request
fifty or sixty years ago for oratorio singing, and she
and her husband Mr. John Robinson (who is still hale
and hearty at the age of ninety-seven),* sang the duet
" Hail Judea " (Judas Maccabeus) at the opening con-
cert of the Harmonic Society, on February 2nd, 1844.
The members of the collateral branch of the Kenning-
ham family will be noticed when reference is made to
the music of the various churches with which they
were connected.

Early in 1834 it was decided to bring St. Peter's
into line with the other churches of the town (Scul-
coates excepted) by the introduction of an organ, and
on the recommendation of Mr. Skelton, then organist
of Christ Church, the order for it was given to Ward
of York. The same builder had recently provided
organs for St. James's and Christ Church, and he

* Mr. Robinson has since died, after only a single day's illness.

HULL ORGANS AND ORGANISTS 79

appears to have been much sought after in various
parts about this time.

If the St. Peter's organ was a fair specimen of his
work, it cannot have been very high-class, for it was a
noisy httle instrument, with too much '' top." It had
two manuals, with a tenor C swell, and an octave and
a half of G pedals, and cost £160. The best part about
it was the case. It was most inconveniently placed on
a gallery in the apse of the east end of the church,
immediately over the Communion Table, and was
approached by a stair at the north side. There was
also the singing gallery, in front of which was a large
three-decker pulpit.

The organ was opened on July 6th, 1834, by Mr.
Skelton, at that time the organist of Christ Church,
the combined choirs of Holy Trinity, Christ Church,
and St. James's assisting. Bridgewater's Service in A,
and, in place of the anthem, three Handel choruses
were sung. How these musicians and singers wor-
shipped Handel ! He was their never-failing delight,
precisely as Mendelssohn was to a later generation.
Even to-day the " Messiah " and " Israel in Egypt "
possess a potent spell over the musical multitude,
and if it be urged that this is at the expense of progress
in art, let it be remembered that hereditary influences
are strong, and that the seed sown by our forebears is
directly responsible for the innate love of Handel
among such a large section of the people.

The first organist of St. Peter's was Mr. George
Leng, to whom reference has already been made in
the sketch of St. Mary's, Lowgate. It was his first
appointment, and he began his duties on Sunday,
July 13th, 1834, at the munificent salary of £iS per
annum.

Mr. Adam Kenningham retained the choirmastership,
and so far from regretting the disappearance of the
time-honoured orchestra, he took the keenest delight
in the organ, and was one of the foremost to welcome

8o HULL ORGANS AND ORGANISTS

the change. Judging from a manuscript selection of
tunes which he compiled for use at St. Peter's, written
with the utmost care, we can infer that his musical
taste was exceptionally good, and it is not surprising
to learn that he had battles royal with the church-
warden, Mr. Marshall, who frequently demanded that
a particularly feeble tune named " Devizes " should be
sung. Needless to say, this particular tune found no
place in Adam Kenningham's neatly-wTitten volume.

One of the trebles in St. Peter's choir during the
thirties v/as Mr. Kenningham's nephew Adam, and the
two were known as the old Adam and the young Adam.
The young Adam is still living at the advanced age of
eighty-six.* Mr. Adam Kenningham, senr., died
suddenly in April 1845.

Mr. Leng resigned his post at St. Peter's in 1838 on
receiving the organistship of Waltham Street Chapel.
He was followed at Drypool by Mr. J. W. Holder, the
founder of the well-known firm of Holder Bros., music-
sellers, Whitefriargate. Like his contemporaries, he had
the Handel fever, and practised wdth much assiduity
choruses from the oratorios — indeed, he was never
knowm to practise anything else.

Mr. Holder was succeeded at St. Peter's by his pupil,
Mr. J. H. Geeve, who for several years was widely
known in East Hull as a teacher, when the district,
with its orchards and pleasamt fields, presented a very
different aspect from that of to-day. Neither Mr.
Holder nor Mr. Geeve took, or perhaps was capable of
taking, any interest in the choir work of the church,
and after Mr. Kenningham's death, much of the glory of
the place, so far as its singing was concerned, may be
said to have departed.

It would be as curious as it w^ould be interesting
were it possible to have a gramophone record of the
playing of these two organists. In all probability
they would play their Handel choruses from the vocal

* Mr. Kenningham died after these pages vrere written.

HULL ORGANS AND ORGANISTS 8i

score edited by Dr. John Clark, but how they could
manipulate them on the restricted G organ, and how
Mr. Geeve, who had a physical deformity in his left
foot, could play them at all, is a puzzle.

Mr. Geeve withdrew from St. Peter's in 1853, and
was followed by Mr. Charles Harrison. For many
years Mr. Harrison was prominent in musical affairs
in Hull. Born at Sigglesthorne in 1811, he became
an articled pupil to Mr. Lambert, the organist of
Beverley Minster, and his first appointment was at
George Street Baptist Chapel in 1833. Five years
later, as we have already seen, he was an unsuccessful
candidate for the organistship of Holy Trinity Church,
and in 1844, when the Sacred Harmonic Society w^as
formed, he was elected the organist. He also fre-
quently took part in the concerts of the society as
a tenor soloist, singing on several occasions sacred songs,
some of which were published, of his own composition ;
and later he was well-known as the drum-player in the
society's orchestra.

To his many musical accomplishments he added that
of snuff-taking, and a silver snuff-box was presented to
him with the following business-like inscription : —

" Presented to Mr. Charles Harrison, by his friends,
for his strict attention as organist at St. Peter's Church,
Drypool, over a period of seven years. Hull, December
2oth, i860."

During Mr. Harrison's time the officers and men from
the Citadel attended St. Peter's, and an old member of
the congregation recalls the playing of the National
Anthem and " Rule Britannia," on the Sunday after
the fall of Sebastopol, during the Crimean War, and its
impressive effect as the people remained standing.

Mr. Adam Kenningham's successor in the clerkship
was his son-in-law, Mr. John Wilson Robinson, whose
knowledge of musical matters in Hull in by-gone days
was quite exceptional, extending over a period of
eighty-five years. He sang his first solo in Holy Trinity

82 HULL ORGANS AND ORGANISTS

Church to the accompaniment of Geo. Lambert, and
was closely identified with the musical movements in
the town from 1830 for more than half a century
onwards. He several times conducted the Harmonic
Society as deputy for George Leng, and also frequently
selected the voices and rehearsed the chorus for opera
companies on their occasional visits to Hull more
than sixty years ago. His three sons, John, Walter,
and Alfred were connected with the choir of Holy
Trinity for many years, and the last-named will be
remembered by many as a very fine trumpet player.

Mr. Harrison left St. Peter's in i860, and Mr. G. H.
Grindell, a brother of Councillor Grindell, and a pupil
of Mr. Hopkinson, succeeded him. Mr. Grindell, who
played voluntarily, was the last to play the old Ward
organ. It had long been in an unsatisfactory con-
dition, and was past improving, so when the church
was renovated in 1867, it was decided to have a new
instrument.

The order was given to Messrs. Forscer and Andrews,
who built the present organ in the west gallery. Its
specification is : —

Great Organ — Open Diapason, Stopped Diapason, Dulciana,
Harmonic Flute, Principal, Fifteenth, Mixture.

Swell Organ — Lieblich Bourdon, Open Diapason, Flute
D'Amour, Principal, Mixture (three ranks). Oboe, Corno-
pean.

Pedal Organ — Open Diapason,

Couplers — Swell to Great, Great to Pedal, Swell to Pedal.

A trumpet was added to the Great Organ in 1869.

The effect of the organ is very good, and could the
pedal be enlarged, and a few other additions made, it
would be extremely so. Its position in the west
gallery is an ideal one, and it is curious to note that of
the many Hull churches which at one time had an
organ in this position, St. Peter's alone retains it.
Long may it do so ! From a liturgical point of view
there is not the slightest difficulty, and surely it is

HULL ORGANS AND ORGANISTS 83

preferable that the pipes should have a proper chance
of speaking rather than that they should be "cribbed,
cabined, and confined " in a small chamber. The new
organ was opened by Mr. J. W. Stephenson, organist
of St. John's Church, on December 12th, 1867.

With the new organ came a new organist in Mr.
Chas. E. Hewitt, an amateur musician, who was long
connected with the choir of Holy Trinity, where he
also frequently deputised at the organ. He and his
brother Arthur were alto singers, and the latter became
a member of the special Sunday evening choir of St.
Paul's Cathedral on his removal to London in the late
sixties.

Mr. Hewitt remained at St. Peter's until 1872, when
he was followed by Mr. J. H. Nutt. Like his pre-
decessor Mr. Nutt was an amateur, and for two or
three years had played at St. Mary's, Lowgate. He
went abroad in 1874, and Mr. Vessey King, a pupil of
Mr. Morison and Mr. Hopkinson, became the organist.
He stayed in office for fourteen years, and in 1888
undertook the organistship of the Unitarian Chapel,
Park Street. After being there for six years, he went
back to St. Peter's for a short time, and since 1895
has been the organist of the Wesleyan Chapel, Barton.

The next organist of St. Peter's was Mr. Ernest
Manston, whose love of organ-playing is only equalled
by his devotion to amateur theatricals. More recent
organists have been Messrs. G. H. Smith (not the
present writer), E. Robinson, J. N. Posthill, J. E.
Embley, Allen, and G. E. Baker. The present organist
is Mr. J. Y. Brown.

84 HULL ORGANS AND ORGANISTS

ST* JOHN^S CHURCH.

Although the church was consecrated on August
30th, 1791, the earliest mention of its music which I
can find in the Church Minute Book has reference to
a meeting on June i6th, 1813, and is as follows : —

" That this meeting does approve of the intended erection
of an organ in this church by voluntary subscription.

That a subscription be now opened for the purpose of
raising a sufficient fund for that purpose.

That the organ be erected over the Altar Table.
' That the following gentlemen be appointed a committee
to request subscriptions, and to carry the resolution for
erecting an organ into effect."

The signatories were Wm. Atkinson, J. N. Crosse,
Wm. Gibson, J. Todd, John Levitt, J. Newbald, J.
Crosse, J. C. Parker, Wm. Hall, Jer. Wright.

The prime mover in the matter was Mr. John Crosse,
F.S.A., a cultivated and ardent amateur of music, who
for many years exercised the best possible influence
on music in the town. He was a member of the original
committee of the Hull Choral Society, and its conductor
previous to Mr. Skelton's appointment early in 1826.
He also founded, and for some years conducted the
old Hull Philharmonic Society. But his voluminous
and very able account of the Grand Musical Festival
held in York Cathedral in 1823 is the work by which
he will be longest remembered. It contains a fund
of interesting information, apart from its immediate
purpose as a chronicle of the York Festival, and has
been quoted as worthy to take rank with the monu-
mental histories of music by Burney and Hawkins.
Mr. Crosse died in 1833, at the age of 47, and was buried
at Sutton.

The organ was built by Elliott, perhaps the most
noted organ-builder of his time, whose firm was
founded in the previous century by John Snetzler.

HULL ORGANS AND ORGANISTS 85

Elliott was joined in 1825 by Wm. Hill, who had
married his daughter, and the firm became that of
Elliott and Hill, and later Wm. Hill and Son, the
builders of the York organ of 1861, the present organ in
Beverley Minster, and many other well-known instru-
ments.

The St. John's organ, which was stated to be one of
the best in the country, was built to the following
specification : — ,;

Great Organ — Open Diapason, Violin Diapason, Stopped
Diapason Bass, Stopped Diapason Treble, Dulciana,
Principal, Fifteenth, Sesquialtra, Trumpet.

Swell Organ — Open Diapason, Stopped Diapason, Flute
D' Amour, Principal, Trumpet.

Couplers — Sv/ell to Great and Great to Pedal.

The compass of the Great Organ was from GG to F
in alt, and that of the Swell from tenor C to F in alt.
Its one octave and a half of pedal notes had the distinc-
tion of being the first seen in Hull, The organ v/as
placed at the east end of the church, over, and a
short distance behind the Communion Table. It was
opened by Mr. (afterwards Dr.) John Camidge,
organist of York Cathedral, on August ist, 1815.

In 1826 two more stops were added, and at the re-
opening Mr. Skelton made his first public appearance
in the town as an organist. The account of this in the
Hull Advertiser is somewhat quaint : —

*' The organ in St. John's Church was re-opened on Sun-
day, April 2nd, after being improved by Mr. Ward of York,
by the addition of an harmonica and hautboy. Mr. G. J.
Skelton, late of Lincoln, presided at the instrument, and we
must do him the justice to state that the style, expression, and
grace displayed in his performance and execution of the
chromatic passages, were extremely honourable to his pro-
fessional character."

From 1815 to 1845 the organists of St. John's were
voluntary, consequently the church account books
make no mention of them, and it has not been easy to
ascertain their names. There is reason, however, to

86 HULL ORGANS AND ORGANISTS

think that the first was Mr. John Crosse, F.S.A. The
founder and first Vicar of the church, as is well known,
was the Rev. Thomas Dykes, LL.B., the members of
whose family took great interest in its music for many
years, and his eldest son, Mr. Thomas Dykes, was the
organist for an extended period prior to 1845.

Mr. Dykes, Junr., was a wine and spirit merchant in
Parliament Street, and his business necessitated his
frequent absence from home, sometim.es, in consequence
of the slowness of locomotion in those days, for weeks
at a time. One of his deputies on these occasions was
a youth named Thomas Hewitt, who many years later
became known as the Chevalier Hewitt, the organist
of St. Stephen's. Another was Master John Dykes,
who became more widely known as Dr. J. B. Dykes, the
famous hymn tune writer and church musician.

He plaj^ed his first service at St. John's when only
ten years of age, and until he proceeded to Cambridge
in 1841, was a frequent occupant of the organ stool.
The church had a very influential congregation, and
one fine Sunday afternoon. Master John, who had a
talent for extemporisation, took as the themxe of his
concluding voluntary the then popular music-hall song,
" Old Jim Crow," much to the delight of the young
people present, and the astonishment and consternation
of the older ones.

Young Dykes had instruction in music from Mr.
Skelton, and the two men always remained on terms
of intimacy and affection. On leaving Hull for Cam-
bridge the young musician was presented with a gold
w^atch. This is now in the possession of Dr. Dykes'
son, Mr. John St. O. Dykes, a professor of the piano-
forte at the Royal College of Music, and contains the
following inscription : —

" Presented to John B. Dikes with a selection of sacred
music, by the congregation of Saint John's Church, Hull, in
acknowledg-ment of his services for several years as assistant
organist, 27th November, 1841."

Dr. J. B. DYKES.

HULL ORGANS AND ORGANISTS 87

In 1845 Mr. Thomas Dykes retired from St. John's
and Dr. Beckett, a medical man, followed him as the
organist. As with many other members of his pro-
fession, music with him was an engrossing pleasure,
and he devoted all his spare time to it. Without any
claim to distinction as a performer, he had a certain
individuality, and this was revealed in a penchant for
changing the harmonies of a chant or hymn tune.
Probably he did this very well, but how the tenors and
basses managed to contend with the maltreatment of
their voice parts is a moot point.

The venerable Vicar of St. John's died in 1847, and
the Rev. H. W. Kemp, who had been the curate of
the church for eighteen months, was chosen as his
successor. A man of strong artistic instincts, Mr.
Kemp was a great lover of music. He took the keenest
pleasure in preparing lectures on the great composers,
not very critical or of any great research, but of
sufficient interest to please a popular audience. As is
so often the case with lectures on music, the real interest
centred in the illustrations, and these were given for
the most part by the choir of St. John's, which included
the best vocalists in the town.

When Dr. Beckett resigned the organistship in 1855,
Mr. Kemp decided that a professional organist should be
engaged, and among the applicants were Mr. (after
wards Sir) Joseph Barnby and Mr. Thomas Hopkinson.
Upon what principal of selection the appointment was
made I do not know, but the choice fell upon Mr.
Hopkinson, an old York Cathedral choirboy, and who
for twelve years had been the organist of Pontefract
Parish Church. Mr. Hopkinson came to Hull at an
opportune time, for the conductorship of the Harmonic
Society being vacant, consequent on Mr. Leng's removal
to London, he applied for and was appointed to the
post.

It will thus be seen that when he played his first
service at St. John's on the first Sunday in January,

88 HULL ORGANS AND ORGANISTS.

1856, he began his work in Hull under very favourable
auspices. How he ended it, nearly half a century
later, has already been recorded. Unfortunately his
constitutional irritability and utter want of tact soon
asserted themselves. Under any conditions they would
have been unfortunate, but in connection with a large
mixed choir they were especially so. Bickerings,
squabblings, and misunderstandings early arose, much
to the detriment of the church work. Without
suggesting that Mr. Hopkinson was wholly responsible
for them, it must be recognised that just as when the
main-spring of a watch is faulty or defective the works
cannot act rightly, so a choirmaster's influence must
be felt for better or worse among his choristers.

Towards the end of 1857 the situation was so acute
that Mr. Kemp, the most kind-hearted of men, was
obliged to take action. In his desire not to injure the
prospects of a young professional man, it was decided
not to call upon Mr. Hopkinson alone, but the paid
members of the choir also, to resign, in the hope of
avoiding any appearance of invidiousness. Mr. Hop-
kinson's duties terminated at the end of 1857, but for
several weeks they were taken by deputy by Mr. Jacob
Horwood, to whom many Hull organists, none more
than the present writer, have since been indebted for
similar kind assistance.

Mr. Hopkinson began his work as conductor of the
Harmonic Society on January 25th, 1856, when a
concert consisting of a selection of sacred music was
given, and on February 9th a soiree was held, an
account of which relates " 120 members partook of a
first-rate tea. Later in the evening, negus, etc., were
handed round to the ladies, and the soiree concluded
with a dance, greatly to the delight of all present."

On April 25th of that year Mr. Hopkinson conducted
Haydn's " Creation," which passed off very success-
fully, in spite of his extreme nervousness, and a per-
formance of Handel's Dettingen Te Deum, and the

HULL ORGANS NAD ORGANISTS 89

customary selection was given on May 23rd to celebrate
the conclusion of peace after the Crimean War. This
'* Peace " concert was the beginning of war and revolt
in the ranks of the Harmonic Society.

To what extent Mr. Hopkinson's ungovernable temper
and tactlessness were responsible it is impossible to say,
but dissatisfaction and dissension became rampant, and
the society, which for twelve years had done such good
work, completely collapsed. A small coterie stood by
Mr. Hopkinson, who formed a society named the
'T'Dilletanti " ; another followed Mr. J. W. Stephen-
son, who had been the organist of the moribund society,
and founded the St. John's Sacred Harmonic Society ;
Mr. H. Deval formed the Subscription Concert Society ;
while yet a fourth organisation, the Kingston Sacred
Musical Society, conducted by Mr. Waudby, came into
existence. It was quite impossible that any of these,
under such conditions, could be permanently successful,
indeed, this period presents a dark chapter in the
musical history of Hull, and was as discreditable to
those concerned as it was subversive of artistic
progress.

