© Maggie Kilbey & Marcel Glover 2026
St John the Baptist, Bressingham (Norfolk)
Barrel Organs in English Parish Churches
Barrel organ by an unknown builder. Painted plate on case:
‘THIS ORGAN Was Presented to the Parish of Bressingham By Revd G.H. Bidwell [George Henry Clarke Bidwell] March 1st 1859.’
The organ is operated from the rear and blown by pedal independent of the barrel mechanism, therefore the barrel can be held in
position for accompanying chant without loss of wind pressure.
References: MacDermott (1948); Boston (1959); Boston & Langwill (1967); Elvin (1984); Turner (2002); NPOR N06175.
The grained softwood castellated case has three flats of gold painted dummy pipes (3-11-3) backed with red cloth.
Stop list: Open Diapason 8’, Diapason Bass 8’, Stopped Diapason 8’ Dulciana 8’, Principal 4’, Fifteenth 2’.
Restored by W.A. Boggis of Diss in 1938, and later by John Budgen. Tunes recorded in 1997. BIOS Historic Organ Certificate awarded
1999 (ungraded).
Played by John Betjeman in A Passion for Churches, first broadcast in December 1974: www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p022ktzy
Two green carriage-mounted barrels x 12 tunes corresponding with the handwritten tunelists pasted to the casework. Pencil additions
give the numbers from Hymns Ancient & Modern and The Hymnal Companion.
Photos: M. Kilbey and M. Glover.
BARREL 1
GREEN
Tune
Metre
BARREL 2
GREEN
Tune
Metre
© Maggie Kilbey & Marcel Glover 2026
Barrel Organs in English Parish Churches
St John the Baptist, Bressingham
(Norfolk)
Barrel organ by an unknown
builder. Painted plate on
case:
‘THIS ORGAN Was Presented
to the Parish of Bressingham
By Revd G.H. Bidwell
[George Henry Clarke
Bidwell] March 1st 1859.’
The organ is operated from
the rear and blown by pedal
independent of the barrel
mechanism, therefore the
barrel can be held in
position for accompanying
chant without loss of wind
pressure.
References: MacDermott (1948); Boston (1959); Boston & Langwill
(1967); Elvin (1984); Turner (2002); NPOR N06175.
The grained softwood castellated case has three flats of gold painted
dummy pipes (3-11-3) backed with red cloth.
Stop list: Open Diapason 8’, Diapason Bass 8’, Stopped Diapason 8’
Dulciana 8’, Principal 4’, Fifteenth 2’.
Restored by W.A. Boggis of Diss in 1938, and later by John Budgen.
Tunes recorded in 1997. BIOS Historic Organ Certificate awarded
1999
(ungraded).
Played by John Betjeman in A Passion for Churches, first broadcast in
December 1974: www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p022ktzy
Two green carriage-mounted barrels x 12 tunes corresponding with
the handwritten tunelists pasted to the casework. Pencil additions
give the numbers from Hymns Ancient & Modern and The Hymnal
Companion.
Photo: M. Kilbey.
BARREL 1
GREEN
Tune
Metre
BARREL 2
GREEN
Tune
Metre