Lavender Audio Hereford Cathedral [Hauptwerk]

Although it is likely that Hereford Cathedral has enjoyed the provision of an organ since pre-reformation times, the earliest recorded instrument is one by Renatus Harris, dating from 1686. The specification is not known, but doubtless consisted of a sizeable Great with a smaller scale Choir division. Over the next 150 or so years, the organ gained a short compass Swell and pedals were added in 1806. By 1832, the organ had passed into the care of J.C. Bishop, who undertook a major restoration under the auspices of Samuel Sebastian Wesley, whose extended anthem The Wilderness was first heard at the re dedication service in November of that year. Bishop continued to look after the instrument during the middle part of the 19th century and he was responsible for moving the organ to the college of the vicars choral in 1841 whilst major structural work was undertaken in the Cathedral.

This work took many years to fully complete and in 1861 the decision was taken to enlarge the organ significantly and make good various deficiencies. The precentor of the day, Sir Frederick Arthur Gore Ouseley rejected a proposal from J.C. Bishop, choosing instead to offer the work to Gray and Davison, who were then one of the country's leading organ builders. The Renatus Harris case disappeared at this time, with the pipe rack and case we see today being built to a design by Gilbert Scott. Work on the new instrument took longer than anticipated and the organ was finally ready in June 1864, the first anniversary of the re-opening of the Cathedral.



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