Mr. J. W. Stephenson was appointed the organist of
St. John's after Mr. Hopkinson left (January 1858).
For some time previously he had held the organistship
of Albion Chapel, in which he was succeeded by Mr.
Hopkinson, Personally, he will be remembered by
many as a most genial, good-natured man, amiable
and kindly disposed to a degree. He had been actively
concerned in the work of the Harmonic Society since its
formation in various capacities, having been its
organist, first violinist, assistant conductor, and on
occasions singing the principal tenor part at its concerts.
He might be described as a musical handyman, useful
in many directions, but scarcely excelling in any.

One of the best things he did was the share he took
in the formation of the present Harmonic Society.
Several earnest workers, realising the evils of disunion

go HULL ORGANS AND ORGANISTS

and that the thne was ripe for healing the unfortunate
divisions, decided to call a meeting to consider the
situation. This was held on April 29th, 1864, under the
presidency of Mr. P. H. Harker, in the Public Rooms,
Jarratt Street ; a fitting meeting place, for since its
erection in 1832, it had been the scene of all the most
notable musical events held in the town. The concerts
of the Hull Choral Societ}^, the old Philharmonic, the
Sacred Harmonic, and the Hull Vocal Societies had
all been held within its walls, indeed it had become
a kind of artistic Mecca, where the local devotees had
been wont to worship at the shrine of music.

After the Chairman had commented upon the need
of a society in the town for the performance of oratorios
and other first-rate productions, it was resolved to
found the Hull Harmonic Society with the following
officials : — President, Lord Londesborough ; Vice-
President, Councillor W. T. Dibb ; Treasurer, Mr. M.
W. Clarke ; Librarian, Mr. C. W. Cheeseman ; Con-
ductor, Mr. J. W. Stephenson. At an adjourned
meeting, a fortnight later, the first committee was
elected, consisting of Messrs. Matthison, Hair, Hudson,
Rollit, Booth, Lloyd, Wales, Westerdale, A. S. Ayre,
G. Eaton, Farbstein, and R. P. Moxon, v.dth Mr. John
Wilson the leader, and Mr. James Carr the organist.

Haydn's " Creation " was put into rehearsal, but
difficulty was experienced at the beginning through
lack of treble voices, a department of the orchestra
generally the most readily filled. The nucleus of the
band was formed of members of the " LDilletanti "
Society. On October 14th, 1864, the. opening perfor-
mance took place before an audience of seven hundred
people, the band and chorus numbering one hundred
and twenty. The principals were Miss Illingworth, of
Bradford, soprano ; Mr. Grice, of York Cathedral, bass ;
the principal tenor part being divided between Mr.
George Kenningham, Mr. George Shaw, and Mr,
Sales. Mr. Carr played the organ, and the missing

HULL ORGANS AND ORGANISTS 91

wind parts were filled in by Mrs. \N. T. Watson on the
harmonium.

In the report of this first concert, it is stated that
" the establishment of another Society, in the stead
of the old Harmonic Society so long defunct, is a
circumstance to be hailed with pleasure, inasmuch
as it will doubtless tend to the cultivation of a taste
for music of a more refining and elevating character
than that to which in Hull we have of late been accus-
tomed."

Mr. Stephenson remained the conductor of the
Harmonic Society until 1885, when he had a paralytic
stroke. The orga.nists of the society during his time,
after Mr. Carr, were Mrs. Watson, Mr. Robert Wilson,
Miss Hair, Mr. G. H. Smith, and Mr. Charles Kenning-
ham, and Mr. E. Winter succeeded Mr. John Wilson
as the leader. Mr. W. Porter was unanimously elected
the conductor in succession to Mr. Stephenson.

In 1865 the St. John's organ, after fifty years'
service, was badly in need of renovation. Not only
was it out of repair, but it was also quite out of date.
It would have been possible to modernise it, but the
Vicar and churchwardens wisely decided to have an
entirely new instrument, the order for which was given
to Messrs. Forster and Andrews towards the end of the
year. Its specification is as follows : —

Great Organ — Double-Stopped Diapason, Open Diapason,
Violin Diapason, Stopped Diapason, Harmonic Flute,
Principal, Fifteenth, Twelfth, Mixture, Trumpet.

Swell Organ — Lieblich Bourdon, Open Diapason, Viol
D'Amour, Principal, Flageolot, Mixture, Oboe, Horn.

Choir Organ— Dulciana, Viol di Gamba, Lieblich Gedact,
Flauto Traverso, Lieblich Flute, Corno di Bassetto.

Pedal Organ— Open Diapason, Bourdon.

Couplers — Swell to Great, Swell to Choir, Swell to Pedal,
Great to Pedal, Choir to Pedal.

The organ, which is placed at the south side of the
chancel, was inaugurated on April nth, 1866. Very
appropriately Dr. Dykes, who had so often played the

92 HULL ORGANS AND ORGANISTS

old organ, was invited to open the new one, and his
playing of the two services was much admired for its
artistic restraint and devotional spirit.

For many years the services at St. John's, though
not of an ideal type, were musically considerably in
advance of the other Hull churches. Holy Trinity of
course excepted. Mr. Kemp's taste in music was seen
in his partiality for anthems adapted from the works
of the great composers rather than for the musical
treatment of those parts of the Liturgy which would
suggest themselves to a more distinctively church
musician. Similarly, Mr. Stephenson's choice of organ
music inclined to arrangements from the works of the
great masters rather than to compositions written
specially for the instrument. This is not surprising
having regard to the old-fashioned organ he had to play
upon at St. John's for so many years, and to the fact
that his training was at a time when modern organ
playing was in its incipient stages. The marvel
is that he had time to play at all, for in addition to
his heavy musical labours, he was tempted to acquire
a piano and music selling business, the burden of
which proved too much for his strength, and no doubt
was largely responsible for the attack of paralysis
which necessitated his retirement.

He resigned the organistship of St. John's in 1882,
and was succeeded by Mr. J. W. Hudson, Mus. Bac.
Oxon., who had previously been the organist of Wycliffe
Chapel. Three years later Mr. Hudson accepted the
organistship of St. Thomas's Church, and was followed
at St. John's by Dr. Albert Wilson, M.R.C.S., whose
stay was a very short one, under twelve months. The
next organist of the church was Mr. Robert Hall, who
in 1890 left St. John's on being appointed the organist of
Cottingham Church. His successor was Mr. F. Gilling.
He, also, had a very short stay, a few months only, and
was succeeded by Mr. Alfred Allen, A.R.C.O. Mr.
Allen, who did excellent work, died last May, much
regretted. The present organist is Mr. J. Elhs.

HULL ORGANS AND ORGANISTS 93

CHRIST CHURCH.

The next Hull church in order of date of consecra-
tion (1822) was that known as Christ's Church, built
as a chapel-of-ease to the Parish Church of Sculcoates.

Its first organ, by Ward of York, was constructed
under an arched recess at the east end of the church,
immediately over the Communion Table. The present
chancel does not show the situation, as it was consider-
ably extended in 1852, when the organ was removed
to the west gallery. It is not easy to imagine why this
inconvenient position at the east end was selected,
a position which, as we have seen, had already been
adopted at St. John's, and later was adopted at St.
Peter's. The specification of the organ, which had two
manuals, was as follows : —

Great Organ — Open Diapason, Stopped Diapason, Harmonica,
Principal, Fifteenth, Twelfth, Sesquialtra, Cornet, Trum-
pet,

Swell Organ — Open Diapason, Stopped Diapason, Dulciana,
Principal, Hautboy.

It had no pedals or couplers, and the effect, as
might have been expected, was top heavy and screamy.
No doubt this was felt when Mr. Skelton opened it on
September 22nd, 1833, for the order was at once given
for a set of German pedals, open pedal pipes, and
couplers Great to Swell and Great to Pedal.

Two months later, on November 22nd, Mr. Skelton
again presided at an " opening " service, and loud were
the praises of the new organ in its improved state.

The Vicar, the Rev. John King, preached a sermon
from the text, " God is a Spirit, and they that worship
Him must worship Him in spirit and in truth " (can
it have been the same as he preached in St. Mary's,
Sculcoates, at its organ opening in 1848?), and the
effect of the singing of the looth Psalm by the crowded
congregation and augmented choir, accompanied on

94 HULL ORGANS AND ORGANISTS

the full organ was very inspiring. Mr. Skelton shewed
off the various stops, in a long voluntary betvv'een the
Psalms and the first lesson, but his brilliant performance
was objected to by some people as being too secular
and operatic in style for Divine service.

There was a curious rivalry between the congrega-
tions of Christ Church and Waltham Street Chapel at this
time. The authorities of Christ Church had selected
Ward of York as the builder of their organ, and those
of Waltham Street Chapel had commissioned Nicholson
of Rochdale to build an organ for them. Regarding
quantity of sound rather than quality as the first
consideration, they each wished to have the louder
instrument, and to have it in the shorter time. Prob-
ably the respective builders entered eagerly into the
contest. Ward had his work finished by September
22nd, Nicholson by October 13th, but as the additions
to the Christ Church organ were not completed until
November 22nd, neither side could claim a time victory.

In the matter of power, the Waltham Street people
claimed a decided advantage, and to express their
gratification, they voluntarily voted a gratuity of £10
to Nicholson. Whether Mr. Skelton was the adjudi-
cator in this amusing contest is not known, but he
would be in a good position for judging the merits of
the two instruments, for he was engaged to open both.

He accepted the permanent organistship of Christ
Church after having been at Waltham Street Chapel
a few months, and retained it until his appointment
to Holy Trinity in 1838.

Just previous to this time, in June 1833, Mr. Skelton
conducted the concerts of the Yorkshire Amateur
Musical Society, this being the first meeting of the
society in Hull. It originated in Sheffield in 1809,
as a rallying point for the musicians of the county,
and its meetings were held annually in that town,
Leeds and York in turn. The amateur musicians of
each place were responsible for the programmes and

HULL ORGANS AND ORGANISTS

95

necessary expenses, and the proceeds were devoted to
the medical charities of the towns visited. Being a
strictly amateur association, the professionals who took
part gave their services gratuitously.

The opening of the Public Rooms, Jarratt Street,
removed the difficulty under which the town had
laboured in not having an adequate concert hall, and
enabled it to take an active part in the work of the
society.

The concerts were given on June 26th and 27th,
1833, and the programme on the first day was as
follows : —

SiNFONiA IN E Flat ..

Song . . . . " The Infant's Prayer "
Miss CLARA NOVELLO

Gahrich

Novello

SCENA FROM " ObERON "

Mr. WALTON.

Weber

Song

.." Love's a Little Pet " ..
Mrs. CUMMINS.

Barneit

Violin Solo . .

" Fantasia "
Mr. C. MILLER.

Mayseder

Song . . " Let 1

the Bright Seraphim " (" Samson'
Miss CLARA NOVELLO.

') Handel

Song . .

" Orynthia, My Beloved " . .
Mr. BINGE.

Bishop

Fantasia for Horn . .

Duet . . . . . . " Oh se Puoi "

Mrs. CUMMINS and Mr. WALTON.

Giigal
Rossini

Scene from " King Arthur "
Overture . . . . " William Tell "

Purcell
Rossini

PART IL

Overture

.. "Fidelio"

Beethoven

Glee . . . . . . " Sally in our Alley "

Harmonised as a Glee by Dr. CLA RKE.

Violoncello Solo . . " Fantasia "

Mr. HADDOCK.
Song . . . . " O'er Hill and Dale "

Miss CLARA NOVELLO.

96 HULL ORGANS AND ORGANISTS

Duet . . . . "To Woo His Mate "

Mrs. CUMMINS and Miss HIRST {of Huddersfield).

Glee " The Butterfly " . . Battye

Duet — Violin and Piano . . . . . . . . Mayseder

By two young Gentlemen, sons of a
well-known musical amateur.

Song . . . . " Filomena abbandonato " . . Haydn

Miss CLARA KOVELLO.

Finale to Opera " Fidelio " . . . . Beethoven

Miss Clara Novello was then fifteen years of age,
and this was stated to be her first appearance in pubhc,
but it would have been more accurate to speak of it
as one of her earliest appearances. The symphony by
Gahrich was obtained specially from Hamburg, and
was supposed to be a very important novelt}^ It
was heard for the first (and I beheve the last) time in
England.

The concerts taking place in the mornings, a banquet
was always held the first evening. At this Hull
function the very long toast list included " The
Amateur Society — more meetings in different parts,
and new members by the score," and " The British
merchants' trio — import, export, and support." and
was interspersed with glees and songs, which carried
the proceedings well towards midnight.

This first Hull meeting of the society was organised
and carried through successfully chiefly by the efforts
of Mr. Skelton, assisted by the Rev. J. Blow and Messrs.
Dykes, Tottie, Cattley, Thompson, Crosse and Broadley.

In the daj^s of its prosperit}^ the Society was en-
couraged by the nobility and gentry of the county,
and the annual festival was regarded as an important
event, not only in the town in which it took place, but in
the county generally. From the year 1833 the concerts
w^ere given quadrennially in each of the four respective
towns, up to the year 1845, when this interesting
Musical Union of Yorkshire Amateurs may be said to
have coUapsed, as the concerts from that date were only

HULL ORGANS AND ORGANISTS

97

given in York, at intervals of four years. The last
York gathering was in 1868, and the following year,
what proved to be the valedictory meeting of the
society, was held in Hull on November 3rd and 4th,
1869, It is interesting to compare the first day's
programme with that of 1833 : —

PROGRAMME NOVEMBER 3rd, 1869.

Symphony No. i in C.

Part Song . . " O Hills, O Vales ! "

Song . . . . " Deh Vieni non tardar "

Miss A. JEWELL.

Solo Violin .. .." 9th Concerto "

Mr. B. L. JACOBS.

Song . . . . . . " La Danza "

Mr. ROBERT HARRISON.

Minuet and Trio " Symphony in E Flat "
Song . . . . . . " Ah se tu dormi "

Miss R. JEWELL.
Overture . . " Merry Wives of Windsor "

PART IL

Overture .. .. " Egmont "

Madrigal . . " Blow, blow, thou Winter Wind

Song . . . . . . " L'Ardita "

Miss A. JEWELL.

Solo Flute . . . . " Air Suisse "

Mr. JON A THAN HA Y.

Bolero a Deux Voix " Les Madrilenes " . .
The Misses JEWELL.

Overture . . . . " Zauberflote " . .

Beethoven

Mendelssohn

Mozart

De Beriot

Rossini

Mozart
Vaccaj

Nicolai

Beethoven

Stevens

A rditi

Boehm

Bordese

Mozart

Mons. Hartog was the conductor, and Mr. J. W.
Stephenson undertook the training of the small
chorus.

The only surviving member of the local committee
responsible for the arrangements of this Hull meeting
is Col. G. H. Clarke. He w^as one of the first violin
plaj^ers at both the concerts. He was actively con-

G

98 HULL ORGANS AND ORGANISTS

cerned in founding the present Hull Philharmonic
Societ}^, and is now the President of the Council of the
Hull and East Riding College of Music. Mr. Skelton
would no doubt have taken the same prominent part
in this last Hull meeting of the society as he took in
the first, but his death occurred while the arrangements
were being considered.

Mr. Skelton's successor at Christ Church was Miss
Eliza Newbald, an aunt of the late Mr. C. J. Newbald,
for many years connected with the firm of Messrs.
Thomas Wilson, Sons and Co., who was himself an
amateur organist. Her duties were not very onerous,
for they simply consisted in accompanying the can-
ticles and hymns. Anthems, as also the singing of
the Psalms and Responses, were unknown in the
church. The organ did not prove satisfactory, and
was a constant source of trouble to Miss Newbald,
who was a very neat and painstaking player, and took
great interest in her duties.

In 1850 Mr. John Camidge, a son of Dr. Camidge
of York, succeeded to the organistship. He was in the
apostolical succession, so far as church musicianship
was concerned, for his father, grandfather, and great-
grandfather had successively been organists of York
Cathedral. His nephew, Mr. John Camidge, is the
present well-known organist of Beverley Minster.

The old Christ Church organist was a close personal
friend of the late Mr. Forster, head of the firm of Messrs.
Forster and Andrews, The two men shared rooms in
Charlotte Street, and it was probably owing to their
friendship that the local organ-builders were consulted
about the Christ Church organ. In September 1852
they took it in hand, making repairs and alterations,
and advantage was taken of the opportunity to remove
it from the east end to the more convenient position
in the west gallery, a position it and its successor
retained for thirty years. The pipes were re-voiced,
and the swell box altered, thus making the tone less

HULL ORGANS AND ORGANISTS 99

blatant. The position of the pedal pipes was changed,
the groove board and wind conveyances altered, and,
as far as possible, the instrument was temporarily-
patched up, but, like most of the Ward organs
introduced into Hull during the thirties, it was
altogether unsatisfactory

On leaving Hull, Mr. Camidge went to the neighbour-
hood of Sunderland, and in 1859 proceeded to Canada.
He settled in Toronto, where he died in 1892. Like
all the Camidges, he had keen natural musical instincts,
but his organ-playing powers, whatever they may
have been, had no scope on the antiquated *' kist o'
Whistles," upon v/hich he had to play at Christ Church.

The next organist of the church was Mr. Edwin
W. Haigh, of whom we have already spoken as the first
organist of St. Mary's Sculcoates, He acted as organist
of the short-lived Kingston Sacred Musical Society,
and was fairly well known in the town as a pianoforte
player. His brother, Henry Haigh, was also prominent
as a tenor singer, frequently singing at the local concerts
until he became a member of the Pyne and Harrison
Operatic Company. In 1856 he made his debut as
first tenor at Drury Lane. Mr. Edv/in Haigh left Hull
in that year, and also became connected with the
stage in some capacity.

Mr. Frederick Jackson succeeded Mr. Haigh at
Christ Church. He had been a choir boy at Holy
Trinity, and later a pupil of Mr. Skelton. Like his
master, he was more a pianoforte player than an
organist, inclining towards the drawing-room style of
performance so much in vogue fifty or sixty years ago.
He was in much demand as a teacher, but was not
connected with any of the musical societies.

Early in i860 a new organ was determined upon.
The old one was past repair, though it had only been
twenty-six years in use, and as it was only fit for the
melting pot, into the melting-pot it went.

Many of the congregation wished that the order

100 HULL ORGANS AND ORGANISTS

for the new instrument should be given to Messrs.
Forster and Andrews, but it was ultimately decided
to entrust it to Messrs. Bishop and Starr, of London.
To some extent this decision was due to the influence
of the churchwarden, Mr. James Gough, who before
settling in Hull as a partner in the firm of Messrs.
Gough and Davy, had London connections.

The organ, which had two manuals, was built to the
following specification : —

Great Organ — Double Diapason (bass and treble), Open
Diapason, Stopped Diapason (bass), Clarabella, Viol di
Gamba, Bell Diapason, Flute, Principal, Twelfth, Fifteenth,
Sesquialtra, Trumpet, Clarion, Cremorna.

