Fressingfield Church Father Willis Organ Restoration

12/07/2019

We had a wonderful concert on Saturday 29th June. Thank you everybody who organised it and took part and to the fantastic audience. We raised more than £500 for the Colourful Life Foundation and a great time was had by all. Till next time!

16/06/2019

You are invited to a Colourful Life Concert on June 29th at St Peter and St Paul Church, Fressingfield at 6.30pm to celebrate the first anniversary of the organ restoration and its final completion. It is also Armed Forces' Day and this year is the 80th anniversary of the Battle of Britain.
Julian Haggett will be playing the organ and Warren Albers singing to celebrate all these events.
Refreshments and admission are free
Donations will go to the Colourful Life Foundation supporting children around the world.
Looking forward to seeing you all again. Just turn up on the night!

20/12/2018

We had a fantastic evening on Saturday 8th December, a village Christmas gig, to celebrate the newly restored organ. Performances from Jenny Hewes and Warren Albers singing sings from the shows, Peter Davies with a superb poem, Peter Creswell reciting Shakespeare, the Little Stars, church choir and Julian Haggett putting the organ through its paces. All followed by delicious refreshments. Thank you to Tessa Taylor and Keith Dobson for organising such a lovely evening and to everyone else involved..

03/12/2018

Please don't forget this weekend.....A village Christmas gig on Saturday 8th December, 6.30pm to 7.30pm, at Fressingfield parish church - a pre-Christmas concert with Julian Haggett, organist extraordinaire, to showcase the versatility of our newly renovated organ, featuring songs from the shows, Little Stars youth singers, poetry, the choir and audience participation.
Refreshments and wine.
No charge, donations invited.

25/09/2018

Announcing....................
A village Christmas gig on Saturday 8th December, 6.30pm at Fressingfield parish church - a pre-Christmas concert with Julian Haggett, organist extraordinaire, to showcase the versatility of our newly renovated organ, featuring songs from the shows, Little Stars youth singers, poetry, the choir and audience participation.
Refreshments and wine.
No charge, donations invited.

12/06/2018

Last Saturday, 9th June, Fressingfield Parish Church was full in celebration of the re-dedication of the newly restored Father Willis organ. The Rt Rev’d Dr Bishop Mike Harrison, Bishop of Dunwich, carried out the dedication, presenting the key to resident organist Peter Creswell.
The Father Willis organ was originally acquired for Fressingfield Church by the Reverend Pitts in 1939 from the chapel of the Royal Savoy in London where it had been installed at the request of Queen Victoria. It served the church for over 70 years before falling into urgent need of repair and restoration.
The Boggis Company began work early in 2017. The organ was totally dismantled, the framework moved and the instrument rebuilt with the console repositioned into the nave.
Revd Canon Susan Loxton commented ‘We want to thank the whole team but most of all Jenny Whitehurst, project leader, who successfully acquired grants from the Heritage Lottery Fund, among others. This project has involved significant community outreach with organ lessons for students, workshops for local junior and secondary schools, lectures, exhibitions, record office research, the production of a photobook, website and much more, a legacy for generations to come. This has been a great achievement!’

30/04/2018

What a beautiful job has been made of the casement of our newly renovated Father Willis organ. Absolutely stunning! Come, visit the church and take a closer look.

28/02/2018

Please make a diary note that on Saturday 9th June, Bishop Mike will be visiting us to dedicate the newly restored Father Willis organ. More details to follow.

02/01/2018

A Village Christmas
This was a village event which commenced at 5pm with a tea for the children enabling families to come and join in with the other early evenings events. The tea was provided very generously by friends of the church.
There was a workshop for the children and over the course of the evening there were up to 21 children having a great time with the activities.
Christine Lindsay made little Christmas cakes which the children had fun icing. Mary Cufley and Marie helped to decorate cards wooden stars, deer and snowflakes. There was also flower arranging and the making of a crib. It was meant to close at 6pm but they were enjoying it so much the families stayed well into the evening.
The adult buffet commenced at 6.30pm with a good attendance. The raffle, guess the lucky squares and a quiz plus several stalls attracted quite a lot of attention.
Wine and delicious food were served.
The main attraction of the evening was to hear the first sounds of the newly restored organ.
Chris Bartrop, the organist, arrived at 6.45pm and shortly after the organ was heard. It was emotional for all who had worked so hard for this moment. Chris the organist and the other restorers, Rodney John and Izaak, returned to explain the work done on the organ. Chris Barber flood lit the inside of the organ so the pipes and mechanisms could be clearly seen. Mike Cox, who has kept a photographic record, also talked to a lot of visitors.
The restorers have done a wonderful job meticulously and carefully rebuilding this very complicated instrument making it pristine and in first class condition.
The casement is in the process of being restored in the Boggis and Co workshop.
The choir sang carols interspersed with organ music.
Many people stayed and enjoyed all that was going on.
The event came to an end about 9pm when people started to drift away. Thank you to all who worked so hard to make this event a success.
Thank you to the HLF who helped to support this event to celebrate the organ playing for the first time and enabled everyone to see the instrument before it is hidden again by the casement.

16/12/2017

Don't forget tonight, Saturday 16th, Village Christmas Celebration in Fressingfield church, 5 to 6.30pm for the children, with a children’s tea, activities, carols and music. Then 6.30pm to 9.30pm, for the rest of us, with carols (inc requests), refreshments, stall and much more. The newly restored Father Willis organ will be played for the first time!
All welcome. Come and go as you wish.
The newly restored organ will play for the first time! See you there.

04/12/2017

More details now on the Father Willis organ website pages! Still work in progress though!

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