Organ of St Mary's Church (Tickhill)

The plaque of 1857 names the builder as Charles Brindley of Brindley & Foster. The instrument at St Mary's was one of the first organs that he completed.

The middle of the 19th century was a period of tremendous change and development. The railway network was branching out over the countryside, and came to Doncaster in 1848. The Great Exhibition of 1851 was a showcase of talent. One of the exhibits of the symposium was an organ made by the German organ builder Edmund Schulze, who recently moved to England.

Prior to the Great Exhibition the English church organ was a small affair compared with its European counterpart. At Tickhill there had been a ‘finger’ organ since 1831. This, in its turn, had replaced the minstrels who led the worship from a gallery situated at the West End of the church. Few organs in the English Parish Church in the mid-19th century could cope with the great European tradition of organ music (the Bachs and Buxtehude). It must have been clear to Edmund Schulze soon after his arrival in England in 1851 that in the instrument he brought to the Great Exhibition he had something new to offer.

Brindley had been trained in the family business of installing domestic call bell systems in large houses. The method of operating these systems was an action consisting of wires and levers, a type of mechanical or tracker action not dissimilar to an action used in organ movements.

It seems likely that Brindley met Schulze at the Great Exhibition. He certainly went to Paulinzelle in Germany to learn the art of organ building. Especially the flute pipes (in German called Hohlflote, Gedackt or Rohrflote) took on a new sound with German scale and voicing techniques.

Brindley began his own organ building business in Carver Street, Sheffield on 1 January 1854. The St Mary's specification shows the Schulze influence. It is the first time that a complete diapason chorus from goes an 8-foot Open Diapason to a 4 rank Mixture.

An earlier commission for Brindley was for a temporary organ for the Parish Church of St George, Doncaster. The medieval church was destroyed by fire at the end of February 1853. Plans were soon made for a three manual organ to be made, accompanying first the services held in the Grammar School (Thorne Road) and then rebuilt in the church for its rededication in October 1858. After the completion of the five manual instrument by Edmund Schulze at St George's in 1862, the Brindley organ was sold to the newly built St James Church.

Following the success of the Doncaster organ, Brindley was asked to build an organ for Tickhill. Although remedial work has been done on the action, blower and console, the organ is played regularly and maintains a good condition.

• Marsden, John (2007). "History of the Organ 1857-2007", Church published pamphlet.