St John’s, Chelsea, London
In this instance, it was felt to be appropriate to have the swell front as part of the façade of the case.
The temperament was actually devised by John Mander to be more suitable for the English liturgy than Vallotti sometimes is. Some years later he discovered that Alexander Young had already invented the tuning in 1800. It is often said there is nothing new in organ building!
Although small, this organ was designed to be a versatile instrument for a small church seating some 250 people.
It has a wide dynamic range and is well suited to the accompaniment of even a large congregation. It has proved a popular instrument for organ practice because of its versatility and sensitive key action. Both key and drawstop actions are mechanical.
View the Specification of the organ in St John's Chelsea (completed 1978)
Casework John Mander
Technical Design John Mander
Construction Harry Austin, Terry Hobart (Workshop Foremen)
Site Assembly Mike Smith (Team Leader), Jim Birch
Scaling John Mander
Tonal Preparation David Frostick
Tonal Finishing John Mander, Neil Richerby