The Church of the
Holy Name - Episcopal
Swampscott, MA USA

A Brief History

While researching the history of the organ, it quickly became apparent that there was no organ during our first five years. The church, designed by Henry Vaughan, of course had plans and space for an organ. Our first organ was originally built in 1884 for the Belmont School, in Belmont Mass. by the firm of George S. Hutchings of Boston. When the school closed in 1894 their organ was purchased by the Church of the Holy Name. In the vestry minutes there are no references to this acquisition, the cost, or how it was purchased. There was no indication that it was a gift. The organ was installed during 1898. It can be seen in archive pictures from the early 1900s that the console was first in front of the pipes on the right side of the chancel.

Around 1920/21 the vestry minutes show concern for repairs that were needed. In 1922 Mr. Benjamin Shelton proposed to the vestry the gift of a new organ in memory of his family. The gift was graciously accepted and a new organ was commissioned from E.M. Skinner. Skinner was one of the leading American organ builders of the day, and he designed the instrument with consideration to the size of our building and other Vaughn specifications. The cost of the Skinner organ was $10,000. Unfortunately any details of the installation and Mr. Skinner's designs are unavailable. On February 25th, 1922 the organ was dedicated - but not yet complete. A newspaper article states that it was completed in time for the March 18th rehearsal of the cantata "The Seven Lost Words". On Thursday May 18, 1922, Francis Snow, organist and musical director of Trinity Church in Boston, gave a concert and his selections were well designed and calculated to show the off the features of the organ.

Over the years the organ has had routine repairs, tuning, and maintenance which were not always done in a timely fashion. Dana Sawyer (our Organ Curator) points out that around 1960 the original Skinner console (now on the left of the chancel) was replaced with one of inferior quality, and that in the 1970s other extensive changes were made. Around 1998 we came to recognize that our organ was now over 75 years old and had served us well. We also recognized that it was time to evaluate the condition of the instrument, and think about taking care of some deferred maintenance or possibly replacing the instrument. While we thought about the future of our Skinner organ, we had to also consider that since the installation of the organ the church building had been enlarged. The instrument as it was could not project ample sound to the rear of the church. When it came to maintenance, we are very fortunate that Mr. Edward Call and Mr. Shelton left funds for the maintenance of the organ and musical program.

The original Hutchings organ was given to the church of St John the Baptist in Sanbornville NH. Mr. William Dawson, a member of our parish, vestryman, etc, recommended to the vestry that such a gift be made. Approval was given. The Dawson family were summer residents of the Sanbornville area. In 1990, St Johns started a fund raising campaign to refurbish and add to their almost 100 year old organ.

Task Force

An Organ Task Force was created in 1998, and assigned the task of researching and education people on the state of this instrument. In the summer of 1998 we invited a group from the American Guild of Organists (The AGO) Organ Advisory Committee to visit us and evaluate the status of our organ. Our invited experts filed a number of separate reports. We also have solicited opinions from other knowledgeable organists and organ builders. In October of 1999 we hired a well known organ consultant for a one-time consultation who advised us on how to proceed. We also received evaluations and proposals from Don Olson of the Andover Organ Company, Joe Rotella of the Spencer Organ Company, and Thad Outerbridge, a local organ builder. In June of 2000 we held a program called a "Pipe Organ Encounter", where we took the facade off the front of the organ, and allowed people to see how it works. We had demonstrations of the different pipes and sounds, as well as demonstrations of the way the sound carries within the church. We learned some history, as well as some technology. We learned what is good about the organ, as well as what is bad. All of this is in an effort to educate our parish about the state of this organ, and to make recommendations of what needs to be done. Later events included tours of other church organs, and local organ builder workshops.

At the January 2001 annual meeting of the church, the Organ Task Force submitted their final report and recommendations to the parish. Included in the report is a stop list and a chart of observations by the experts who evaluated the instrument.

The Restoration Begins!

The final report and recommendation of the Organ Task Force was accepted by the Vestry, contracts were signed with the Spencer Organ Company, and Phase I of the Restoration Plan was underway on January 2, 2002. Check out our Restoration Photo Gallery! We were fortunate that the Call-Shelton fund was able to pay for a large portion of this work.

After 2002 work on the organ was suspended while we attempted to raise funds for the next two phases. In conjunction with this fund raising, a separate effort was underway to create a Feasability Study for other work around the church. We were in need of renovating our kitchen, and finding space for our growing church school and other programs. In 2007 we were ready to take on the next phase of the organ project. When we approached Spencer Organ about the next phase of the project, we were pleased to tell them that we had raised the funds for Phase II, and the Call-Shelton fund was able to pay for Phase III. Our prayers were answered, and we proceeded to undertake both phases in the fall of 2007. Once these two phases are complete, we will return to fundraising to replace the facade of the organ with a new rank of working pipes, and to extend the Great division to further project sound into the rear of our worship space.

With the tonal and mechanical restoration of the instrument essentially complete, and the installation of our newly restored Skinner console, plans are underway for a dedication and concert on April 27, 2008. More information will be available soon!

Check out the web site of our Organ Curator for more photos and information.