My grandfather, born in 1898, was one of the boys whose job it was to pump the parish pipe organ 3:45 before it was electrified. The organ was built the same year my grandfather was born, and it required two boys to pump it, each on one of two large wood levers sticking out of the side of the organ which powered two large bellows, one lever up as the other went down; there was also a water manometer indicator attached to the windchest inside which would indicate the amount of air available inside the windchest and thus, depending on how wild the organist got in his/her playing, would indicate to "pump faster" to keep up. My grandfather would later laugh in later years about when he and the other boy would be goofing off and not pay attention to the manometer, the windchest would empty and the music would die down, sounding like the last of the air exiting from a child's party balloon. The organist, usually an old and cranky Catholic nun, would immediately start threatening the boys with a doom worse than hell itself and they would quickly regain attention and get back to their pumping. This organ still exists and played nearing 116 years old, having been completely rebuilt after WW2 and again in the 1970s.
What a wonderful story! It made me laugh out loud. I also love to learn how things were once done more mechanically. Imagination, ingenuity, and engineering built things up over centuries and we ought to appreciate the labors of those who came before us. And we can also be glad we don’t have to do everything quite as laboriously anymore.
What a fantastic tale that is! Glad I stopped by the comments! I play hand turned mechanical organs. Which basically work on a very similar principle Crank it too slow and it goes. Urrrrrr. Rrr. lol.
When the organ blower in one of the small churches where I work seized up,, the estimated cost of repair was £1800, mainly due to the fact that the cabinet had been lined with asbestos fibre to reduce blower noise. Fortunately I knew a man who worked in asbestos removal, mostly in school buildings, he lent me all the protective gear and supervised me working, before sealing the stuff in a metal drum and taking it away, all for free. When I checked the corroded bearing I discovered that it was the same size as the main bearings on a Jawa motorcycle, and I had a pair in the shed. So zero cost. Someone Really wanted that organ to continue playing.
I am so grateful to the people who have dedicated themselves to care for these beautiful old churches! I love the poetry of George Herbert. It is so lovely that the organ was installed in his honor.
I wish there were organists who, in the absence of a minister, would come on Sunday mornings a simply play hymns for any congregants who showed up to sing. I could cry over this unused churches.
This happens in France too. The local priest covers 14 churches and rotates around them. The church in the village i live in only has a service once a month, no weddings only funerals. maybe one or two christenings a year. It underwent a total renovation in the noughties. The organ is very simple and reedy but a joy to listen to. the congregation totals seven.
This is fantastic, Ben! How many times have I driven past, without realising that this church was even there! You mentioned the name 'Fugglestone' - a village erased by the Herbert family when they acquired it to extend the Park of their ever-expanding Wilton House Estate. This church is the sole survivor - but consequently it has no villagers. Maybe your overseas subscribers would be interested in a little history, and background, if I may? The story of the Herbert family's ownership of what is now Wilton House starts with King Henry VIII. He - famously - declared himself Head of the Church of England in 1531 (nearly 500 years ago) because the Catholic Pope could not agree to his divorce - so he created his own church, and required it to do what he wanted. Henry needed to raise money, especially to support a substantial army, mainly to fight the French. The church owned most of the land, and 1 in 50 of the population depended directly on it. Henry set about 'Dissolving the Monasteries' from 1536 to 1541, and redistributed much of the wealth, mainly to supporters. Wilton Abbey was gifted to William Herbert, and he was created the 1st Earl of Pembroke. Parts of this original building are encased within today's magnificent house. Over the generations they have sold off many farms, buildings and land - but the last Earl set about buying it back again - and today the estate extends to over 14,000 acres, with 14 farms, and many rural properties, which they rent out . . . and the land and church that was once Fugglestone.
Just to add to your helpful comment. Wilton House is one of the really grand houses and it's open to the public if you want to visit. Also, once again like my last comment on one of Ben's videos, you can see Wilton House as it's used in various films, (country house/estate owners are always on the lookout for money from Hollywood, lol,). The recent film "Emma" (2020) uses Wilton House for the residence of Mr Knightley.