Swell Organ — Double Diapason (bass and treble), Open
Diapason, Stopped Diapason, Keraulophon, Principal,
Fifteenth, jNIixture, Cornopean, Hautboy.

Pedal Organ — Open Diapason, Bourdon

Couplers — Swell to Great, Great to Pedal, Swell to Pedal.

The cost was ^^420. It is difficult to understand how
it was possible to build so large an instrument for this
sum, certainly no reputable builder would be found
at the present time to do so for double the amount ;
but it was understood that Messrs. Bishop and Starr,
wishing to introduce their work into this part of the
country, offered to work under cost price. How far
this was fair to Messrs. Forster and Andrews, who also
submitted a tender, is open to question, but it may
be mentioned that the London builders failed to obtain
further commissions in Hull.

The opening of the new organ took place on July
29th, i860. The Vicar of the church, the Rev. F. F.
Goe (afterwards Bishop of Melbourne) preached, and
Dr. J. B. Dykes presided at the organ. On the 31st
Mr. Skelton played the organ, and Dr. Dykes preached
the sermon.

In certain particulars the organ, which was erected
as a miemorial to Mr. King, the first Vicar of the church,
was distinctly effective, more especially in the soft flue
stops and the pedal. The swell appeared meagre in

HULL ORGANS AND ORGANISTS loi

proportion to the great, in consequence of the position
of the swell-box being under the tower and behind the
arch. The reeds, especially those on the great organ,
were the least satisfactory part of the scheme, being
much too noisy and assertive. Two of the best stops —
the Clarabella and Viol di Gamba — were labelled with
the initials J.B.D. (John Bacchus Dykes), and were
probably given as a mark of admiration for his talents,
as no record can be found of Dr. Dykes having himself
provided them. It is a distinct matter for regret that
when the organ was re-built in 1904, although the
two stops were inserted, the new stop knobs appeared
without the initials. They were an interesting link
with a notable personality, and might well have been
retained.

Mr. Jackson remained at Christ Church until 1869,
when he made way for Mr. Arthur Jarratt. When a
choirboy at St. Andrew's, Wells Street, London, Master
Jarratt appeared as a soloist at a concert of the Hull
Vocal Society in 1861, and received an encore. Some
years later he returned to Hull, and became a pupil of
Mr. Skelton and assistant organist of Holy Trinity.
Wishing to complete his studies at the Royal Academy
of Music, he left Christ Church at the end of 1873
and accepted the organistship of St. John's, Southwark,
which he held for seven years, resigning it in 1880, for
that of St. John's, Dulwick Road, Heme Hill, where he
remained until 1886. He served as sub-professor of
the R.A.M. for three years, and was elected an Associate
of that Institution. In 1886 Mr. Jarratt became the
organist of the American Church, Nice, and is now
settled in London as a teacher.

Mr. Jarratt's successor was Mr. Charles Bradbury,
a very thoughtful and able musician. As already
stated, he began his musical career at St. Mary's, Scul-
coates, and when Mr. Craddock came to Holy Trinity
in 1868, became his pupil. He took the Mus. Bac.
degree at Oxford in 1873. Always inclined to be deli-

102 HULL ORGANS AND ORGANISTS

cate, his studious habits seriously affected his health,
and symptoms of consumption appeared. Towards
the end of 1874 he proceeded to Ventnor in the hope of -
recuperating, but died there on January nth, 1875,
at the early age of twenty-two.

Mr. Bradbury was amiable and unassuming in dis-
position, and his premxature death was a distinct loss to
church music in Hull. His brother John was a choir-
boy at Holy Trinity, and later a tenor singer in the choir
of All Saints', which he left to become choirmaster of
St. Thomas's Church, a position he filled with much
ability until his death in 1902. He was an adept sight
reader, and a very zealous worker. As a member of
the committee of the Vocal Society, and later its
treasurer, an office he held at the time of his death, he
did valuable service. He was the last male survivor
of a musical family which had been prominent in the
town for over a century.

The next organist of Christ Church was Mr. Edward
W. Healey, like his predecessor, a pupil of Mr. Craddock.
He had been for some years previously the organist of
Kirk Ella Church, and graduated Mus. Bac. at Oxford
at the same time as Mr. Bradbury. Mr. Healey's
characteristics were his extremely retiring disposition
and his admirable musicianship, which evidenced itself
particularly in fugue writing and fugue playing. His
inclinations were so exclusively in the direction of
organ-playing, that at his request, Mr. Walter Porter
was engaged for a time to take charge of the choir.

Mr. Healey took considerable interest in the Hull
Society of Organists, which came into being on Decem-
ber 4th, 1875, and of which I was the first secretary,
my successor being Mr. Wm. Howell, the organist of
Latimer Chapel. It originated with Mr. G. G. Wilkin-
son, who conceived the idea of bringing together the
organists of the town, amateur and professional, and
interesting them in each other's work. It was intended
to enable them to discuss the various details of

HULL ORGANS AND ORGANISTS 103

organ construction, to enlarge their knowledge of
organ music, and to be of mutual assistance to them
in their common task. A small library was formed,
and Mr. Healey undertook a harmony class for the
members — a not unnecessary adjunct.

The first meeting was held at Fish Street Chapel, on
January ist, 1876, and Messrs. G. G. Wilkinson, John
Ellis, C. Goulding, F.R.C.O., E. W. Healey, and G. H.
Smith played. Subsequent meetings were held at St.
Stephen's Church, St. Luke's Church, Beverley Road
Chapel, Christ Church, and other places. They took
place monthly on Saturday afternoons, and the various
members were invited to play in turn. The aim and
objects of the society were most excellent, but unfor-
tunately its organisation was defective ; possibly also
the youthfulness of most of its members vv^as a draw-
back, for it came to an end after two years of useful
existence.

In April 1877 Mr. Healey left Christ Church on his
appointment to the organistship of Sunderland Parish
Church. Some years later he became the organist of
the United Presbyterian Church, Helensburgh, N.B.,
where he still remains.

Mr. J. C. Kemp, who succeeded Mr. Healey, had been
successively the organist of Mariners' Church and
St. Luke's. He held the appointment at Christ
Church until 1881, when I became the organist. At
that time the organ was in the west gallery, but at my
request it was moved to its present position at the
south-east end of the church. I have often regretted
the part I took in its removal, for though its present
position is more convenient so far as the choir is
concerned, its effect in the gallery of the large church
was very fine. I left Christ Church in February 1883,
on being appointed organist of All Saints'.

The next organist, Mr. Thomas Flopkinson, only
played six Sundays, and was followed by Mr. E. C.
Boden. The later organists of Christ Church have

104 HULL ORGANS AND ORGANISTS

been Mr. Charles Johnson, F.R.C.O. (now organist of
Christ Church, Swansea), Mr. J. M. Dossor, A.R.LB.A.,
who afterwards became the organist of St. Luke's
Church, Mr. A. L. Wood, Mr. Percy Kirby, Mus. Bac,
Dunelm, A.R.C.O. now the organist of West Parish
Church, Aberdeen, Mr. T. E. Smith, and Mr. Wayland
Lewendon, the present organist. In 1904 the organ
was enlarged by Messrs. Wordsworth and Co., Leeds,
at a cost of over £400.

ST* JAMES'S CHURCH.

St. James's Church, which was long known as the
new Pottery Church, was consecrated on August 27th,
1831. Its first Vicar, the Rev. Wm. Knight, had been
a curate of St. John's Church. He was a musical man,
a good pianoforte player, and a great lover of bell-
ringing.

Soon after the opening of the church he agitated
for an organ, and on the recommendation of Mr. Skelton
the order was given to Ward of York. This builder
must have found Hull a happy hunting ground, for
within a few months he provided organs for Christ
Church, St. Peter's, St. James's and Mariners' Churches,
besides several chapels and country churches.

The St. James's organ, which had two manuals and
cost ;f2io, was built to the following specification : —

Great Organ — Open Diapason, Stopped Diapason, Harmonica,
Principal, Fifteenth, Cornet, Sesquialtra.

Swell Organ — Open Diapason, Stopped Diapason, Principal,
Dulciana, Hautboy.

It had the usual tenor C Swell and an octave and a
half of G pedals, but no pedal pipes. Some of the soft
stops were of pleasant qualit}-, but the effect of the
full organ was decidedly shrill. The " opening," by
Mr. Skelton, took place on March 30th, 1834.

J. \V. HUDSON, Mrs. Bac. Oxox.

HULL ORGANS AND ORGANISTS 105

Mr. James Miller, the first organist of St. James's,
was a young professional man from Newcastle-on-Tyne,
though a native of Hull, who was recommended for
the post by Mr. Skelton. He played the piano and
violoncello equally as well as he played the organ, and
speedily threw himself into the musical life of the
town, frequently taking part in the local concerts.

His first appearance was at the concert of the Phil-
harmonic Society on November 2nd, 1834, when he
played a fantasia on the piano besides acting as accom-
panist, and the following month he appeared as a
'cello soloist at a concert of the same society. He
was also prominently connected with the Hull Choral
Society. A very dependable orchestral player, he took
part in the Hull Musical Festival of 1840 as a 'cellist,
and the following year left Hull on receiving an appoint-
ment in London. For several seasons he had spent
his vacations in London, profiting by lessons from
eminent teachers.

Mr. Knight was wishful that young John Dykes,
whom he had known and admired during his curacy
at St. John's, should accept the vacant post, but this
being impossible, Mr. Skelton, who three years pre-
viously had become the organist of Holy Trinity, was
approached. The result was that he became a pluralist,
making himself responsible for the duties at St. James's
in addition to those at Holy Trinity. This he was
able to do the more readily because while the service
at the latter was in the afternoon, that at the "New
Pottery Church " was in the evening. The morning
service was arranged to be done by deputy.

Among his pupils who assisted him in this dual
arrangement was Miss Elizabeth Tarbotton, a very
young and naturally endowed musician. Some years
later she married Mr, William Hudson, who was
a devoted lover of music, and was one of the
founders of the Harmonic Society. Their son, Mr.
J W. Hudson, is the present organist of the church

io6 HULL ORGANS AND ORGANISTS

Until her death in 1904, Mrs. Hudson took a very
Hvely interest in music, and no one had a wider know-
ledge of matters relating to it in Hull during the pre-
vious sixty years, or was more competent to form a
right judgment upon them. Her ripe musicianship
was only equalled by her singular charm of disposition
and her genuine kindliness, and she will long be
remembered by her many friends with deep affection.

When, in consequence of the increased responsibility
of his work at Holy Trinity, Mr. Skelton found it
necessary to sever his connection with St. James's,
Mr. Edward Ackrill, a pupil of Mr. Skelton's, was
appointed to succeed him. A member of the choir at
this period says : " The Vicar had a very strong dislike
to his bell-ringers leaving church as soon as the bells
were rung down, so he employed them as vergers,
pew^-openers, etc., at a small salary, much to his com-
fort and satisfaction. Mr. Ackrill, also a bell-ringer,
he converted into an organist."

In the latter capacity Mr. Ackrill justified the Vicar's
foresight, and did credit to the training of Mr. Skelton,
under whom he was placed. He became quite a skilled
theorist, thanks in a great measure to his having to
accompany the hymn tunes and chants from figured
bass copies. These were prepared by the Vicar, w^ho
also copied the voice parts in the manuscript books
for the mixed choir. The Vicar appears to have been
a man of strong personality, with a thorough grasp
of all the details of the musical part of the service.
This was shewn on one occasion during the singing of a
h37mn, when after two verses had been sung in a some-
what uncertain manner, he astonished the congrega-
tion by saying from the pulpit, " Mr. Ackrill, you are
playing the wrong tune, it should be ' Carey's,' please
let us have it ! "

During the greater part of Mr. Ackrill's organistship,
the choirmaster of St. James's was Mr. John Kenning-
ham, who had been trained in the choir of St. Peter'

HULL ORGANS AND ORGANISTS 107

where his uncle, Mr. Adam Kenningham senr., was
parish clerk and director of the music. HeVas a tenor
singer, and an expert sight-reader of music, also a
most uncompromising purist in artistic matters.
Nothing meretricious or second-rate would he coun-
tenance. A strict disciplinarian himself, he was most
regular in his attendance at the rehearsals of the
Vocal Society, and he and his cousin Joseph (who
became a lay clerk of Salisbury Cathedral in 1856)
would hurry from the church practice on Monday nights
to sing madrigals and glees at the society's weekly
rehearsal. He was a great admirer of Mendelssohn.

At this time the Mendelssohn cult was at its height,
and after the production of " Elijah " at Birmingham,
enthusiasts in Hull, Mr. Kenningham included, spent
many months in its study, delighting in the new musical
vista it afforded them, and enjoying its manifold
beauties as they unfolded themselves. It is scarcely
necessary to say that Mr. Kenningham took part in
its first performance in Hull, on October 26th, 1849.
Of his live sons, two obtained cathedral appointments.
Alfred has long been the senior Vicar Choral of St.
Paul's Cathedral, and Charles, after having been a
choirboy at St. Paul's, was appointed a lay clerk at
Canterbury Cathedral, afterwards becoming well known
as a member of the D'Oyly Carte Opera Company.

When Mr. Ackrill resigned in 1863, Mr. W. J. Petty
vacated the organistship of Sutton Church in order to
succeed him at St. James's. The outstanding event
of his period of office was the erection of the new organ,
the old one not only being obsolete in its mechanism
and arrangement, but in such an unsatisfactory
condition as to be beyond renovation. It had been
very favourably placed in the west gallery, and the
decision to build the new instrument in a specially
constructed, but somewhat enclosed chamber at the
north-east end of the church, was scarcely an improve-
ment from the point of view of effect. Messrs. Forster

io8 HULL ORGANS AND ORGANISTS

and Andrevv^s were the builders of the new organ,
which had two manuals, and cost £300, an altogether
inadequate sum for such a purpose. This was felt
many years later (1892), when it was considerably
enlarged. Dr. Spark of Leeds opened the new organ
at a special service on October 19th, 1866, the sermon
being preached by the Rev. Charles Walsham, the
then recently appointed Vicar of Sculcoates.

The following year Mr. Arthur Saunderson became
the organist of the church, Mr. Petty leaving St.
James's on his appointment to St. Luke's. Mr. Saun-
derson was a pupil of Mr. F. Jackson, and for some time
had been the organist of the temporary church of St.
Michael and All Angels, in Coltman Street. When its
Vicar, the Rev. G. O. Browne, left Hull, Mr. Saunderson
and the choir passed on to St. James's.

The choirmaster was Mr. Charles Newton, one of the
best and most popular singers the town ever possessed.
Not only was his tenor voice much above the average
in quahty, but his singing had a singular charm which
never failed to produce a teUing effect. He joined the
Vocal Society in 1858, and for many years was perhaps
its most prominent member, singing frequently, and
with much acceptance at its concerts. His son Arthur
was also a very popular singer until a few years ago,
inheriting in a certain degree his father's charm of
vocahsation. His voice, quite exceptionally, was a
pure soprano, which he retained to mature manhood.
After having been the leading choirboy at All Saints'
Church for several years, he joined the choir of St.
James's, with which, as has been seen, his father had
been connected as choirmaster a generation earlier.

In 1875 Mr. Saunderson left the town and went to
Canada. Mr. Henry Cook, a brother of Col. Travis-
Cook, who succeeded him at St. James's, had already
had similar experience at Mariners' and St. Matthew's
Churches. He had been a pupil of Mr. Robert Morison,
Mr. J. W. Stephenson, and Professor James Higgs, and

HULL ORGANS AND ORGANISTS ioq

was a fervid lover of the organ, with a natural aptitude
for extempore playing. He was the organist of St.
Thomas's Church for a time, and is now the organist of
St. Mary Magdalene Church, Chiswick, London, W.

His successor was Mr. Walter Hoskins, who received
his training at St. Mary's, Lowgate. An efficient and
sympathetic accompanist, he was first appointed to
Sutton Church, from whence he went to St. James's.
His stay was a brief one, for the acceptance of a post
in York, necessitated his removal from Hull. He was
succeeded by Mr. A. P. Stephenson (now F.R.C.O.),
a former organist of St. Andrew's Church, Holderness
Road, who had subsequently held the organistships of
Newington Parish Church and St. Thomas's Church.
Mr. Stephenson is now the organist of Bridlington
Priory Church.

In the late seventies Mr. Bernard Barton undertook
the choirmastership of the church, a position he held
for upwards of a quarter of a century, during the reigns
of Messrs. Cook, Hoskins, and Stephenson at the organ.
Such a record of long and gratuitous service deserves
honourable mention, especially as it was rendered in
a devoted and whole-hearted manner. Under his
guidance the choir was maintained at the high level
of excellence for which it has so long been noted.
Among his co-workers in the choir were Messrs. J.
Firth, Dent, Binks, J. T. Saunderson, R. Russell,
Charles Nicholson, A. Monaghan (now of York
Cathedral), Chas. Kenningham, Walsh (later of Carlisle
Cathedral), C. T. Oldroyd, W. W. Hall (now Col.), R.
Hall, H. Hall, C. J. Hall, T. Meredith Roberts, A. Chap-
man, R. T. Watson, A. Newton, H. Stork (now the
Rev.), C. Herzberg, Sleight, Rushworth, Frankish,
Speight and Simpson. The church of St. James owes
a debt of gratitude to Mr. Bernard Barton.

When Mr. Stephenson left St. James's in April 1893,
he was succeeded by Mr. J. W. Hudson, Mus. Bac.
Oxon., the present highly esteemed organist of the

no HULL ORGANS AND ORGANISTS

church. Mr. Hudson had been the organist of St.
Thomas's Church for eight years previously. He was
also the conductor of the Vocal and Philharmonic
Societies, succeeding Mr. Jackman in the conductor-
ship of the former in 1888, and relinquishing it in 1896.
He had been connected with the Philharmonic Society
since its formation — he composed an overture for its
inaugural concert on April 19th, 1882 — and on the
retirement of Mons. Hartog in 1891, undertook its
conductorship, a post he still worthily retains.

The Philharmonic is by no means the first society
so designated which has existed in the town. In the
early years of last century one was to be found. It was
of a semi-private nature, and its members met fort-
nightly in the winter months, and rehearsed both vocal
and instrumental music. It came to an end in 1818.

A few years later the more ambitious Hull Choral
Society was founded, and indirectly it was the cause of
a second Philharmonic Society coming into being, the
occasion being thus : the town provided each year a
contingent of singers and instrumentalists to take part
in the Yorkshire Amateur Music Meetings, which were
commenced in 1809, and held annually in various
Yorkshire towns. Some dissatisfaction arose respect-
ing the selection of the Hull performers, for which the
committee of the Choral Society were held to be
responsible, and the issue was a second society named
named the Philharmonic.