It's also used in the film Pride and Prejudice 2005 with Keira Knightley and Matthew Mcfadyen. I also spotted the exterior in Bridgerton S1 with that lovely Palladian Bridge.
To be fair to the Pembrokes (aka Herberts), the current Earl's father, Henry, had a successful career as a film director and producer, so had established contacts in the business. He wanted the Wilton estates to be self-supporting financially - so in addition to hiring the place out for films he introduced rigorous estate management, new farming practices, and investment in all of the many cottages and houses to make them rentable. As an aside - he married Claire Rose in 1966, and after four children they divorced in 1981. In 1984 Claire then married Stuart Wyndham Murray-Threipland. Stuart's son, Alexander, then married Lady Sophia, the first of Claire's children with Henry Herbert, in 2001. A tight-knit family 😉@@excession3076
Greetings from New Zealand.🇳🇿 And thank you for your ability to bless us with your historical visits to churches and making awesome worship. God bless.🙌🏼😊
Ciphers are indeed the bane of an organists existence. My worst experience was during the last hymn on Christmas Eve in a packed cathedral. The organ was overdue for a rebuild. I got to the final verse and the whole pedal division started to cipher! Panic stricken I looked over to the choir director and he said “whatever you do don’t lift your hands!” So the hymn ended with a bagpipe like drone and I quickly killed the power. So much for a postlude.
I like your excitement at the church itself. I would feel the same way if I were there. Thanks for showing her to us, even though the organ did not cooperate in your plan.
Ben! There are times when you learn more, see more, yet enjoy just as much when things go wrong as when they go right. (Just to prove that they do, sometimes) A beautiful church, an endearing visit, and something else - the indomitable, unflappable spirit of the Salisbury Organist .And a reminder of the glories of George Herbert. And that love will never cease, indeed. Thank you.
Excellent channel boy ! Speaking as a pipe organ builder I really enjoy it. Sorry about the ciphers guvnor. Sometimes it will clear if you play the cipher while there is enough pressure on the pallet to blow out the dead moth or mouse poop. Organ builder's are usually reluctant to encourage the Organist to go rummaging around inside the organ though. Musicians generally aren't the most practical types. No offence. Mechanical action organs need to be played fairly often. Accumulated dust is the usual cause of problems along with Vermin of course. The rat's love chewing the gusset leather on reservoirs. I releathered the Walker at our local church some time back. Cone tuned. Super reliable. Anyway, do me a favour Ben. If you ever get the chance, please do Ellingham parish church near Fordingbridge. It's a beautiful church. My grandfather was a Devizes boy, so watching your channel is a heart warming trip down memory lane. Thank you and keep up the good work. If I wasn't so far away I'd give you a hand to fix stuff. Oh and don't forget to oil your blower bearings ! At least once a year, preferably twice and enter it in the log book. Carry on.
I love the way you walk up to and around the churches, then around the inside and up to the organ, gives a feel of actually being there. Thanks (an anglophile in Texas)
Wonderful, Ben! How delightful to see this gorgeous, old church and organ. Your sparkling smile is such a joy. How I would love to go with you in person to the wonderful churches. Thank you so much for making these videos.
Thank you sir, Mr Maton or would I say more informally dear Ben. It's so lovely to see your videos and hear your talented playing. May God bless you and your awakening trips to almost forgotten churches where praises and worship were heard daily at the old days. Greetings from Finland. 🇫🇮♥️🇬🇧
Organ builder from Canada here. The cipher got “better” after you pressed the keys, so I’m sure one of the problems was a pallet hung up on a linkage. In these types of organs the bottom of the grid inside the pallet box often had paper or leather covering over the wood, that would offer forgiveness if the grid expanded between two note channels. However age will cause all things to rot, and often a cipher will develop as the note channel expands beyond the width of the pallet, or the crack opens up in front of the pallet, but still inside the pallet box. The quick fix is thus: find the offending note channel and see if there is a split. Then I find Gaffers tape works well.
Hmm. That sounds like the kind of advice you would get from an Organ tuner more than a builder. Gaffer tape ! First rule of Organ maintenance. Never let the tuner near it. They usually become tuners because they flunked on the shop floor. It's bad enough trusting them to tune without worrying about them doing a fix on the fly. Its bad enough trying to keep the idiot boss off the shop floor and screwing up a job. Organ builders are a unique breed apart. They have this incredibly rare thing called common sense and even more unusual, they actually know what they are doing. Which explains why we get paid so poorly and treated like idiot's.
@@joschmoyo4532 I am not an organ builder. Only one with a bit of experience tinkering around with mechanical organs (And yes. I am better at tuning them than fixing them!) And. Your advice is still sound! Why in the heck would anyone put a gaffer tape anywhere near an organ! Don’t do it! All you need is a bit of common sense !
@@thecrankjonkie2391 Many is the time we have rocked up to fix a pipe organ and found leaks "fixed" with gaffer tape. It never works. By and large pipe organs are built to last a long time if cared for. The one big short coming of most organs is lack of air filtration at the blower. This means that dust is sucked in every time its played and over time it settles on the pipe racks. I've seen dust an inch thick in places. Dried out old leather gaskets and seals are the start of many problems. Organists are not temperamentally suited to fixing organs usually. Musicians just are not practical people. Most organ builders hate tuning. It's boring. Holding keys for a tuner is torture. There really is a stand off between organ builders and tuners. They envy our skills and we think they are just weird. I remember a story about the tuner who totally messed up the cone tuning on our own church. The organist was fuming because of the damage to the pipe feet. The boss covered his arse but his reputation was destroyed. He was an idiot. Widely disliked on the shop floor. Lol.
Ben, the term 'changes' refers to the ringing of bells in all sequences that are possible with the number of bells available. As you can imagine, a complete set of sequences, or 'changes' which involve more than just a few bells can take hours to play. Many ceremonial changes which are rung in honor of royal weddings or other state events do take a long time.
Look forward to you finding a solution to the bellows. Very sad that no one uses such a beautiful and old church. I will bet that if the city brough in some electric to the building and the organ it would all be brought back to life. THAT would be a plan.
Thank you for giving us the opportunity to see inside some of Englands beautiful and historical Churches and to hear those beautiful works of art. Your ability to bring them to life and play hymns I’m familiar with is appreciated. Thank you!
You might enjoy Dorothy Sayers' Nine Tailors, the only mystery novel one ever needs, full of angels in the architecture and bells in the belfry. Thank you for your wonderful videos.
I absolutely love watching your videos, Ben! You’re so talented not only in playing the organ, but of narrating and walking us around and through these amazing, historic churches in England! Thank you so much! P.s., what a beautiful hymn!❤
Thanks for sharing another wonderful tour of historic churches and their organs. I’ve been enjoying your Little Christmas Album, and the St.Martin’s downloads. I’ll be ordering the other collections shortly. Keep up the good work, Ben. From Southern Illinois, USA. 🙏🙏❄️❄️❄️👍👍
Hi, Ben. Anyone notice what looked like the business card of an organ repair specialist under the stops? Hmmm. OK, Ben, you've left us with great suspense to hear "Part II" once the organ is fixed. P.S. Maybe if enough people hit the 'Thanks' button above, you could pay for one of those shoebox-sized silent generators, which you could keep in the boot, in case you run into the same problem again. Cheers from California!
Beautiful little church, I think the worst nightmare I've seen is organs vandalised and left to rot in disused chapels. At least it can be fixed and hopefully you can make a return visit one day.
A cheerful heart does good like medicine and your cheerful smile popping in today was good medicine indeed on a cold, wintry day! The church is lovely and its history is fascinating but so sad that throngs of worshippers aren’t enjoying all that it has to offer. Thank you so much for finding these treasures to share with us!