At a meeting in the side room of the Public Rooms,
on July 25th, 1833, Mr. R. Tottie presiding, a very
influential committee was chosen, consisting of Messrs.
S. H. Egginton, C. Lutwidge, J as. Gadsden,
H. Broadley, R. Raikes, G. Fielding, Chas. Frost, F.S.A.
and Thos. Thompson. These gentlemen were quite
innocent of any intention of setting up a society in
opposition to the Choral Society, and indeed there was
neither room nor occasion for two societies on the
same lines in the quite moderate sized town. Had the

HULL PHILHARMONIC SOCIETY

A. S. AY RE, J.l'.,

Chainiuin of the Executive
Coiuinittee.

\\. LUSCOMBH,

Ho}i. Treasurer

PHILIP CHIGXELL,
F.R.C.O.,

Hon. Sec.

J. W. HUDSON,

Mus. Bac. Oxox.

Hon. Conductor.

HULL ORGANS AND ORGANISTS iii

new society confined its operations to instrumental
music, and the older one to vocal, all might have been
well ; and at the first meeting it was primarily decided
that the society should be devoted to purely instru-
mental works, but this was overruled by a large section
of those present, and it was ultimately agreed " that
a Society be formed for the purpose of practising
instrumental music, with songs, catches, and glees,
to be called the Hull Philharmonic Society." It was
decided to meet fortnightly, that a director should be
appointed for each meeting who should choose the
music for performance, that the members should par-
take of tea and coffee during an interval, and generally
that the meetings should be conducted much in the
manner of a private concert at a gentleman's house,
only on a larger scale. Four public concerts were also
to be given during the season.

The conductor was Mr. Rudersdorff, a very able
musician, who had been the Concert Master at Moscow,
and afterwards leader of the Hamburg Opera. He
came to Hull specially to undertake the position, as did
also Mr. J. W. Thirlwall, the leader, who was a member
of a musical family well known in the North of England.
Early in 1837, Mr. Thirlwall left Hull to accept a post
in the band of the King's Theatre, Drury Lane, where
his brother was the music director, and the same year
he played a violin concerto at a concert of the Society
of British Musicians. Towards the end of the year
Mr. Rudersdorff accepted an important position in
Manchester, and Mr. Thirlwall returned to Hull to
succeed him in the conductorship of the Philharmonic
Society.

The first rehearsal of the new society was held on
November 4th, 1833, and was attended by twenty-six
instrumentalists. Several overtures were practised,
and these were interspersed with vocal items, also tea
and coffee. The first concert was given in the following
month, December i8th, when in addition to items by

112 HULL ORGANS AND ORGANISTS

the orchestra, Mr. Thirlwall appeared as a solo viohnist,
and Mr. G. Atkinson, the organist of St. Mary's,
Lowgate, as a pianist.

Although the conductors and other officials of the
two societies were on most amicable terms, an unholy
rivalry existed among the performing members of each,
and this became accentuated as time passed, in spite
of the good influence of those in authority. An instance
of this good influence was given at the annual dinner
of the Choral Society in 1836, when the Chairman,
Dr. (afterwards Sir James) Alderson, in responding to
the toast of its success, said, " may its principles be
such that based in harmony, the tenor of its conduct
may treble the interest of music in the town, and never
run counter to the efforts of other musical societies."

The annual dinner was quite an important event in
the year of both societies. In the circular announcing
the Philharmonic Society's dinner on July 30th, 1834,
the price of the tickets was stated to be fifteen shillings,
including a bottle of sherry or port. One wonders
how many of these worthy diners would have been as
ready to pay fifteen shillings for a purely artistic feast
instead of the more material one, including a bottle of
sherry or port.

After the concerts of each society ill natured and
unpleasant criticisms w^ere made, and bad feeling was
vented in the columns of the local newspapers. Petty
and ridiculous as they would now appear, they
did much harm seventy years ago, and at the end of
1838, it was announced that no meetings of the Phil-
harmonic Society would be held that season. A par-
ticularly weak performance of Haydn's " Spring "
hastened its downfall. For some time the society's
instrumental work had been predominant, at the ex-
pense of the choral, and this disastrous performance,
described by the Hull Advertiser (which was supposed
to represent the views of the opposing members of the
Choral Society) as beneath contempt, led to a large

HULL ORGANS AND ORGANISTS 113

secession of the members. In point of fact the society
then ceased to exist.

The following year Mr. Thirlwall, whose leanings
were entirely towards instrumental music, organised
an orchestral concert in the old Theatre Royal on
behalf of the Infirmary, the proceeds of which were
;f32o. The choral members of the defunct society were
loth to forego the pleasure of rehearsing, and met
weekly for some considerable time in the room over
the Grammar School, South Church Side. They
adopted the somewhat fanciful title of Hull Concordia
Sacra Society, but did not meet with any great success.

Yet another Hull Philharmonic Society was estab-
lished in 1850 by Mr. H. Deval, a musician much in
evidence in the town in the middle of last century.
Its first concert was on September 27th, 1850, and its
last (Mendelssohn's " Son and Stranger," etc.), on
January 5th, 1852. Its short life was due entirely to
its too sanguine founder and conductor, who under-
estimated or lost sight of the vital matter of proper
organisation. In many respects his work was very
interesting, but this will more conveniently come
under review when reference is made to the churches
of which he was the organist.

Thirty years elapsed before another, the present
Philharmonic Society was founded in Hull, though the
town had not been entirely destitute of orchestral
music during that period. The Hull Arion Orchestral
Union did good work in the late seventies, as did also
the still earlier I'Dilletanti Society. It was at a
concert of the latter, on December ist, 1862, that
Mons. Hartog, the first conductor of the present
society, made his first public appearance in Hull.
He was a musician of much talent, and an admirable
violinist and teacher. He left Hull in 1892, and
returned to Holland, his native country. He died in
1900.

H

114 HULL ORGANS AND ORGANISTS

MARINERS' CHURCH.

The building on Prince's Dock Side, opened by the
Mariners' Church Societ}^ in 1834 as a place of worship,
though now long disused as such, possessed very
interesting musical associations. In 1839 it w^as pro-
vided with an organ, placed in a gallery at the east end
of the church, behind the pulpit, by the irrepressible
Ward of York, much after the style of those by the
same builder in Christ Church, St. James's ,and St.
Peter's. Its specification was : —

Great Organ — Open Diapason, Stopped Diapason,
Principal, Fifteenth, Sesquialtra, Comet.

Swell (Fiddle G) — Open Diapason, Stopped Diapason,
Harmonica, Dulciana, Trumpet. It had an octave and a
half of G Pedals.

The opening took place on September ist, 1839,
when a sermon was preached by the Rev. C. H. Bromby,
son of the Vicar of Holy Trinity, and Mr. Skelton
presided at the organ. The Hiill Advertiser gave an
account of the performance in these flowery terms :
" Mr. Skelton developed the various powers of the
instrument by skilfully and scientifically ranging from
the dulcet sounds of the harmonica and dulciana to the
brilliant expression of the Principal, Fifteenth, and
Sesquialtra, and finally to the grand intonations of the
full organ."

In point of fact though the soft stops may have
sounded very well under Mr. Skelton's manipulation,
the instrument was lacking in body in consequence of
the Diapasons having a very small scale, and the
effect of the full organ was harsh and disagreeable.
That it was badly built is evidenced by the fact that
it was practically worn out within thirty years of its
erection, and had to be supplanted by an entirely new
instrument.

HULL ORGANS AND ORGANISTS 115

Mr. J. A. Shaw, the first organist of Mariners'
Church, was a member of a well-known Hull musical
family, and a very clever musician. His life, which
appeared full of promise, was cut short during the
serious cholera epidemic in September 1849. ^
remarkable testimony to the high regard in which
he was held, both as a man and a musician, was
forthcoming at the funeral service, when the
church, draped in black, was filled with a sorrowing
congregation. The organ was played by Mr. Henry
Lambert, the son of Mr. G. J. Lambert, of Beverley
Minster, who succeeded to the vacant organistship.

Unlike his father and grandfather, who were organists
of Beverley Minster in succession for close upon a
century, Mr. H. Lambert was a man of fickle tempera-
ment, and never stayed long in any place. He only
remained at Mariners' Church a few months. He had
decided musical talent, but his unstable habits stood
in the way of its proper development. His father,
Mr. G. J. Lambert, whose pupil he had been, and who
held the post of organist of Beverley Minster from
1818 to 1874 was an interesting man. A good musician
of the old-fashioned school, he not only played the organ
but was also a very fair violin and 'cello player, and a
clever painter.

Towards the end of his long life he became very deaf,
and spent much of his time in constructing models of
churches. He built models of York Cathedral, Beverley
Minster, Melrose Abbey, St. Mary's Beverley, and
other churches. It would have been well had his son
been possessed of a tithe of his patience and persever-
ance. The younger Lambert, after leaving Mariners'
Church, undertook several appointments, including
the organistship of Cottingham Church, which he held
when the new organ was built in i860.

Mr. H. Deval, who was the next organist at Mariners'
Church, was in many respects an extraordinary in-
(^ividual. After leaving the Royal Academy of Music,

ii6 HULL ORGANS AND ORGANISTS

where he received his training, he became connected
with the stage in some capacity, and a certain theatrical
manner which clung to him during his seventeen years'
stay in Hull was not altogether in his favour. He
figured in various capacities — as organist, conductor,
singer, teacher, lecturer, actor, and composer of opeias,
oratorios, overtures, masses and smaller works — but a
curious affectation and pose of manner prevented his
being taken seriously at all times. This weakness
also shewed itself in a decided incongruity in some of
his compositions. In a Mass in G, which was produced
at the Harmonic Society's concert on November 24th,
1848, he treated the most solemn parts of the text in
the manner of a jubilant march. Similar lapses from
good taste also marred his solo singing. Possessed
of a tenor voice of fairly good quality, he was entrusted
with the solo part when Mendelssohn's " Elijah " was
first produced in the town, but his mannerisms and
interpolations completely ruined the interpretation.

In spite of such like artistic blunders, he sang
frequently in public, mostly his own songs, and was a
good deal sought after as a teacher of singing. He
published in 1850, at the not inconsiderable price of
thirteen shillings and sixpence, an " Art of Vocalisation,
with a complete method of cultivating the human
voice on the principles of Crivelli and Garcia, with
Solfeggi." This was dedicated to his pupil, Lieu. -Col.
Wellesley, who was in command of the garrison at
that time, and whose daughter married Mr. C. H.
Wilson, afterwards Lord Nunburnholme.

The choir of Mariners' Church included a quartet
of paid singers. Miss Kipling, Miss Newman, Mr. Gale,
and Mr. Joseph Shaw, and in connection with these,
Mr. Deval organised a number of concerts in East
Yorkshire and North Lincolnshire. This was after
the collapse of the Philharmonic Society, which he
founded and conducted.

A year or two later he formed the Kingston Sacred

HULL ORGANS AND ORGANLSTS 117

Musical Society, at a concert of which, on November
15th, 1853, he produced his oratorio " Lazarus."
This work was performed in Brussels in 1855. It was
highly spoken of by the Belgian papers, and Deval
was made an honorary member of the Royal Con-
servatoire of Music, and also of the Brussels Philhar-
mone.

Another and still later society with which he was
connected was the Hull Subscription Musical Society.
At a concert of this society on May gth, 1857, Mr.
Frederick Clay, the composer of " I'll sing thee songs
of Araby," played a violin solo, and introduced one
of his songs, " O give me back the simple wreath."
His father, Mr. James Clay, M.P., represented Hull for
many years. These short-lived organisations were
mostly the outcome of Deval's ceaseless activity and
restlessness, and afforded him a convenient opportunity
of introducing his pupils and making known his
compositions.

In 1855 Deval v/as awarded the first and second
prizes offered by the London Madrigal Society, and the
following year his opera " Lihan " was produced at
the Royal Opera House, Brussels, where it had a run
of thirty-seven nights. It was also popular, and had a
considerable run in Vienna, where he signed a contract
for the composition of an opera for the Imperial
Theatre. A few years previously he had produced an
operetta, " The Devil's Bridge," at the old Theatre
Royal, Humber Street, and this probaby suggested to
his ambitious mind the production on the continent
of a full-fledged opera. His venture at the Hull
Theatre Royal was only partially successful, and I
regret that as these larger works existed in manuscript
only, it has been impossible to trace them, and I cannot
speak of their merits at first hand. Probably they
would be extravagant in style, and lacking in true
sentiment, otherwise they might have had more than
an ephemeral existence.

ii8 HULL ORGANS AND ORGANISTS

Those of Deval's published songs which I have seen,
though of no special distinction, were evidently
written by one who " knew his way about." That he
was not without ability is seen in his success in
connection with the London Madrigal Society, and
also in the fact that on more than one occasion he
examined at the Royal Conservatoire of Music,
Brussels. During one of his visits to that city
he stayed with the English Ambassador, Lord
Howard de Walden, by whom he was introduced
to the King of Belgium. The Jozirnal de Bruxelles
of August i8th, 1856, contains the following : "On
Tuesday, Mr. H. Deval, the eminent English composer,
was presented to the King at the Palace of Lacken, and
had the distinguished honour of being included among
the guests at the Royal dinner table. On Saturday,
Mr. Deval again visited the Palace of Lacken, and had
the honour of singing several of his own compositions
before the King and the Royal Family." About this
time, also, the King of Belgium bestowed an order upon
him.

There was a tinge of the romantic about Deval's
fitful career, and one incident in particular illustrates
graphically the composite character of the man. While
one week he was the guest of the King of Belgium, the
following week found him receiving guests and pre-
siding at a free and easy at the Kingston Tap, Scale
Lane, Hull. This public-house was kept by the
widow of the former proprietor, and Deval's amorous
connection with the fair lady shall be told in the words
of one who had an intimate acquaintance with him.
** It appears that the gallant musician was understood
to have won his lady's affection in the first instance,
of course, by the charm of his personality, but also in
a great measure by adroitly turning to his own advan-
tage a popular song of the day, of the sentimental kind,
which he sang to her with such irresistible expression
as to completely conquer whatever remained to be

HULL ORGANS AND ORGANISTS 119

conquered of her susceptible heart. The point of the
joke consists in the fact that Deval, who was not very
handsome, and not very young, and whose mouth was
— well, something larger than a button-hole — opened
that useful and necessary aperture to such an extent
when he sang, and revealed such a cavernous depth
beyond, as to suggest most uncomfortable ideas of the
ogre of the children's story books, whose chief business
in life consisted of stealing little babies, and eating them
up or swallowing them alive."

As might have been expected, many stories, more or
less apocryphal, were current respecting Deval. One
had reference to a professional visit he paid to Hedon.
On arriving at a certain house, in response to the maid's
enquiry he replied, '' Deval, from Hull, come to give
a singing lesson." In transmission the vowel sounds
became contracted, and the lady of the house was told
by the affrighted maid, " Oh, ma'am, there's a man says
he is the devil from hell come to give you a singing
lesson ! " It was also gravely asserted that Deval's
father was engaged in the sulphur business.

Mr. Deval's connection with Mariners' Church
terminated towards the end of 1853, when he was
appointed the organist of Salem Congregational Chapel.
This post he relinquished three months later on his
acceptance of the organistship of the churches of St.
Mary and St. Peter, Barton. For some time he was
also the organist of St. Charles's Roman Catholic
Chapel, but his claims for consideration as a player
were very slender. Towards the end of his stay in
Hull he assumed the title of Mus. Doc, but I have been
unable to discover his warrant for it.

After 1864, when the Harmonic Society was firmly
established and the Vocal Society was in a prosperous
state, he desisted from further attempts to organise
other societies, but as an outlet for his untiring energy
he busied himself as a lecturer on various musical
subjects. One of his lectures on " Dr. Arne," a resume

120 HULL ORGANS AND ORGANISTS

of which I have seen, was particularly good. He gave
a concert on February loth, 1865, when he made his
last public appearance in the town. About that time
he removed to Brighton, and became the organist of St.
Mary Magdalene Rom.an Catholic Church.

The next organist of Mariners' Church, Mr. Joshua
D. Horwood, was appointed in 1854. A pupil of Dr.
Gauntlett and a friend of Dr. S. S. Wesley, he had been
the organist of Hessle Church since 1840, regularly
walking to and fro, a distance of nine miles, every
Sunday. Though by no means a skilful performer,
he was a zealous devotee of Church music, but with a
singularly narrow outlook. He acquired an interesting
musical library, and made a hobby of collecting
autographs and photographs of musicians, especially
those of graduates in music. As he advanced in years
this latter fancy developed so much as to warp his
ideas on music, and curiously, he appeared much more
interested as to the exact date of a musician's birth
or death, or in the details of his family history, than in
his compositions. He held the appointment at the
Mariners' Church for two years only, and in 1856
became the organist of Cottingham Church, subse-
quently going back to Hessle Church. His last appoint-
ment was at the parish church of the neighbouring
village of Ferriby.

Mr. W. B. Lloyd, a pupil of Mr. J. W. Stephenson,
was the organist of the church from 1856 to 1865, and
during his term of office the unsatisfactory Ward
organ was removed to make way for an instrument by
Messrs. Forster and Andrews. The specification w^as :

Great Organ — Open Diapason, Stopped Diapason Bass, ditto
Treble, Viola di Gamba, Flute, Principal, Twelfth,
Fifteenth, Sesquialtra, Cremona, Trumpet.

Swell Organ — Bourdon (12 pipes) and Tenoroon (44 pipes),
Open Diapason, Stopped Diapason, Horn Diapason,
Principal, Piccolo, Mixture, Cornopean, Hautboy.

Pedal Organ — Open Diapason.

Couplers— Swell to Great, Swell to Pedal, Great to Pedal.

The cost was £325.

HULL ORGANS AND ORGANISTS 121

At the opening services on May loth, 1861, the
preacher in the morning was the Rev. R. H. Parr
curate of Holy Trinity, and Mr. Jeremiah Rogers of
Doncaster presided at the organ, the service being
Boyce in C, and the anthem Novello's " Therefore with
Angels," which was accompanied by Mr. J. W. Stephen-
son. In the evening, when the preacher was the Rev.
H, W. Kemp, the Canticles were sung to King in F.
and the anthem was Croft's '' God is gone up." After
the dismantling of the church the organ was removed,
and it now finds a resting-place in the Prince's Avenue
Wesleyan Chapel. Mr. Lloyd resigned the appoint-
ment in 1865, in consequence of a misunderstanding
with the Incumbent. He died a few years later.

Mr. Lloyd was followed in the organistship by Mr.
Henry Cook, reference to whose work at St. James's
Church some years later has already been made.
Mariners' Church was his first appointment. He held
it for three years, during which time the mixed choir,
including a quartet of paid singers, still held svv^ay in
the organ gallery. Their efforts were confined within
very narrow limits, the most ambitious effort being an
occasional anthem of the modest type of "In
Jewry is God known," by Dr. Clarke Whitfield.

Mr. Alfred Kenningham, the succeeding organist
of the church, is better known as a singer than as a
player. Nurtured in music, at a tender age he entered
the choir of Welton Church, and afterwards became
a choirboy at Holy Trinity where he stayed two
years, leaving there to sing, still as a treble, at
Mariners' Church. After his change of voice he sang
tenor at St. Paul's, Sculcoates, and later at St. John's
Church.

In 1868 he was appointed the organist of Mariners',
and a year later of Fish Street Congregational Chapel ;
but the possession of a remarkably pure tenor voice
decided him to adopt a vocal career. He had the
further advantage of being a very fluent sight-reader

122 HULL ORGANS AND ORGANISTS

of music, and after a short engagement in the choir of
St. Andrew's, Wells Street, London, where Sir Joseph
Barnby was the organist, he was appointed (in 1872)
a chorister of St. Paul's Cathedral. On the resignation
of Sir John Stainer in 188S, he succeeded him as a
vicar-choral of St. Paul's.

That Mr. Kenningham's services have been appre-
ciated is shewn by the fact that the late Sir John
Stainer wrote the tenor solo, " My hope is in the Ever-
lasting," in his cantata '' The Daughter of Jairus,"
specially for him, and the present organist. Sir George
Martin, similarly wrote the solo in his anthem, " Whoso
dwelleth under the defence of the Most High." In
Mr. Kenningham is well illustrated the principle of
heredity and its force, for he has performed his part
with earnestness and success in the magnificent choir of
St. Paul's, exactly as his forebears performed theirs
with equal earnestness and zeal in the humbler fane
of St. Peter's, Drypool. In addition to his responsible
duties at St. Paul's Cathedral, Mr. Kenningham acted
as organist and choirmaster of St. Andrew's, Fulham,
from 1878 to 1883. He now holds a similar position
at St. Dionis' Church, Parson's Green.

The next organist at Mariners' Church was Mr.
W. N. Lewendon, a member of another musical Hull
family. He and his two brothers were choirboys at
St. James's Church when the change from the miked
choir to the choir of men and boys took place in 1866.
He was a pupil of Mr. Skelton and Mr. Craddock, and
his first appointment was at St. Paul's Church, which
he resigned in 1869. After ten years' service at
Mariners' he became the first organist of St. Barnabas'
Church. Mr. Lewendon died in 1908.

Mr. S. Croshaw, in 1879, and Mr. J. Kemp, a few
years later, were the last organists of Mariners' Church.

HULL ORGANS AND ORGANISTS 123

ST. STEPHEN'S CHURCH.

The foundation-stone of vSt. Stephen's Church was
laid on June 3rd, 1S42, and the church was consecrated
on April nth, 1844. For some time before the opening
about forty of the children of St. Stephen's school were
trained by Mr. Skelton, and their singing of the simple
service — hymns and chants only — was very beautiful
and impressive. They were accompanied on a Seraph-
ine, a small instrument also known as a Mainzarene,
which Mr. Skelton, who played it, had obtained from
Scotland. It was used in the church for three years
and was played for some time by Mr. Skelton 's eldest
son, George Frederick, a talented musician, whose death
at the early age of nineteen, cut short a very promising
career.

When a permanent instrument was mooted Mr. (after-
wards Chevalier) T. F. Hewitt was approached, and
he undertook the voluntary organistship under certain
conditions, one being that he should have the choice
of the organ-builders. His selection of Messrs. W.
Hill and Sons was no doubt owing to his connection
with St. John's Church, where he had frequently acted
as deputy-organist for Mr. Thomas Dykes, and which
contained an organ by that firm.

The specification, for which Mr. Hewitt was respon-
sible, read in the light of modern ideas, is a distinct
curiosity. The compass of the great organ was from
CC to F, and that of the swell from tenor C to F, and
both manuals were enclosed in a general swell. The
stops were : —

Great Organ — Bourdon and Tenoroon, Open Diapason,
Stopped Bass and Clarabella, Wald Flute, Principal,
Twelfth, Fifteenth, Sesquialtra, Cornopean.

Swell Organ — Dulciana, Stopped Diapason, Hautboy.

There were two octaves of Pedals connected to the Great
Organ, one Coupler, Swell to Great, and three combination
Pedals.

It was placed in the west gallery.

124 HULL ORGANS AND ORGANISTS

A cursory glance at this scheme causes one to wonder
how it could have been possible so late as the year 1847.
The miniature swell must have been absolutely useless
even for solo purposes, as there was no sufficiently
soft accompaniment on the great organ, and the absence
of pedal pipes must have robbed the instrument of any
pretence to dignity of effect. This latter omission was
felt so strongly, that early in the fifties an octave of
open pedal pipes was added, and in i860 the organ was
practically re-built by Messrs. Forster and Andrews.
The swell was converted into a choir organ with two
additional stops, an entirely new swell of nine stops was
provided, the pedal organ was extended and enlarged,
a trumpet w^as inserted in the great, and the usual
couplers added. Needless to say, the work both of
Messrs. Hill and of Messrs. Forster and Andrews was
extremely good, and the instrument after its re-
construction, was by far the best and most effective
in the town in i860.

The organ was opened on May 28th, 1847, by Mr.
Jeremiah Rogers of Doncaster, the preacher in the
morning being the Rev. Charles Smith Bird, whose
text was taken from the i6th verse, 3rd chapter of
Colossians, " Singing with grace in your hearts," and
in the evening the Rev. C. H. Deck, vicar of St.
Barnabas' Church, Manchester.

Mr. T. F. Hewitt, w^ho was the honorary organist
of the church for upwards of twenty years, was an
excellent type of amateur musician, and his work at
St. Stephen's Church will long be remembered. Highly
cultured, urbane and courteous in manner, the impress
of his personality was seen in everything he under-
took ; little wonder, therefore, that not only his
choristers and the influential congregation of St.
Stephen's Church, but the musical folk of the town
generally, had a very high opinion of his powers. That
the unique musical reputation which he enjoyed for^so
many years was justified can only be decided having

HULL ORGANS AND ORGANISTS 125

regard to the standpoint from which it was
viewed.

Mr. Hewitt made no pretence of being an organist
in the orthodox sense — he never played a Bach organ
fugue in his hfe — nevertheless his extemporisations
and accompaniments had a certain individuality and
distinction which were unmistakable. Although his
style inclined towards the brilliant and florid, his
innate good taste never permitted it to degenerate
to the commonplace or vulgar, or to exceed the bounds
of artistic propriety. Occasionally he may have
approached the border line, and I cite an instance which
will also illustrate a phase of performance not un-
common fifty or sixty years ago.

In St. Stephen's, as in other churches, it was cus-
comary to introduce an interlude between the last
two verses of the closing hymn. Its object may have
been to eke out the hymn until the completion of the
collection, but if so it would seem preferable to have
introduced the extemporisation at the end of the hymn
instead of before the last verse. At the service in
question the last hymn was Charles Wesley's " Soldiers
of Christ, arise," and towards the end of his improvisa-
tion Mr. Hewitt played an imitation of a military
bugle call. Of course, such a device would be altogether
contrary to our present day notions of artistic fitness,
but it must be remembered that half-a-century ago
a quite different standard obtained. The effect upon
the congregation was electrical, or, as one who was
present described it, never-to-be-forgotten.

Mr. Hewitt was a pupil of Mr. Skelton, and a rather
amusing story is told of the two men, At a concert in
connection with St. Stephen's, Mr. Skelton undertook
to take part in a piano duet with his pupil, he playing
the treble part. A short time previously, Mr. Richard
C. Hewitt, a brother of the young organist, advised
him to practise the treble part in addition to the bass.
He demurred to this as unnecessary, Mr. Skelton having

126 HULL ORGANS AND ORGANISTS

already made himself responsible for it. " But/' said
Dick, ** it is possible there may be an encore, and you
may be asked to play the treble." Accordingly, Tom
practised the treble part. At the concert the duet
was vigorously applauded, especially by a small
coterie of young fellows at the back of the hall, and
presently loud cries of " encore," were raised, quickly
followed by " Hewitt treble." " What is that they
are saying ? " enquired Mr. Skelton. " They want me
to play the treble part this time," said Mr. Hewitt.
The duet was accordingly played again, the performers
changing parts, and Mr. Hewitt used to say with a
chuckle that the second performance went much better
than the first.

When Mr. Hewitt retired from the organistship in
1867 he was succeeded by Mr. George Kenningham.
Like his brother Alfred, Mr. Kenningham was born and
bred in an atmosphere of music, and, also like his
brother, his inclination was more towards vocal than
instrumental music.

His task at St. Stephen's was by no means an easy
one. His predecessor's organ-playing had long been
regarded as little short of inspired, and his personal
influence was deservedly very great ; a less
experienced man than Mr. Kenningham, therefore,
would have found it no light matter to follow him.

Another element of difficulty was found in the fact
that the old so-called Evangelical type of service was
fast becoming unfashionable, as more modern churches,
with a choral service and surpliced choir, sprang up.
Mr. Kenningham stayed at St. Stephen's nine years,
and towards the end of 1876 undertook the organistship
of Hornsea Parish Church, which he held for three
years. He founded and conducted the Hornsea Vocal
Society. Some years ago he went to New York, where
he now resides.

The next organist of St. Stephen's Church was Mr.
Edward Newton, who received his training at the

HULL ORGANS AND ORGANISTS 127

York School for the BHnd. A talented performer, he
was otherwise severely handicapped by his blindness,
Mr. J. George Wood accordingly acted as the choir-
master.

Mr. Newton died in 1891, and was succeeded by Mr.
C. Carte Doorly, a choirboy of Holy Trinity Church.
He held oihce for a few months only — the choirmaster
being Mr. J. A. B. Sanderson — and afterwards filled
the organist appointments of St. Michael's, Appleby,
St. John's, Dumfries, and Yaxham Parish Church.
Since 1898 he has been the very capable organist of the
historic church of St. Mary, Beverley.

Mr. Doorly's successor, Mr. C. Johnson, F.R.C.O.,
had been the organist of Christ Church and the assistant
organist of All Saints' Church. While he held the
appointment at St. Stephen's, the organ was removed
(1893) from the west gallery to the south-east end of
the church, and advantage was taken of the opportunity
to further enlarge and modernise it. This was done
very effectively by Mr. J. J. Binns, of Leeds.

On Mr. Johnson's removal from Hull to undertake
a post in South Wales, Mr. Percival Parrish, A.R.C.M.,
was appointed to succeed him. The present organist
and choirmaster is Mr. Herbert Hogg, A.R.C.O. He
is also the conductor of the Hessle Choral Society.

ST. MARK'S CHURCH.

There are few districts in Hull which have been more
completely transformed than that in which the church
formerly known as " St. Mark's in the Groves " is
situated. Its pleasant meadows and gardens, its
orchards and shady groves, from which indeed it took
its name, have long since disappeared. Even in 1841,
when the foundation stone of the church was laid,
though the surrounding fields still suggested an air

128 HULL ORGANS AND ORGANISTS

of rusticity, the sombre Kingston Cotton Mills already
foreshadowed the change which a few years later
resulted in a dense population in the midst of un-
inviting streets studded with oil mills and factories of
various descriptions.

At the opening of the church on May 3rd, 1843,
(the consecration was a few years later), the preacher
was the Rev. A. J. Ram, Vicar of Beverley Minster,
and in the absence of an organ a seraphine was used.
It was played by Mr. Skelton, the choristers of Christ
Church and other volunteers singing the service.

For some years the church was practically without a
congregation, and difficulty was found in forming a
choir. To overcome this a singing class was formed
by Mr. George Crouch, the first organist and choir-
master of St. Mark's, but with only partial success.

The appointment of Mr. Crouch, who was a brother
of F. N. Crouch, the composer of " Kathleen Mavour-
neen," reveals the state of organ playing and the dearth
of organists at this time, for he made no pretence of
being a performer. He and his wife had been connected
with an operatic company which made occasional
visits to the town, and in 1839 they decided to settle
in Hull, he as a teacher of singing, and she as a teacher
of dancing, or, as the Hull Packet described her, as
" a highly respectable and accomplished professor of
the poetry of motion."

The organ was built in 1846, and opened on
November 4th of that year by Mr. Skelton. It was
the first important commission undertaken by Messrs.
Forster and Andrews, and was spoken of as one of the
finest German compass organs in the country. Several
eminent musicians, including Dr. T. A. Walmisley,
at that time the Cambridge University Professor of
Music, came to the town, specially to inspect it. The
specification of the instrument, which was placed in the
west gallery was as follows : —

HULL ORGANS AND ORGANISTS 129

Great Organ — Compass CC to F, Open Diapason, Stopped
Diapason Bass, Stopped Diapason Treble, Claribel Flute,
Bourdon, Twelfth, Fifteenth, Sesquialtra, Cremorna.

Swell Organ — Compass Tenor C to F, Tenoroon, Open
Diapason, Stopped Diapason, Salicional, Principal,
Fifteenth, Hautbois, Trumpet.

There were two octaves and two notes (CC to D)
of pedals, but no pedal pipes, and, as a contemporary
record quaintly states, there was a copular stop (sic)
to connect the two organs.

At the opening service the Psalms were sung to a
chant by Blow, the service was Clark in A, the anthem
Clarke Whitfield's " In Jewry is God known," and during
the collection the " Hallelujah " from Beethoven's
*' The Mount of Olives " was given. The choir was
assisted by choristers from Holy Trinity Church. For
the opening voluntary, Mr. Skelton extemporised a
fugue (a somewhat elastic use of the term), and the
aria " With verdure clad " from Haydn's " Creation "
was played as the concluding voluntary, being specially
selected to show off the soft stops of the organ.

On the first anniversary of the organ opening
(November 4th, 1847), ^ special service was held at
which Dr. S. S. Wesley, at that time the organist of
Leeds Parish Church, presided at the organ. The
Canticles were sung to his setting in F, and the anthem
was Kent's " Blessed be Thou," members of the choir
of Holy Trinity singing the principal parts. Dr.
Wesley played Bach's E flat Fugue at the close of the
service, this being one of the earliest public perform-
ances of a Bach organ fugue in Hull (see p. 140).

Mr. Crouch, who was a fairly prominent figure in
local musical circles for several years, left St. Mark's
in the early fifties, and was succeeded by Mr. Harris,
an amateur. He was followed for a short time by
Mr. J. H. Geeve, who a few months later was appointed
to St. Peter's, and made way for Mr. J. Beeforth, an
organ builder (the organ in St. Mary's, Lowgate, was

130 HULL ORGANS AND ORGANISTS

re-built by him in 1850) and an indifferent performer.
His stay was a short one, and in 1854 Mr. W. P. Moore
became the organist, and held office until 1878.

Among the choirmasters during Mr. Moore's time
were Mr. Morison (organist of St. Mary's), Mr.
Alfred Robinson, long known in the town as a particu-
larly good trumpet player, Mr. Jones of the Spring
Bank Orphanage, and Mr. John Stephenson, now of
Market Weighton. For some time Mr. J. Johnson
Field nominally held the choirmastership. In August
1866 the organ was removed to the north-east end of
the gallery, and a surpliced choir was introduced.

Mr. Moore retired in 1878, after nearly a quarter
of a century of voluntary service, and was succeeded
by Mr. (now Dr.) T. G. Buffey, who had been a
choir-boy at St. Mark's. He had as a coadjutor,
Mr. S. G. Craig, afterwards the Rector of Lamplough,
Cockermouth. Seven years later (in 1885) Mr. J. R.
Stringer became the organist and choirmaster, retain-
ing the post until 1905. In addition to having been
an active member of the Vocal Society, Mr. Stringer
has been intimately connected with the Hull Musical
Union, of which he has held the Hon. Conductorship
for some years.

The Musical Union was founded in 1884 at a meeting
held at the Royal Station Hotel on January 23rd.
The Mayor, Dr. (afterwards Sir) A. K. Rollit, was the
first President, Lieut. -Col. Gleadow and Mr. T. W.
Palmer the Vice-Presidents, and the provisional
Committee were Lieut. -Col. Pudsey, Messrs. J. B.
Anderson, J. A. Brown, Grant Dalton, C.E., J. Harrison
C.E., W. Holder, M.R.C.S., S. B. Mason, G. W. Pyburn,
M.R.C.S., Norman Salmond, W. C. Townsend, R. Too-
good and W. H. Wellsted, C.E. The Hon. Treasurer
was Mr. F. W. Holder, and the Hon. Secretary Mr.
Herbert Firth. Another original mxcmber was Mr.
Edward Corris, now one of the Vice-Presidents. He
has taken a continuous interest in the Union since its

HULL ORGANS AND ORGANISTS 131

inception. Other original members were Messrs. W. T.
Watson, Frank Helman, H. Toogood and W. S. Braith-
waite. The first conductor was Mr. J. H. Green, for
many years a very hard musical worker in the town.
One of his successors (in 1891), Mr. Fred J. Harper,
F.R.C.O., was an exceptionally able musician. A
brilliant pianist, a ready and facile accompanist, his
death in 1900, at the early age of thirty-five, was a
distinct loss to music in Hull.

Mr. W. D. James has been the organist of St. Mark's
since 1905.,

ST» PAULAS CHURCH.

The organ in this church was built by Messrs. Forster
and Andrews, in the west gallery, in 1852. It was
designed to have twenty-six stops when complete, but
in consequence of lack of funds, only fifteen were
inserted at the beginning. Here is the list : —

Great Organ — Compass CC to F, Bourdon, Tenoroon, Open
Diapason, Stopped Diapason (bass), Clarabel, Viol di
Gamba, Principal, Fifteenth, Sesquialtra {3 ranks).

Swell Organ — Compass Tenor C to F, Open Diapason,
Stopped Diapason, Principal, Hautbois.

Couplers — Swell to Great, Great to Pedal.

Two octaves of German pedals.

It was " opened " on April 18th (1852) by Mr. E. W.
Haigh, the organist of St. Mary's, Sculcoates. His
pupil, Mr. T. Hall Sissons (now J.P.), was the first
organist of the church, and Mr. Thos. Sissons, Senr.,
was the choirmaster for some years.

Mr. Sissons' successors have been Mr. Thomas Smith,
a violinist long connected with the Harmonic Society,
Mr. James Carr, organist of the same society, Mr. W. N.
Lewendon, who later became the first organist of St.
Barnabas's Church, and Mr. W. T. Marshall, who held
the post from 1869 to 1898. Mr. Marshall's long spell

132 HULL ORGANS AND ORGANISTS.

of voluntary service is another example of the devotion
and enthusiasm on the part of the amateur organist
to which the cause of church music owes so much.
His work at St. Paul's will not soon be forgotten.

In 1867 the original design for the great organ was
completed by the addition of a Twelfth, Flute, Dul-
ciana, and Cornopean, and the organ was remxoved
from the west gallery to a chamber at the south side
of the chancel. In 1875 the Swell received its full
complement of stops, a Lieblich Bourdon (16 feet),
Flute d'Amour, Horn, and Clarion being added, and a
set of Open Pedal Pipes was provided. The instru-
ment was entirely re-constructed in 1898, when a
Pedal Bourdon was added, the swell carried through
its entire compass, and several mechanical alterations
effected. Advantage was also taken of the opportunity
of placing the organ in a somewhat more advantageous
position. The cost of these alterations was defrayed
by Mr. T. Hall Sissons and his brother, Mr. D. W.
Sissons.