I have painted buildings, dogs, flowers, birds, scenery, and everything in between in watercolors for years and on my bucket list trip to Wiltshire I plan to paint these beautiful churches inside and out to remind people of the beauty that is hidden right in their own nearby countrysides!
Hi Ben, came across your site & am so glad I did! What a treat to visit these old churches. Great to sing along with some of the hymns. Your givt is a givt to us. THANK YOU!
I thought the organist's worst nightmare was actually breaking the organ. Or playing some bum notes during a wedding or funeral. Organ already broken but easily fixable isn't that bad, at least it's not your fault. Keep up the good work.
Mr Maton, your work here is veritably of consequence, beyond mere musical or historical implications. Hymns, and sacred tunes at large, make, by much, one other incontrovertible and portentous proof of Divinity in us humans--as opposed to our simpler, coarser animalistic part. Please keep it up!!! Only one two-fold request of mine, if you would entertain it: First, can you include in your trips a visit to Scotland's old kirks? And second, mariners' or nautical hymns are a transformative and awe-inspiring part of our Christian worshipping....which in my humble opinion could make such a fitting addition to your videography. Titles such as Jesús, Saviour, Pilot Me or Master the Tempest is Raging sure come to mind, and there are many others, sadly forgotten, or nearly so now. Whatever that is I remain obliged anyways. May the Light that Christ Jesus is, keep you safe, able to perform and surging forward! Conroe, TX, January 21, 2024
Dear Ben I find your journeys most entertaining. I will be in the UK in two weeks- probably will go back to Salisbury. I am from Montreal and here, the organ stories are sligtly different- all churches have heat.the parishioners are declining, therefore we are faced with closing places of worship. Nevertheless, I thoroughly enjoy your very educational tours of beautiful rural churches and organs.so charming!! I have given concerts in London and studied at the Royal School of church music at Durham Cathedral, but the charm of rural settings is beyond charming!!!
Thank you Ben - from Australia ... I just can't get enough of your beautiful videos, and look forward to each one that you do ... I'm an organist in my church, but not in your league ... It is good to praise God with music and worship ... Bless you for all the blessings you give to us - from your footsteps as you enter each beautiful church, to your wonderful music ...
Thanks for the video... I was a Church Organist for 40 years in Western New York ( Buffalo area ) and we often had 4 months of cold weather and that is when I would experience a cipher... I remember once playing the entire service with one. Sometimes you can tell the Congregation to hold on to their seat and then pull out all the STOPS and play something and it might blow it out. Great Organ - Lance †♫♪♫
From sunny South Africa; we thank you Ben, for this interesting visit. We look forward to the upload on this organ when it is brought back to life, and you demonstrating its ability to make lovely music. The hymn King of Glory, King of Peace is such a delightful hymn and again, you played it with love. Please continue to show us the rich history of your beautiful country. Kind regards Dawie and Werner.
There is always a note of joy from Ben; I cannot but recommend this channel for anyone needing uplifting hope, both musical and especially spiritual! Keep up the good work, Ben!!!!
Always great to see another upload from the handsome and dashing Mr. Maton! What a fantastic little church -- the architecture is very unique and beautiful. The winters in the UK look so mild!
It was a treat anyway - gorgeous old church and interesting information about organs. Not to mention the beautiful piece at the end. Looking forward to an update on how to fix it. Thank you, Ben!
You need Michael Petherick and Nick Moon from France. They have just rebuilt an organ donated by the Catholic church in Norwich. We learnt all about ciphers. Great church, kept beautifully. 🙂
Sad not to hear the organ. I'm a former bellringer many years ago as a teenager I was taught at Sunderland Parish Church and was fortunate to go on several ringing tours which involved York and Beverley Minsters, Ripon Cathedral, numerous small churches and Loughborough Bell Foundry There are only three ropes there I think so all which could be rung is call changes or a sort of round, . a peal would require at least five to ring Grandsire Doubles with a lot of "bobs" to add changes.