The present organist is Mr. Louis C. Ohlson, who was
previously the organist of Patrington Church, and
afterwards of St. Luke's.

ST* CHARLES' ROMAN CATHOLIC
CHURCH*

Unlike the music of the Church of England, which is
almost exclusively written for voices alone, or for
voices and organ, the music of the Roman Catholic
Church is largely written either for voices unaccom-
panied, or for voices and orchestra ; the organ, serving
merely as a background. To this circumstance is
probably due the fact that the chapel in Jarratt Street,
dedicated to St. Charles Borromeo, never possessed an
organ which could be considered worthy of it, or of its
services, until quite recently.

HULL ORGANS AND ORGANISTS 133

The former chapel in North Street (long since pulled
down), contained a diminutive one manual instrument,
which was removed to St. Charles', and used at its
opening, and for several years subsequently. It supple-
mented the more or less complete orchestra which for
some years the chapel possessed.

The opening of St. Charles' on July 29th, 1829,
was probably the most elaborate service, musically
and ceremonially, which had been held in the town.
At the High Mass the Celebrant was the Vicar General,
the Rev. Benedict Rayment, the Deacon being the
Rev. John Ball and the Sub-Deacon the Rev. Geo
Heptonstall. The Rev. Nicholas Rigby preached
from the text, " O, come let us adore and fall down,
let us kneel before the Lord our Maker " (Psalm XCV.
V. 6), and in the Sanctuary were twelve priests.

The musical arrangements were undertaken by Mr.
Robinson, the organist of the York Roman Catholic
Chapel. A full band, led by Mr. Cummins, the lessee
of the Hull Theatre Royal, included Mr. Thirlwall,
Mr. White of Leeds (the principal cello), all the chief
instrumentalists of the town, and several from York.
The choir was composed of members of the Hull Choral
Society, and the soloists were the Misses Julia and
Cecilia Novello, Mr. Francisco Novello, and Mr. Terrail
of London, Mr. Bennett of Manchester, and Mrs.
Cummins, who was a local singer. Mr. Robinson
played the organ.

The music was mostly from Haydn's 2nd Mass, but
the Gloria was that from Mozart's 12th. The Hallelujah
from the " Messiah " was sung at the close.

The first organist, or more strictly speaking, director
of music, at St. Charles' was Mr. Cummins. He was a
violinist, and from his connection with the Theatre
Royal had the opportunity of drawing into the
chapel orchestra instrumentalists, and not infrequently
singers, who, as members of travelling companies,
happened to be visiting the town. The occasional

134 HULL ORGANS AND ORGANISTS.

assistance of operatic singers has continued up to quite
recent times.

On Mr. Cummins' removal from the town in the
early thirties, Mr. (afterwards ChevaUer) T. F. Hewitt
became the organist of St. Charles'. He conducted the
orchestra at the special service on May 22nd, 1833,
when the chapel was re-opened, and was assisted by
Mr. Skelton as organist, and Mr. Rudersdorff as leader.
The opening chorus from Graun's Te Deum, Hummel's
" Alma Virgo," and several movements from the Masses
of Haydn were performed.

The next '' chief musician " of the chapel was Mr.
Sigmont. He was a good viohn player, and also
essayed composition, several Motets and a Magnificat
in C being specially written by him for the choir of St.
Charles'. For some years he v/as the leader of the Sacred
Harmonic Society, for which he wrote his Ode "The Red
Cross Knight." His successor was Mr. Richard W.
Hall, a well-known viola player, wdio afterwards became
organist first of Cottingham, then of Kirkella.

Mr. James Vincent Bregazzi, who followed Mr. Hall,
came to Hull in 1857, and until his death in 1900, v.^as
a well-known musical figure in the town, being in fre-
quent request as a pianoforte accompanist. During
his organistship (in 1866) the organ bj- Elliott, erected in
St. John's Church in 1815, was purchased for St.
Charles'. It had been removed from St. John's a
short time previously for temporary use in St. Wilfred's,
York. After slight alterations and much-needed
renovation, its specification was : —

Great Organ — Open Diapason, Violin Diapason, Stopped

Diapason (bass), Dulciana, Waldflote, Principal, Fifteenth,

Sesquialtra, Trumpet.
Swell Organ — Open Diapason, Stopped Diapason, Flute

D'Amour, Principal, Oboe, Trumpet.
Pedal Organ — Bourdon.
Couplers — Swell to Great, Great to Pedal.

Compass of Great Organ CC to F in alt.

Compass of Swell Organ Tenor C to F in alt.

HULL ORGANS AND ORGANISTS 135

Although a decided improvement on its predecessor,
this organ was by no means adequate for such a c hurch
as St. Charles' ; nevertheless, it remained in the north
gallery for forty-three years. It has recently (1909)
been re-built and much improved by Messrs. Forster
and Andrews.

In consequence of a disagreement with the Rector,
the Rev. Father Trappes, Mr. Bregazzi's connection
with St. Charles' ceased for a time, and Miss Jenny
Cudworth, an excellent soprano singer, undertook the
organist's duties. She was assisted by Mr. H. Deval.
A year or two later, on Mr. Bregazzi's resumption, a
male choir was formed, but their proceedings in the
choir gallery so much annoyed the new Rector, the
Rev. Canon Randerson, that he summarily dismissed
both organist and singers, and temporarily closed the
choir.

In 1869 Mr. F. R. MuUer, Mus. Bac. Oxon., was
appointed the organist, and on his resignation in 1874,
Mr. Bregazzi was again re-instated. Subsequent
organists have been Mr. Edward Hunter, an amateur,
who later was the organist of St. Wilfred's Church,
Boulevard, Mr. Louis Hermann, and Mr. F. J. Harper,
F.R.C.O. The present organist is Mr. H. F. Fawcett.

WALTHAM STREEl^ WESLEYAN CHURCH.

Opened in 1815, this was one of the first Noncon-
formist places of worship to dispense with its band of
instrumentalists to make way for an organ, which was
decided upon in 1833. The choice of a builder lay
between Ward of York and Nicholson of Rochdale.
Ward, who was recommended by Mr. Skelton, had
recently been given the order to build an organ for
Christ Church, and on Nicholson being chosen to build
one for Waltham Street Chapel, a good deal of curiosity
was aroused as to the respective results. There were

136 HULL ORGANS AND ORGANISTS

only three or four organs in the town, and the erection
of two new ones under such conditions was quite an
uncommon event.

The following specification and description of the
instrument was furnished by a then member of the
congregation : —

Great Organ — Compass CC to F in alt, Double Diapason*
Open Diapason, No. i, Open Diapason, No. 2, Stopped
Diapason, Flute, Principal, Twelfth, Fifteenth, Ses-
quialtra, Cornet, Trumpet.

Swell Organ — Compass from Tenor C to F in alt. Open
Diapason, Flute, Principal, Dulciana, Hautboy.

Choir Organ — (To meet the Swell, forming two complete
sets of keys). Principal, Stopped Diapason.

" also a set of sixteen large German pedal pipes, a
couplet to connect the Swell and Great Organs together
at pleasure ; a couplet to connect the Great Organ keys
with the feet, and a couplet to connect the keys with
the pedal notes ; forming, as from the above scale
will be apparent to every judge, an extremely com-
plete and very powerful instrument."

The chief virtue of this organ was that it claimed to
be the loudest in Hull. In another respect it certainly
could boast a superiority, for its two so-called choir
organ stops, which went " through," did to some extent
mitigate the disadvantages of the tenor C swell.

The opening took place on October 13th, 1833, when
Mr. Skelton was the organist, but the organ was in such
an unfinished state, that it was not possible to judge
of its proper effect. On October 22nd another service
was held, at which Mr. Skelton had the assistance of
niembers of the Hull Choral Society, and the following
pieces were performed : —
Regit. .. .." Comfort Ye "

Air " Ev'ry Valley " . .

My. GEO. COVERDALE. [("Messiah ")
Chorus .. " For unto us " .. [ ^"'^^'^

Air {Mr. Wilkinson) \" O Thou that Tellest "
AND Chorus / 1

T. B. HOLMES, J.l\

HULL ORGANS AND ORGANISTS 137

Chorus , ." Hailstone " (" Israel in Egypt ") Handel

Anthem " Who is this that cometh from Edom " Ken i

(Verse parts by Choristers of Holy Trinity Choir).
Chorus . . . . " Hallelujah " . . . . Handel

The first organist of the chapel was Mr. Skelton.
He only stayed a few months, as, preferring the litur-
gical service of the Church of England, to which he had
been so long accustomed, he removed to Christ Church,
where he remained until his appointment to Holy
Trinity in 1838. His successor was a Mr. Bugg, an
amateur, who was followed, in 1838, by Mr. George
Leng. It was during Mr. Leng's association with the
chapel that he helped to found the Sacred Harmonic
Society. Mr. Samuel A. Garbutt was his coadjutor
as choirmaster, or, as he was somewhat grandiloquently
described in the inscription on a silver salver with
which he was presented, conductor of the orchestral
department.

When Mr. Leng was appointed to St. Mary's Church,
Lowgate, in 1849, ^^s place at Waltham Street Chapel
was taken by a Mr. Hobday, who in his turn was fol-
lowed by Mr. J. Woodall May field, and Mr. Thomas
Oates.

Mr. T. B. Holmes (now J. P.) became the organist of
the chapel in 1855. For a year or two previously he
had been the organist of Gt. Thornton Street Wesleyan
Chapel. There he began an amateur musical career,
which has had a quite unique influence upon Wesleyan
music in the town. Through his exertions the large
organ in Beverley Road Chapel was built in 1862.
Though now old-fashioned, it was originally considered
a remarkably fine instrument, and by special request
was exhibited at tlie Great Exhibition in London of the
year of its construction. Mr. Holmes played it until
the opening of Coltman Street Chapel in 1871, when he
was again the means of the erection of a still finer
instrument, at which he presided until his renio\'al to

138 HULL ORGANS AND ORGANISTS

Hornsea in 1874, since which time he has been the
organist of the Wesleyan Chapel there, thus covering
an uninterrupted period of honorary service of fifty-six
years. As the founder and President of the Hornsea
Vocal Society, as President (since 1896) of the Hull
Vocal Society, and in innumerable other ways, he
has exerted the best possible influence on music in
Hull and district ; and his kindly help and never-
failing geniality and courtesy have endeared him to
all those who have had the privilege of working with
him.

Mr. Holmes's successor at Waltham Street Chapel
was Mrs. W. T. Watson, a member of the old Hull
musical family of Coverdale. An excellent musician,
and a sympathetic accompanist, she was much
esteemed in the town. For some years she was the
organist of the Harmonic Society.

Mr. Thomas Atkinson, who became the organist in
1861, was a son of Mr. George Atkinson, for many years
the organist of St. Mary's Church, and brother of Mr.
Joseph Atkinson, J. P. During his organist ship the
instrument was re-modelled by Cuthbert. A set of
i6-feet open pedal pipes was provided, and the old
G pedal-board was replaced by one with a compass
down to C. Several new stops also were added, but,
like the proverbial putting of new wine into old bottles,
the result was not satisfactory. The clumsy tracker
action was most distressing to the player, and the effect
of the great organ reeds was enough to make him
shudder, v/hile it was very disconcerting to find the
treble part of a stop high up at the right-hand side of
the keys, and its bass complement located to the left.

Another re-construction was effected in 1875 by
Messrs. Radcliffe and Sagar of Leeds, with equally
unsatisfactory results, and in 1896 the old Nicholson
organ, or what remained of it, was displaced b}^ the
present three manual instrument, by Messrs. Abbott
and Smith of Leeds. It was " opened " by Dr. A. H.

HULL ORGANS AND ORGANISTS 139

Mann of Cambridge on Sept. 24th of that year, and
recitals were also given by Dr. G. H. Smith and Mr.
Charles Allan.

The organists of the chapel since Mr. Atkinson have
been Messrs. John Booth, Samuel Booth, T. F. Christie,
J. Pybus, G. E. Franklin, G. B. Blanshard, F. H.
Harrison, C. Dunipace, G. W. Stephenson and Charles
Allan. The present organist is Mr. Harold D. Winter.

After the erection of the organ in 1833, it was con-
sidered so satisfactory that the Trustees of the Wesleyan
Methodist Chapels in the town not only voted a gratuity
of £10 '' in consideration of the very punctual and
honourable manner in which Mr. Richard Nicholson, of
Rochdale, has fulfilled his contract with them for the
erection of an organ in Waltham Street Chapel," but
they also gave him the order for an organ for

WESLEY CHURCH, HUMBER STREET*

The chapel was opened on April 5th, 1833, and a
small organ m.ade for it by Mr. Frederick Whitley, of
Wellington Mart, Hull, whose nephew, Mr. John W.
Whitley, organist to the Earl of Harewood, played at
the opening services.

This local product, the first organ by a Hull builder,
was not a success, so the Nicholson instrument was
obtained. Like its predecessor, it was quite small,
containing eight stops on the great organ, and four
on the swell, and cost £170. It had an octave and a
half of G pedals, and the usual tenor C swell. These
aboriginal features it retained until 1902, when it was
re-modelled by Mr. H. Sherwood. After the chapel
was given up it was removed to Wesley Hall, Leicester.

Among the organists of Wesley Chapel have been
Mr. Chas. Harrison, Mr. W. B. Nightingale, Mr. J.
Kershaw, Mr. W. B. Lloyd, Miss Crosby, Dr. J. A.
Rawlings (now, and for many years a medical man in

140 HULL ORGANS AND ORGANISTS

Swansea), Mr. E. Morris Meggitt, Mr. G.W. Stephenson,
G. T. Crumpton, Mr. Mason, Mr. E. Coopland, Mr
A. B. Year and Mr. W. B. Hebden.

KINGSTON WESLEYAN CHURCH.

The organ in this large building, opened in 1841,
provided an object lesson in the art of organ-placing.
Absolutely unconfined, and with an abundance of
head room, its position in the gallery at the south end
was an ideal one, and added materially to its effect.
It gave the impression of a much larger instrument
than would be suggested by its quite limited specifica-
tion, which was prepared by the builder, Jones of
Sheffield, and was as follows : —

Great Organ— (Compass GG to F in alt), Open Diapason,
No. I, Open Diapason, No. 2, Dulciana, Stopped Diapason,
Principal, Twelfth, Fifteenth, Mixture, Sesquialtra,
Trumpet.

Swell Organ — (Compass Tenor C to F in alt). Open Diapason,
Stopped Diapason, Principal, INIixture, Trumpet, Hautboy.

Pedal Organ — (Compass GGG to D) Open Diapason.

Couplers — Swell to Great, Great to Pedal.

It was provided with five composition pedals, being
the first organ in the town to be provided with these
useful adjuncts.

The opening took place on August 22nd, 1841, when
Mr. Jeremiah Rogers of Doncaster was the organist.
Among other pieces he played several by Thomas
Adams, including the variations on " Adeste Fideles,"
and " The heavens are telling," arranged by Dr.
Gauntlett ; but his programme was sp)ecially interest-
ing because it included Bach's " St. Ann's " fugue,
this being the first public performance of one of the
great pedal fugues of Bach in Hull.

The fii'st organist of the chapel, Mr. Chas. Harrison,
kept the appointment until 1853, when he went to

HULL ORGANS AND ORGANISTS 141

St. Peter's, Drypool. Mr. G. D. Storry, who succeeded
him, remained until 1877. He subsequenrly was
appointed the organist of Beverley Road Chapel
(1881-1893).

Other organists of Kingston Chapel have been
Mr. G. W. Stephenson and Mr. J. T. Russell. The
present organist is Mr. E. Coopland.

ALBION CONGREGATIONAL CHURCH.

In the minute book of this chapel it is stated that
the following resolution was passed at a Deacons'
meeting held on September 19th, 1842 : —

" That notice be given to the Clerk and Singers that their
services will not be required after Lord's Day, Oct. 2nd, as
the erection of the Organ will then be fully completed."

It had been announced in the Hull Advertiser the
previous January that a " stupendous " organ w^as
being built for the chapel by Ward of York, and ex-
pectation ran high as to what manner of instrument
it would be. In the same paper, on October 7th, 1842,
appeared the following : —

" This fine and powerful instrument, erected by Mr.
Ward, is now completed. It is, we understand, of greater
compass than any other organ in this town. The manual
of the Great Organ extends from FFF (omitting FFF sharp),
to F in altissimo, every stop containing sixty notes ; the
swelling organ from FF to F in altissimo ; every stop having
forty-nine notes. There are ten stops in the Great Organ,
eight in the Swell, and two in the Pedal Organ, which
contains an octave and a half of German pedals and a Trom-
bone stop. These can be coupled at pleasure with the
manual of the Great Organ. There are two Swell Couplers,
a unison and an octave ; the latter converts the Diapasons
of the Swell into Principals, the Principals into Fifteenths,
and the Reeds into Clarions. There are four composition

142 HULL ORGANS AND ORGANISTS

pedals to vary ad libitum the power and tone of the instru-
ment. We have had an opportunity of inspecting this
noble organ during the progress of its erection, and whether
we consider the volume of its tones, or the voicing of the
pipes, we think Mr. Ward has succeeded in producing a
truly rich and beautiful instrument. It has one advantage
possessed by few provincial organs — we refer to the fact of
the Swelling Organ being extended downward to FF (C
is the usual limit). This will be found very efficient in
giving the full crescendo and diminuendo in the accompani-
ment of psalmody. The keys of the Swelling Organ are
continued through the remaining octave, and act on the
keys of the great manual. We have ascertained that the
scheme of this great organ requires and contains no less
than 1390 pipes.'

Such was the glowing account of this " stupendous "
organ, which certainly contained features in advance
of what had been seen in Hull organs previously.
The swell octave coupler was regarded as remarkably
ingenious ; and it is curious to observe that the value
of the extended compass of the swell is frankly
attributed to the increased opportunity it afforded the
performer to indulge in the bad old habit of pumping
the swell pedal during the accompanying of the hymn
tunes.

The organ was formally '' opened " on Friday,
October 7th, 1842, by Dr. Camidge, the then organist
of York Minster, and Mr. J. W. Holder was installed
the first organist. In December 1853, Mr. Holder
resigned, and for a considerable time Mrs. Wm. Hudson
undertook the duties.

In 1855 Mr. J. W. Stephenson (later of St. John's,
and conductor of the Harmonic Society), became the
organist, and was followed twelve months later by
Mr. W. P. Moore. Mr. Thomas Hopkinson was
appointed in 1858, and remained until 1872. During
his organistship the organ was re-constructed, and
converted into a CC instrument by Cuthbert.

Mr. Charles Bradbury was appointed to the post in
1872, and after a very short stay, was succeeded by

HULL ORGANS AND ORGANISTS 143

Mr. M. B. Spurr. A lawyer by profession, Mr. Spurr
had very distinct gifts, both as a musician and a
humourist. He was a very good pianoforte player,
and a remarkably clever man in various directions.
His success as an entertainer after the manner of the
Grossmiths was very marked, and his death a few years
ago cut short a very promising career.