@@divadaedalus You're not too far away! Virginia is a beautiful state. I'm in Tazewell County. It's been snowing heavily all day, and we still have major snow from the Monday storm. ❄️
I was excited to see this latest video. I couldn’t wait to watch it. Sad you couldn’t get it working but I’m sure you will. Lucky for me and many others you have some kind of magic in your words that inspires people like me. Thanks Ben. You’re wonderful. ❤
I think I ended in the middle of a sentence - what makes your videos so special is that it’s not just about the churches or the old organs and your music. It’s the way you tell the story - the drive and trudging through the puddles in your Wellies - it’s like I’m there - it gets into my imagination. I doubt it matters that I grew up in the English countryside. It’s probsbly the same for everyone. Magical
I'm not religious but my mum played the organ for the local churches , so I learnt to love them as sacred and amazing historical buildings. This channel brings me untold comfort; thank you!
Greetings from Canada, Ben. What a wonderful episode. A lovely country church with a rich history. As soon as you said, George Herbert, I got very excited. What a treat to see his parish church. The hymn that you ended with, King of Glory, King of Peace is an absolute favourite of mine.
GLORIOUS - I feel blessed to have "stumbled across" your TH-cam channel this Christ-mas Ben! Just what I've really needed to cheer me up and inspire me, after a very challenging year! Many thanks for these videos!
Where in the Hudson Valley are you? I grew up in Garnerville, near Haverstraw. My father worked at West Point. The happiest days of my life, in the most beautiful area in the United States.
If you had someone to pump the organ for you, you could have just improvised around the ciphers...maybe. Interesting situation. Every time I see your new video I so much want to be along for the adventure. You seem like such a nice guy!
Congratulations Ben this is much more enjoyable. You dont look as "angry" or concerned, you are much more relaxed and you are light hearted and smilng. A much more enjoyable viewing thank you. keep the vids coming please.
I was introduced to ciphers when I was thrilled to get permission to play a pipe organ in a United Church for my cousin's wedding. I wasn't familiar with pipe organs then; being a Baptist I only got to play electronics. I practised and practised for this wedding, and on the big day: five minutes before the ceremony a pipe sticks open. I was majorly rattled, as I quickly found there was nothing I could do to free it. I just had to play the Here Comes the Bride over it and shut it down. I omitted playing The Holy City for the signing of the register. When it came time for the recessional march, I turned the organ back on, and I said to hell with it and floored the crescendo pedal and played at max volume, which normally at that time I would be too timid to do. Oh it sounded beautiful! My family was impressed.
I think "change ringing" was the term you were looking for to do with musical bell ringing, Ben! You needed an accomplice for this adventure it seems...
"Change ringing" is the name for the sequence of the different peals. English church bells are turned upside down (best way to describe it) to be "rung", they swing round on a "wheel" then back up to the original position. So I presume the tower is just too narrow to turn the bells so they can only be "tolled" (which is just them "swaying" side to side).
Your playing of the organ is really special in itself! I've seen many of your videos and i don't know i it's the choice of hymns or the organ, but for sure, your arrangements never fail to evoke emotions!
We have a church with no electricity in our parish and, therefore, a hand pumped organ. It has more stops than this one but the pedals are a bit unreliable to say the least. We still have services there at Christmas and Evensong throughout the summer months. I am fortunate enough to have a regular and reliable pumper but there can still be some surprises!
Re the bells. They can be rung with extreme care, and I have met a number of ringers who have rung at Fugglestone. From what I have been told, they are a 'unique challenge' only ringable by skilled ringers. Will you be making a trip to the parish church down the road in Wilton? I'm sure your viewers would be very interested in the Italianate architecture and the organ.
Thank you for a marvelous video. Greetings from the USA. I have been a lover of organs for many years, and I participated in restoration of a very large one in Atlanta. One of the definitive books on organ building, and therefore repair, was a multi-volume set by another Brit, George Ashdown Audsley, the definitive organ builder in Victorian England. If you can find these books (reprints are available), you will love them. Incidentally, you talked about bell ringing. The term you were looking for is "change ringing," in which bells are rung in a specific mathematical sequence. Some of the world's best change ringers are in the UK.