The organists of the chapel since Mr. Spurr have
been Mrs. W. T. Watson and Messrs. F. J. Harper,
F.R.C.O., F. P. West, A. F. Howard and W. D. James.
The present organist is Mr. W. D. Craven.

I must now bring this short account of music in Hull
in bygone days to a close. A future chronicler may be
able to continue the narrative from the point at which
I leave off. His perspective will enable him to see
how those who are now engaged in the making of local
musical history fulfilled their responsibilities and
embraced their opportunities, in the same way as we
have endeavoured in these pages to take note of the
way in v/hich the old organists and other musical
workers acquitted themselves of their task.

It would be idle to suggest that the old musicians
here treated of were of the highest order of excellence,
or that their work was of absorbing interest. Neverthe-
less, this record of two centuries of musical work in
Hull may claim some justification, if it be admitted
that not only the material progress of the community,
but also the collateral advance in intellectual and
artistic matters is entitled to consideration. It is
difficult to picture the old town of Hull as it appeared
two hundred years ago, the transformation has been
so complete ; equally great has been the change in its
musical life since the organ was first heard in Holy
Trinity Church on March 2nd, 1712.

APPENDICES.

K

APPENDIX A.

SPECIFICATION OF THE ORGAN IN HOLY TRINITY
CHURCH, HULL.

By INIessrs. Forster & Andrews.

L Organ.

Great Organ.
Manual Compass CC to A (58 notes)

1. Double Open Diapason

2. Large Open Diapason

3. Small Open Diapason

4. Gamba

5. Flute Harmonic

6. Stopped Diapason,

7. Principal

8. Waldfiote ..

9. Twelfth

10. Fifteenth . .

11. Mixture 4 ranks

12. Double Trumpet

13. Posaune

14. Clarion

SWEI

1. Bourdon

2. Open Diapason

3. Rohr Flute

4. Salicional . .

5. Echo Gamba

6. Voix Celestes

7. Vox Angelica

8. Hohmote . .

9. Principal

10. Fifteenth . .

11. Mixture 2 ranks

12. Mixture 3 ranks

13. Contra Fagotto

14. Horn

15. Oboe

16. Clarion

1 7. Tremulant for Flue Work

18. Tremulant for Reeds

147

Feet.
16

16

16

8

16

Pipes.
58
58
58
58
58
58
58
58
58
58
232

58
58
58

58
58
58
58
58
46
46
58
58
58
116

174
58
58
58
58

148 HULL ORGANS AND ORGANISTS

Choir Organ.

Feet.

Pines

I. Lieblich Bourdon .

16

.. 58

2. Dulciana

8

• 58

3. Lieblich Gedact

8

• 58

4. Bell Gamba

8

• 58

5. Viol d'Orchestre .

8

• 58

6. Flauto Traverso

4

• 58

7. Lieblichflote

4 •

. 58

8. Piccolo

2

• 58

9. Corno di Bassetto

8 '.

• 58

Pedal Compass CCC to F (30 notes)

Solo Organ CC to A, 58 Notes.

I. Open Diapason (from No. 2 Gt.)

S .

• 58

2. Clarabella

. .

8 .

• 58

3. Concert Flute

. .

4 .

. 58

4. Double Trumpet (from No. 12 Gt.)

16 .

• 58

5. Orchestral Oboe

. .

8 .

■ 58

6. Vox Humana

. . . . . . . .

8 .

• 58

7. Tuba Harmonic

. .

8 .

• 58

8. Tremulant . .

. • ■ • • • . •

Nos. 3, 5,

and 6 enclosed in Swell Box.
Pedal Organ.

I. Open Diapason

. .

16 .

• 30

2. Violone

. .

16 .

• 30

3. Bourdon

. .

16 .

• 30

4. Gross Quint

. .

lof .

• 30

5. Principal

. .

8 .

• 30

6. Flute

. .

8 .

• 30

7. Contra Trombone (]

8 notes from No. 8)

32 .

• 30

8. Trombone . .

16 .

• 30

9. Trumpet

. .

8 .

• 30

0. Pedal Octave

Couplers.

I. Swell to Great.

7. Solo Unison off

,

2. Swell to Choir.

8. Solo Octave.

3. Swell Octave.

9. Choir to Great.

4. Swell sub-Octave.

ID. Swell to Pedals.

5. Solo to Swell.

II. Choir to Pedals.

6. Solo to Great.

12. Solo to Pedals.

13. Great to Pedals.

Four double-action Composition Pedals to Great and Pedal.
Four double-action Composition Pedals to Swell.
Great to Pedal by Pedal.
Swell to Great by Pedal.

APPENDIX

149

Three Pistons to Great (i adjustable).

Three Pistons to Swell (i adjustable).

Three Pistons to Choir (i adjustable).

Two balanced Swell Pedals.

Balanced Crescendo and Sforzando Pedal.

Tubular Pneumatic Action throughout.

Pressures of wind, 3, 3I, 4-J, and 6. 7 Reservoirs.

Kinetic Blower and 5 h.p. B.T.H. Motor.

Case and Console of Wainscot Oak.

Decorated front pipes.

SPECIFICATION OF THE ORGAN IN OUEENS' HALL,

HULL.

By Messrs. Forster & Andrews.

INIanual Compass CC to C 61 notes).

Pedal Compass CCC to G (32 notes).

Great Organ.

I.
2.

3-
4-
5.
6.

7-
8.

9.
10.
II.
12.
13-

I.
2.

3-
4-
5-
6.

7.
8.

9.
10.
II.
12.

Double Open Diapason

Large Open Diapason

Small Open Diapason

Clarabella . .

Doppelflote

Dulciana

Principal

Harmonic Flute

Fifteenth . ,

Twelfth

Mixture, 3 ranks

Tromba

Clarion

Lieblich Bourdon
Open Diapason
Rohrfiote . .
Viol d'Orchestre
Salicional . .
Voix Celestes
Waldflote . .
Gemshorn . .
Flageolet
Mixture, 3 ranks
Contra Fagotto
Horn

Swell Organ.

Feet.

Pipes.

16

. . 61

8

. . 61

8

. . 61

8

. . 61

8

. . 61

8

. . 61

4

. . 61

4

. . 61

2

. . 61

2*

. . 61

• 183

8

. 61

4

. 61

16

. . 61

8

. 61

8

. 61

8

. 61

8

. 61

8 .

• 49

4 •

. 61

4 .

. 61

2

. 61

. 183

16 '.

. 61

8 .

. 61

I50 HULL ORGANS AND ORGANISTS

Feet

Pipes.

13-

Oboe ■ . . 8 . .

61

14.

Vox Humana . . . . . . . . . . 8 . .

61

15-

Clarion . . . . . . . . . . , . 4 . .

Ci

16.

Tremulant

Solo Organ.

(Enclosed

in Swell Box).

I.

Viol d' Orchestre . .

. 8 .

61

2.

Voix Celestes

. 8 .

49

3-

Dulciana

. 8 .

61

4-

Lieblich Gedact

. 8 .

61

5-

Flauto Traverso

. 4 .

61

6.

Harmonic Piccolo

. 2

61

7-

Tubular Bells

25

8.

Corno di Basset! 0

.* 8 ".

61

9-

Orchestral Oboe . .

. 8 .

61

TO.

Musette

. 8 .

49

Side Drums by Pedal

Thunder Pedal.

Bird Whistle. Big Drum. Timpani.

Peda

L Org J

\N.

I Acoustic Bass (32 notes from Pedal No.

2. Open Diapason

3. Sub Bass

4. Lieblich Bourdon (32 notes from No. i

5. Violone (32 notes from No. i Great)

6. Bass Flute (20 notes from Pedal No. 3)

7. Principal (20 notes from Pedal No. 2)

8. Trombone . .

9. Trumpet (20 notes from Pedal No. 8)

Couplers.

3)

Swell)

32

16 .

• 32

16 .

32

16

16

8 .

. 12

8 .

12

16 .

• 32

8 .

12

I. Swell to Great.

to Solo.
Sub-octave.
Octave.

Octave to Great.
Sub-octave to Great.
Octave to Solo.
Sub-octave to Solo.
Unison off.

10. Swell to Pedal.

11. Solo to Pedal.

12. ,, to Great.
Sub-octave.
Octave.

Octave to Great.
Sub-octave to Great.
Unison off.

Great to Pedal by Pedal.

13.

14.

15-
16.

17-
18.

Six Combination Pistons to Great-
Six Combination Pistons to Swell —
Four Combination Pistons to Solo-
Four Composition Pedals to Swell.
Balanced Solo Pedal.

—two adjustable,
two adjustable,
-two adjustable.

APPENDIX

151

Balanced Swell Pedal.
Balanced Crescendo Pedal (compound).
Crash Pedal to Great.
,, to Swell.

Case of Canary Wood, Stained and Polished, designed by the

Builders.
Front Pipes Silvered, and Gilt Bay Leaves.
Tubular Pneumatic Action throughout.
Detatched Console of Oak. Splayed Jambs.
Blown by an Electric Motor and Compound Fan.

SPECIFICATION OF THE ORGAN IN SCULCOATES
(ALL SAINTS') PARISH CHURCH, HULL.

By Messrs, Forster & Andrews.

Manual Compass CC to G
Pedal Compass CCC to F

Great Organ.

I.

Double Open Diapason . .

2.

Open I^iapason

3-

Violin Diapason .

4-

Hohmote . .

5-

Waldflote . .

6.

Principal

. .

7-

Fifteenth . .

8.

Mixture, 3 ranks .

9-

Trumpet

Swell

I.

Lieblich Bourdon .

. • •

2.

Open Diapason

3-

Stopped Diapason

4.

Salicional . .

5-

Voix Celestes

6.

Viol d' Orchestre .

7-

Principal

. .

8.

Harmonic Piccolo

9-

Mixture, 3 ranks .

. .

10.

Cornopean . .

II.

Oboe

. .

12.

Clarion

13.

Tremulant.

Choir

I.

Gamba

. .

2

Dulciana

3

Lieblich Gedact

4

Flauto Traverse

Organ.

Organ.

{56 notes).

(30 notes)

Feet.

Pipes.

.. 16 .

• 56

.. 8 .

. 56

.. 8 .

. 56

.. 8 .

. 56

.. 4 .

• 56

.. 4 .

. 56

. . 2 .

. 56

. 168

'.'. '.'. 8 '.

. 56

.. 16 .

. 56

.. 8 .

. 56

.. 8 .

. 56

.. 8 .

• 56

.. 8 .

• 44

.. 8 .

• 56

. . 4 .

. 56

. . 2 .

• 56

. 168

'.'. '.'. S '.

• 5(>

.. 8 .

■ 56

.. 4 .

• 56

.. 8 .

. 56

.. 8 .

• 56

..8

. 56

. . 4

• 56

152 HULL ORGANS AND ORGANISTS

Flautino
Clarinet

Pedal Organ.
Acoustic Bass {30 notes from Pedal No. 3)
Open Diapason
Bourdon
Violonc (by tubular transmission from Great

No. I)

Flute

Violoncello
Trombone . .

Couplers

Swell to Great. 5

Swell to Choir. 6

Swell Octave. 7

Swell Sub-octave. 8

Feet.
2

32
16
16

16
8
8

16

I.
2.
3-

4-

Swell to Pedal.
Great to Pedal.
Choir to Pedal.
Swell Unison off.

Pipes
• 56

. 44

30
30

30

30

Three Double-action Composition Pedals to Great and Pedal.

Three Double-action Composition Pedals to Swell.

Great to Pedal by Pedal.

Tubular Pneumatic Action throughout.

Front Pipes Silvered, and Gilt Bay Leaves.

Blown by an Electric Motor by Messrs. Watkins and Williams.

I.

2.

3-

4-
5-
6.

7-
8.

9.

10.
II.
12.

13-
14.

15-

SPECIFICATION OF THE ORGAN IN COLTMAN
STREET WESLEYAN CHURCH, HULL.

By Messrs. Forster & Andrews.

Manual Compass CC to A (58 notes).
Pedal Compass CCC to G (32 notes).

Great Organ.
Double Open Diapason
Large Open Diapason
Small Open Diapason
Gamba
Hohlflote . .
Stopped Diapason
Dulciana
Principal
Karmcnic Flute
Twelfth
Fifteenth
Mixture, 3 ranks
Double Trumpet (prepared)
Trumpet
Clarion

16 .

• 58

8 .

• 58

8 .

• 58

8 .

• 58

8 .

. 58

8 .

. 58

8 .

. 58

4 .

. 58

4 .

• 58

2f .

• 58

2

• 58

. 174

8 .

• 58

4 .

. 58

APPENDIX

153

Swell Organ.

Feet.

Pipes.

I.

Bourdon

..16 .

. 58

2.

Open Diapason

.. 8 .

• 58

3-

Rohrflotc

.. 8 .

• 58

4-

Echo Dulciana

.. 8 .

■ 58

5-

Principal

• • 4 •

• 58

6.

Waldflote

. . 4 •

• 58

7-

Fifteenth

. . 2

• 58

8.

Mixture, 3 or 4 ranks

. 220

9-

Horn

'.'. 8 '.

• 58

lO.

Oboe

.. 8 .

• 58

II.

Vox Humana

.. 8 .

• 58

12.

Clarion

Choir Organ (in Swell Box).

.. 4 •

. 58

I.

Flauto Amabile

.. 8 .

• 58

2.

Echo Gamba

.. 8 .

■ 58

3-

Voix Celestes

.. 8 .

• 51

4-

Vox Angelica

.. 8 .

• 51

5-

Hohlflote

.. 8 .

• 58

6.

Flauto Tra verso

.. 4 •

• 58

7-

Piccolo

. . 2

• 58

8.

Corno do Bassetto

Pedal Organ.

.. 8 .

• 58

I.

Open Diapason

..16 .

. 32

2.

Violone (by tubular transmission

from No. i Great)

.. 16

3-

Bourdon

..16 .

• 32

4-

Principal (by tubular transmission

from No. i ) . .

.. 8 .

. 14

5-

Bass Flute (30 notes by tubular

transmission)

.. 8 .

• 14

6.

Quint (32 notes by tubular trans-

mission)

.. lof

7-

Violoncello

.. 8 .

. 32

8.

Trombone . .

..16 .

• 32

9.

Trumpet (32 notes by tubular

transmission

.. 8 .

. 14

Couplers.

I. Swell to Great. 5. Great to Pedals.

2. Swell Octave. 6. Choir to

Pedals.

3. Swell to Choir. 7. Choir to Great.

4. Swell to Pedals.

Three Double-action Combination Pedals and two Pneumatic
Pistons to Great, which also draw a suitable combination
on the Pedals.

Three Double-action Combination Pedals to Swell.

Lever Pneumatic Action to Great Organ.

Tubular Pneumatic Action to Pedal Organ.

APPENDIX B.

The Hull and East Riding College of Music was
formally constituted at a meeting held in the Town
Hall, Hull, on October 6th, 1903, under the presidency
of the Sheriff of Hull (V. Dumoulin, Esq.). Its incep-
tion emanated from the Council of the Hull Literary
and Philosophical Society, who generously offered the
use of the house No. 4 Albion Street, rent free for a
term of years, for the purpose of the College. Messrs.
Holder Bros, most liberally offered to provide all the
pianos required for the use of the College free of cost,
and Messrs. Gough and Davy kindly undertook to
furnish one of the main rooms entirely at their own
expense. A fund Vv'as raised (£500) by public sub-
scription to defray the formation expenses, and Mrs.
Russell Starr, F.R.A.M., made a handsome gift of
orchestral scores and parts, forming the nucleus of
a musical Ubrary for the use of students connected
with the College.

Mr. E. Bolton, J. P. was the first to moot the idea
of a College of Music, and Mr. B. S. Jacobs, the Presi-
dent of the Literary and Philosophical Society in 1903,
heartily supported it. These two gentlemen, together
with the present writer, met several times in the early
summer of that year, and as a result, a provisional
musical committee was formed, consisting of Mrs.
Russell Starr, F.R.A.M., Miss J. Langford, A.R.C.M.,
and Messrs. Bentley, Buffey, Hudson, Jannsen,
Lancelot, Porter, and Smith. A scheme for the work-
ing of the College was formulated by this Committee.

The first officials were : — President, Mr. Victor
Dumoulin ; Vice-President, Col. Clarke, V.D. ; Trea-
surer, Mr. H. A. Learoyd, M.A., LL.B. ; Secretary,

154

HULL AND EAST RIDIXG COLLEGE OF MUSIC

0RIGIXAL''01'FIC1ALS OF TlUi COLLEGE.

Col. G. H. CLARKE, V.D.

Vice-President.

E. BOLTON, J. P.,

Who suggested the formation
of the College.

VICTOR DUMOULIX (Sheriff of Hull 1893).
President.

H. A. LEAROYD, M.A., LL.B.,
Treasurer.

G. M. SMITH, Mus. Doc. Oxox.
Principal.

APPENDIX

155

Mr. W. Porter, F.R.C.O. ; Principal, Dr. (}. H. Smith;
Registrar, Miss V. Daniell.

It would be impossible to speak too highly of the
services rendered to the College and to the cause of
music in Hull by Messrs. Dumoulin, Clarke, Learoyd,
Jacobs, and Bolton. They have laboured untiringly and
unceasingly, and it is satisfactory to know that their
efforts have not been in vain, and that the College is
doing excellent work and is in a prosperous condition.

The present officials of the College are : —

Patrons :

THE MOST HON. THE MAROUESS OF RIPON, K.G.
THE RIGHT HON. LORD WENLOCK.
THE RIGHT HON, LORD HOTHAM.
SIR H. SEYMOUR KING, K.C.I. E., M.P.
SIR FREDK. BRIDGE, M.V.O., MUS. DOC, OXON.
(King Edward Professor of Music, University of London).
SIR CHARLES V. STANFORD, M.A., MUS. DOC, D.C.L.
(Professor of Music University of Cambridge).
W. H. CUMMINGS, Esq., MUS. DOC, F.S.A.,
(Principal Guildhall School of Music).
A. HOLLINS, Esq.
A. STANLEY WILSON, Esq., M.P.

Principal :

G. H. S:\IITH, Esq., Mus. Doc, Oxon.

Hon. Treasurer : Hon. Secretary :

Atkinson Pickering, Esq. E. Harrison, Esq., M.A., ]M.D.

Hon. Auditor : T. Fawley Judge, Esq.

Chairman of Council : Col. G. H. Clarke, V.D.

Vice-chairman : V. Dumoulin, Esq.

Council :

Bernard Barton, Esq.
W. Bennett, Esq., J. P.,

Grimsby.
J. J. Bickersteth, Esq.
E. Bolton, Esq., J. P.
A. W. M. BosviLLE, Esq., J. P.
T. G. BuFFEY, Esq., Mus. Doc,

Dunclm.
H. R. Cattley, Esq.
J. DixoN, Esq.

Mrs. V. Dumoulin.