I have one of Michael's cards too and can voucher for him. If he can maintain the dusty old organ in my church (and he does) he can breathe new life into Fugglestone! By a remarkable coincidence, the photo in my profile picture was taken in Wilton!
I live just up the road from here in Wilton. Never knew about this organ. I did, however know that this church is 'off-grid' so to speak. I keep meaning to photograph this place. Nice playing!
Ciphers! Or heulers (ger.). That's the cry for help of every organ instrument and a demonic imput into every godly celebration! Could be anything that makes the valve stuck slightly open - a speck of dust? A fishbone (why not? :) ), a mouse-bone (that's more likely), a paperclip? A dried and warped leather valve lining? a rusty steel pin-guide? A loose tracker? Gosh. Lot's of fun ahead tracking it down and trying not to make it worse! :) :) Very nice content, Ben! Thank you!
As best I recall. Their is some crossover in term usage but, specifically regarding tower bells, as opposed to hand held bells. Ringing a single bell, which is perhaps all that is supported by that small tower, is called Toll or Tolling. Ringing multiple bells, hopefully but not necessarily in some sort of recognizable tune or pattern of sounds, for an extended period of time is called, Peal or Pealing. More recently I think, a more descriptive term, being used in place of Pealing, is the term Change Ringing, which like Pealing can be a memorized pattern of ringing with specific changes in the pattern, or following called out commands to make changes as directed to vary the music tones in a pleasant consistent pattern. Another term that is perhaps well known is Carillon but that is not applicable here as that describes when bells are rung mechanically. And finally, the overall most general term that can be used to describe the sound of ringing bells is Tintinnabulation. (Please note I used capital letters throughout only for emphasis, not to denote standard usage).
The hymn was "King Of Glory King Of Peace" and I can't spell the name of the tune a Welsh one! At the end of a very English-flavoured video and a very good one thanks! Hope that organ is soon repaired and up and running (!? playing!!)
Thanks for another wonderful program. You are such a fine tour guide even an equipment failure doesn’t sink the ship. Of course hearing the beautiful hymn you treated us to at the end was icing on the cake.
Bells Unringable...... essentially they may not be rung 'full circle'. This is where, in the English tradition the bells are balanced in a mouth upwards position and rotated 360 degrees producing a single strike of the clapper for every rotation and thereby enabling mathematical changes to be performed.
If you are able to get this lovely organ fixed, the Five Mystical Songs by Ralph Vaughan Williams would be delightful. A soloist and pumper would make the lovely lyrics by Herbert come to life!
King of Glory, King of Peace, I will love thee. Too bad Ben’s many-sided genius couldn’t fix the problems at Fugglestone. Nonetheless, our Hero’s Road Trips to ancient churches have a worldwide following, each with hundreds of comments and thousands of views. George Herbert will have wait for his famous hymn to be played here.
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My grandfather, born in 1898, was one of the boys whose job it was to pump the parish pipe organ 3:45 before it was electrified. The organ was built the same year my grandfather was born, and it required two boys to pump it, each on one of two large wood levers sticking out of the side of the organ which powered two large bellows, one lever up as the other went down; there was also a water manometer indicator attached to the windchest inside which would indicate the amount of air available inside the windchest and thus, depending on how wild the organist got in his/her playing, would indicate to "pump faster" to keep up. My grandfather would later laugh in later years about when he and the other boy would be goofing off and not pay attention to the manometer, the windchest would empty and the music would die down, sounding like the last of the air exiting from a child's party balloon. The organist, usually an old and cranky Catholic nun, would immediately start threatening the boys with a doom worse than hell itself and they would quickly regain attention and get back to their pumping. This organ still exists and played nearing 116 years old, having been completely rebuilt after WW2 and again in the 1970s.