E. O. Dykes, Esq., Hessle.

C H. Gore, Esq., M.A.

J. G. Hay Halkett, Esq., S.M.

Mrs. F. W. Holder.

J. W. Hudson, Esq., Mus. Bac,

Oxon.
B. S. Jacobs, Esq.
Mrs. A. N. Jameson, Hessle.
W. Janssen, Esq.

156

HULL ORGANS AND ORGANISTS

Co uncil — continued.

R. Lancelot, Esq.

Miss J. Langford, A.R.C.M.

H. A. Learoyd, Esq., M.A.,

LL.B.
R. A. Marr, Esq.
INIrs. P. Mayfield.
Miss K. Mayes, L.R.A.M.

H. W. Pigeon, Esq., M.A., M.D.
S.W. Pilling, Esq., Wei ton Hall
Mrs. Chas. Richardson.
H. H. SissoNS, Esq.
Mrs. Russell Starr,

F.R.A.M
A. Wallerstein, Esq.

Committee of Management:

Dr. T. G. BuFFEY. Mr. W. Porter.

Mr. J. W. Hudson.
Mr. W. Janssen.
Miss Langford.

Mrs. Russell Starr.
Dr. G. H. Smith.

Registrar : Miss V. Daniell.

APPENDIX C.

PAST AND PRESENT ORGANISTS AND CHURCH
MUSICIANS CONNECTED WITH HULL, NOT
MENTIONED IN THE FOREGOING PAGES :—

W. E. Abraham, A.R.C.O., formerly Organist St. Augustine's
Church.

H. L. Adams, Mus. Bac. (Dunehn), F.R.C.O., formerly Organist
St. Luke's Church. Died 1902.

C. W. Allington, formerly Organist Campbell Street U.ISI.
Church.

E. A. Andrews, formerly Organist St. Augustine's Church.

H. Archer, Organist St. Saviour's Church, Wilmington.

Thomas Armitage, formerly Organist Bourne Primitive Metho-
dist Church.

H. Asman, B.A., formerly Organist Queen's Road Wesleyan
Church.

Walter Bates, Organist St. Philip's Church.

S. G. B. Beaumont, Organist Central Baptist Church.

J. P. Beaumont, formerly Organist George Street Baptist Church.

Arthur Blyth, Organist Hessle Road Congregational Church.

A. W. M. Bosville, J. p.. Member of Council Hull and East
Riding College of Music, Organist of Rudston Church.

C. W. BowDLER, LL.D., M.A., Mus. Bac. (Dublin), Writer of
Church Music. Born in Hull, 1839.

Miss E. Bradbury, formerly Organist Hope Street Congrega-
tional Church.

W. Briggs, Organist Newland Congregational Church.

J. W. Brodie, L.R.A.M., formerly Organist Williamson Street

Primitive Methodist Church.
A. Brown, A.R.C.O., Organist Coltman Street Wesleyan Church.

P. Chignell, F.R.C.O., Professor Hull and East Riding College

of Music, Organist Hessle Church.
S. H. Clark, formerly Organist Queen's Road Wesleyan Church.
J. Cooper, Organist Lambert Street Primitive Methodist Church

157

158 HULL ORGANS AND ORGANISTS

Robert R. Coverdale, formerly Organist Fish Street Congrega
tional Church.

John Dant, formerly Organist St. Barnabas' Church.

H. L. Dowsing, M.R.C.S., formerly Organist Queen's Road
Wesleyan Church.

J. W. Dry, Organist St. Luke's Church.

John Duncan, formerly Organist Bethel Methodist New Con-
nexion Church.

John Ellis, formerly Assistant Organist Coltman Street Wes-
leyan Church. Died 1889.

A. H. Fox, Organist Kirkella Church, formerly Organist St.
John's, Newington.

W. Owen Guest, Organist Campbell Street United Methodist

Church.

J. G. Hall, Junr., Organist Williamson Street Primitive Metho-
dist Church.

J. Sydney Harrison, L.R.A.M., Organist St. Augustine's
Church.

J. W. Harrison, formerly Organist St. John's, Newington.

H. S. Hawkins, Organist St. Silas' Church

W. Meggitt Hebden, Organist Beverley Road Wesleyan Church.

— Hebblethwaite, formerly Organist St. Silas' Church.

Alfred Hodge, Organist Hessle Road Primitive Methodist
Church.

George Hodge, formerly Organist Holderness Road Primitive
Methodist Church.

Wm. Hodge, F.R.C.O., Organist Emmanuel Church , Leeds ;
formerly Organist Queen's Road Church.

J. Holland, Organist Lincoln Street Primitive Methodist Church.

Alfred Hollins, Hon. F.R.C.O., born in Hull, 1866, Organist
St. George's Church, Edinburgh, a world-famous player.

Rev. John Holmes, formerly Organist Gt. Thornton Street
Wesleyan Church.

S. H. Holmes, J. P., formerly Organist Gt. Thornton Street
Wesleyan Church.

Jacob Horwood, formerly Organist St. Jude's Church.

Wm. Howell, formerly Organist Latimer Congregational Church,
Hon. Sec. Hull Society of Organists, 1876.

AlAiillD IIULLINS,

APPENDIX 159

Arthur Hudson, formerly Organist All Saints' Church, Babba-

combe ; formerly Organist Bedminster Church, Bristol.

A good violinist and an exceptionally gifted musician.

Died 1901,
C. H. Hunt, formerly Organist Unitarian Chapel, Bowlallcy Lane.

Founder and Conductor Arion Orchestral Union.

J. Johnson, Organist Prospect Street Presbyterian Church.

Alexander H. Jude, formerly Organist St. Andrew's Church.

J. A. Kerr, Organist Spring Bank Presbyterian Church.

A. King, formerly Organist Fish Street Congregational Church,
and later of the English Church, Lisbon.

E. KiRBY, Organist Jubilee Primitive Methodist Church.

F. W. Laing, Organist Newington Parish Church.

Percival Leech, F.R.C.O,, Organist Brunswick Wesleyan
Church ; Organist Hull Vocal Society.

H. Lewendon, formerly Organist Salem Congregational Church-.

W. F. Mahoney, Organist Church of the Transfiguration.

Berkeley Mason, F.R.C.O., L.R.A.M., Organist Wycliffe
Congregational Church.

W. C. Mead, Organist Boulevard Baptist Church.

J. A. Meale, F.R.C.O., Organist Queen's Hall Wesleyan Mission.

W. G. Merrikin, Mus. Bac. Oxon., formerly Organist St. Jude's
Church.

S. H. Methley, Organist Queen's Road Wesleyan Church.

Marie Olson, formerly Organist Danish Church.

W. N. Parker, Organist Prince's Avenue Wesleyan Church.

G. T. Patman, F.R.C.O., formerly Professor Hull and East

Riding College of Music, formerly Organist Hessle Church.

H. Pattinson, formerly Organist Danish Church.

F. C. Payne, formerly Organist Queen's Road Wesleyan Church.

S. W. Pilling, Member of Council Huh and East Riding College

of Music, Organist Welton Church.
J. M. Rial, Organist St. Andrew's Church.
Alfred Redfern, formerly Organist Newland Church.
— Reinhold, Organist German Lutheran Church.
H. V. Robinson, formerly Organist St. Matthew's Church.
Geo. Robinson, formerly Organist St. Matthew's Church,
J. A. Rodgers, Organist Thornton Wesleyan Mission Hall.

i6o HULL ORGANS AND ORGANISTS

J. W. RossiNGTON, Organist Bourne Primitive Methodist Church.

Miss Rufford, formerly Organist Gt. Thornton Street Primitive
Methodist Church.

Wm. Runton, formerly Organist Bethel Church.

Herr Sablotny, formerly Organist German Church.

Mrs. A. E. Seaton, L.R.A.M., formerly Organist St. Andrew's

Church.
Miss M. P. Senior, Organist St. Cuthbert's Church.
G. Shepherdson, formerly Organist Wycliffe Congregational

Church.
H. Sherwood, formerly Organist Clowes Primitive Methodist

Church.

J. SouLSBY, A.R.C.O., formerly Organist Coltman Street Wes-
leyan Church. Has perhaps done more than any other to
raise the standard of musical performance in Nonconformist
places of worship in Hull.

Miss A. Starkey, Organist Clowes Primitive Methodist Church.

A. J. Stather, Organist Stepney Methodist New Connexion
Church.

J. W. Stather, formerly Organist Stepney Methodist New
Connexion Church.

J. E. Staves, Organist Boulevard Roman Catholic Church,
Geo. Stephenson, formerly Organist St. Andrew's Church.
E. Stubbs, Organist St. George's Road Wesleyan Church.
C. B. Summers, formerly Organist St. Jude's Church. Died 1894.
Gerald Sykes, Organist Cottingham Church, formerly Organist

St. Luke's Church.
W. H. Trueman, formerly Organist Salem Congregational Church.

J. Wakelin, Organist Holdemess Road Primitive Methodist

Church.
H. Walton, formerly Organist Hope Street Congregational

Church.
W. Whitby, Organist Hawthorn Avenue Primitive Methodist

Church.
G. G. Wilkinson, Organist Fish Street Memorial Church,

Founder Hull Society of Organists, 1876.

W. Wilkinson, Organist Newland Church.

W. Wood, formerly Organist Stepney Methodist New Connexion
Church.

INDEX.

Abbott & Smith, Leeds, 138

Ackrill, E., 106

Albion Congregational Church,

141
Alderson, Sir James, 112
Allan, Charles, 139
Allen, Alfred, 92
Arion Orchestral Union, 113
Ashley, John, 25
Athill, Rev. R., 27
Atkinson, G., 50-112
Atkinson, T., 138
Atkinson, W. G., 51
Avison, Charles, 9
Avison, Wm., 9
Ayre, A. S., 69, 90
Ay re, Miss, 69

Baker, Mr., 7
Barff, Rev. F. S., 28
Barnby, Sir Joseph, 26, 87
Barton, Bernard, 109
Beckitt, Dr., 87
Beeforth, J., 53, 129
Bentley, R, 43, 75
Beverley Minster, 12
Binns, J. J., Bramley, 127
Bishop, Sir Henry, 31
Bishop & Starr, London, 100
Boden, E. C, 103
Bolingbroke, Mdme. Mudie-, 41
Bradbury, C, 40, 70, 72, loi, 142
Bradbury, family, 26
Bradbury, John, Jr., 68, 75
Bradbury, John, Senr., 65
Bradbury, The Misses, 56
Bregazzi, J. Vincent, 134
Brindley & Foster, Sheffteld, 64
Bromby, Rev. J. H., 18, 29, 38
Brown, J. Y., 83
Buffey, Dr. T. G., 130
Burstwick Church, 4
Burton, R. S., 26

Camidge, Dr., 52, 66, 85, 142

Camidge, John, 75, 98

Carr, James, 90, 131

Cattley, H. R., 23

Cattley, R., 23, 96

Choral, Hull Society, 18, 56, 84,

no
Clarke, Col. G. H., 70, 97
Clay, F., 117
College of Music, Hull and East

Riding, 98
Collings, John, 7
Concordia Sacra Hull Society,

113

Constable, Sir Clifford, 25, 56
Cook, Henry, 108, 121
Cooper, J. Spyvee, 64
Coverdale family, 26
Craddock, T., 38, 62, 71
Crosse, John, 7, 84, 86, 93, 96
Crouch, George, 58, 128
Cummins, Mr., 133
Cuthbert, J., 70, 138, 142

Deck, Rev. John, i

Deval, H., 89, 113, 115, 135

Doorly, C. Carte, 75, 127

Dossor, J. M., 104

Dumoulin, V., 70

Dykes, E. O., 30, 63

Dykes, George, 30

Dykes, Rev. Dr. J. B., 86, 91,

100, 105
Dykes, John St. O., 86
Dykes, Rev. Thomas, i, 86
Dykes, Thomas, 86, 96, 123

Fawcett, H. F., 135
Forster & Andrews, 27, 34, 62,
68, 82, 91, 98, 120, 124, 131

Geeve, J. H., 80, 129
Gleadow, T. W., 18, 19, 29

161

l62

HULL ORGANS AND ORGANISTS

Gleadow, H. C, 36, 130
Gough, James, 100
Green, James, 46
Green, John H., 131
Grindell, J. H., 82

Haigh, E. W., 69, 99, 131
Hall, Robt., 92
Hall, R. W., 59, 134
Harmonic, Hull Society, 89
Harmonic, Hull Society (of

1808), 55
Harmonic, Sacred Society, 55,

57, 88
Harmonic, Sacro Society, 57
Harper, F. J., 44, 131, 135, I43
Harrison, Chas., 23, 58, 81, 139,

140
Hartog, H., 70, 97, no, 113
Hawdon, Matthias, 10
Hawdon, Thomas, 14
Healey, E. \V., 40, 102
Hedon Church, 3
Heighington Musgravc, 7
Hermann, L., 135
Hewitt, C. E., 83
Hewitt, T. F., 19, 86, 123, 134
Hill, W. & Son, London, 85, 123
Hogg, H., 127
Holder, J. W., 80, 142
Holmes, T. B., 137
Holmes, Wm,, 70
Hopkinson, T., 26, 71, 87, 103,

142
Horwood, Jacob, 35, 88
Horwood, J. D., 60, 120
Hoskins, W., 109
Howell, Wm., 102
Hudson, John, 13
Hudson, J. W., 42, 75, 92, 105,

log
Hudson, Mrs. W., 105, 142

I'DlLLETANTI Socicty, II3

Jackman, G. F., 43, no
Jackson, F., 36, 99
Jacobs, Bethel, 29, 59

Jacobs, B. S., 59
James, W. D., 131, 143
Jarratt, Arthur, loi
Johnson, Bernard, 75
Johnson, C, 76, 104, 127

Kemp, Rev. H. W., 87, 121
Kemp, J. C, 103, 122
Kenningham, Adam, 76, 80, 107
Kenningham, A., Junr., 29, 80
Kenningham, Alfred, 107, 121
Kenningham, Charles, 42, 74, 91,

107
Kenningham, Edmund, 75
Kenningham family, 26, 77
Kenningham, George, 36, 74, 90,

126
Kenningham, Henry, 29
Kenningham, John, 29, 36, 55,

106
Kenningham, Joseph, 29, 78, 107
King, Rev. John I., 68, 93, 100
King, Vessey, 83
Kingston Sacred Musical Society

116
Kirby, Percy, 76, 104
Knight, Rev. W., i, 104, 106

Lambert, Geo., 15, 17, 22, 82
Lambert, G. J., 18, 115
Lambert, Henry, 115
Leng, Geo., 19, 51, 60, 79, 137
Lewendon, Wayland, 104
Lewendon, W. N., 122, 131
Lloyd, W. B., 120, 139

Mann, Dr. A. H., 138

Manston, Ernest, 83

Marley, Bailey, 48

Marshall, W. T., 35

Mason, Rev. W., 10

Miller, James, 105

Moore, W. P., 130, 142

Morison, R., 29, 36, 60, 131

Moxon, C. R., 40

Miiller, F. R., 135

Musical Festival, Hull (1789), 24

Musical Festival, Hhll (1792), 25

INDEX

163

Musical Festival, Hull (1812) , 25,

Musical Festival, Hull (1834), 25
Musical Festival, Hull (1840), 25

Naylor, Dr. John, 75
Newbald, Miss E., 98
Newton, Charles, 108
Newton, Edward, 126
Nichol, H. E., 76
Nicholson (Rochdale), 94, 135
Noble, T. Tertius, 75,
Novello, Clara, 25, 96
Nutt, J. H., 62, 83

Ohlson, L. C, 76, 132
Oratorio, Hull Society, 56
Organs : —

Albion Congregational Church,

141
All Saints' Church, 71, 75
St. Charles' R.C. Church, 134
Christ Church, 93, 98, 100
Holy Trinity Church, 3, 27, 33,

39, 43
St. James' Church, 104, 107
St. John's Church, 85, 91
Kingston Wesleyan Church,

140
Mariners' Church, 114, 120
St. Mark's Church, 128
St. Mary's, Lowgate, 45, 50,

53, 62, 64
St. Mary's, Sculcoates, 68, 70
St. Paul's Church, 131
St. Peter's Church, 79, 82
St. Stephen's Church, 123, 127
Waltham Street Wesleyan

Church, 136
Wesley Church, 139

Parker, J. C, 23, 29, 84
Petty, W. J., 107
Philharmonic, Hull Society, 98,

no, 113
Philharmonic, Hull Society,

(1809), 84, no

Philliarmonic, Hull Society,

(1833), no
Philharmonic, Hull Societv,

(1850), 113
Porter, Walter, 44, 63, 91, 102
Public Rooms, Jarratt, Street,

24, 90, 95

Richards, Dr. H. W., 75
Robinson family, 26, 82
Robinson, John W,, 78, 81
Rogers, Jeremiah, 121, 124, 140
Rogers, Nathaniel, 7
Rudersdorff, J., in, 134
Ryley, of York, 15

Saunderson, a., 108
Scott, Rev. John, i, 52, 54
Scott, Rev. Canon, 61
Shaw, J. A., 115
Sigmont, Mr., 58, 134
Sissons, T. Hall, 131, 132
Skelton, George, 35
Skelton, G. F., 123
Skelton, G. J., 21, 29, 36, 78, 85,
93, 104, 114, 123, 125, 128, 136
Smart, Sir George, 25
Smith, George, 7
Smith, Dr. G. H., 44, 74, 91, 103

139
Snetzler, John, 13, 15, 46
Spark, Dr. W., 108
Spurr, M. B., 143
Stephenson, A. P., 109
Stephenson, J. W., 41, 60, 83,

89, 121, 142
Stringer, J. R., 130
Storry, G. D., 141
Subscription, Hull Musical

Society, 117

Thirlwall, J. W., Ill, 113, 133
Toogood, H., 40, 131

Vocal, Hull Society, 28, 43, no

164

HULL ORGANS AND ORGAN ISTT

Walmisley, Dr. T. A., 128
Walsham, Rev. Chas., 71, 108
Ward, of York, 78, 85, 93, 114,

135
Watson, Rev. John, 73
Watson, Mrs. W. T., 91, 138, 143
Wesley, Dr. S. S., 120, 129

Wilkinson, G. G., 102
Winter, H. D,, 139
Wood, A. L., 104
Wordsworth & Co., Leeds, 104

Yorkshire Amateur Music
Meetings, 94, no

THE END.

PRINTED AT BROWNS' SAVILE PRESS,
SAVILE STREET AND GEORGE STREET, HULL.

14 DAY USE

RETURN TO DESK FROM WHICH BORROWED

MUSIC LIBRARY

This book is due on the last date stamped below, or

on the date to which renewed.

Renewed books are subject to immediate recall.

1

NOV 3 0 1969

.:AY 1 y 197^

,Ti-

^- 15 I5^d)

LD 21A-5m-7,'66
(G4427.sl0)476

General Library
University of California

Berkeley i

&t in^i?«23,^ X

■i?s^