What a wonderful story! It made me laugh out loud. I also love to learn how things were once done more mechanically. Imagination, ingenuity, and engineering built things up over centuries and we ought to appreciate the labors of those who came before us. And we can also be glad we don’t have to do everything quite as laboriously anymore.
What a fantastic tale that is! Glad I stopped by the comments! I play hand turned mechanical organs. Which basically work on a very similar principle Crank it too slow and it goes. Urrrrrr. Rrr. lol.
Wonderful story. It makes the instrument come alive.
When the organ blower in one of the small churches where I work seized up,, the estimated cost of repair was £1800, mainly due to the fact that the cabinet had been lined with asbestos fibre to reduce blower noise. Fortunately I knew a man who worked in asbestos removal, mostly in school buildings, he lent me all the protective gear and supervised me working, before sealing the stuff in a metal drum and taking it away, all for free. When I checked the corroded bearing I discovered that it was the same size as the main bearings on a Jawa motorcycle, and I had a pair in the shed. So zero cost. Someone Really wanted that organ to continue playing.
I am so grateful to the people who have dedicated themselves to care for these beautiful old churches! I love the poetry of George Herbert. It is so lovely that the organ was installed in his honor.
Yes well said. Those that painstakingly upkeep such precious treasures are to be celebrated.
I wish there were organists who, in the absence of a minister, would come on Sunday mornings a simply play hymns for any congregants who showed up to sing. I could cry over this unused churches.
A lovely idea!
That would be so great!
This happens in France too. The local priest covers 14 churches and rotates around them. The church in the village i live in only has a service once a month, no weddings only funerals. maybe one or two christenings a year. It underwent a total renovation in the noughties. The organ is very simple and reedy but a joy to listen to. the congregation totals seven.
This is fantastic, Ben! How many times have I driven past, without realising that this church was even there! You mentioned the name 'Fugglestone' - a village erased by the Herbert family when they acquired it to extend the Park of their ever-expanding Wilton House Estate. This church is the sole survivor - but consequently it has no villagers. Maybe your overseas subscribers would be interested in a little history, and background, if I may?
The story of the Herbert family's ownership of what is now Wilton House starts with King Henry VIII. He - famously - declared himself Head of the Church of England in 1531 (nearly 500 years ago) because the Catholic Pope could not agree to his divorce - so he created his own church, and required it to do what he wanted. Henry needed to raise money, especially to support a substantial army, mainly to fight the French. The church owned most of the land, and 1 in 50 of the population depended directly on it. Henry set about 'Dissolving the Monasteries' from 1536 to 1541, and redistributed much of the wealth, mainly to supporters. Wilton Abbey was gifted to William Herbert, and he was created the 1st Earl of Pembroke. Parts of this original building are encased within today's magnificent house. Over the generations they have sold off many farms, buildings and land - but the last Earl set about buying it back again - and today the estate extends to over 14,000 acres, with 14 farms, and many rural properties, which they rent out . . . and the land and church that was once Fugglestone.
That was so interesting thank you so much for telling us that history. 🙏💕
Thanks, Michael. Interesting context. Fugglestone. Sounds like something out of a J.K. Rowling book!
Just to add to your helpful comment.
Wilton House is one of the really grand houses and it's open to the public if you want to visit. Also, once again like my last comment on one of Ben's videos, you can see Wilton House as it's used in various films, (country house/estate owners are always on the lookout for money from Hollywood, lol,).
The recent film "Emma" (2020) uses Wilton House for the residence of Mr Knightley.
It's also used in the film Pride and Prejudice 2005 with Keira Knightley and Matthew Mcfadyen. I also spotted the exterior in Bridgerton S1 with that lovely Palladian Bridge.
To be fair to the Pembrokes (aka Herberts), the current Earl's father, Henry, had a successful career as a film director and producer, so had established contacts in the business. He wanted the Wilton estates to be self-supporting financially - so in addition to hiring the place out for films he introduced rigorous estate management, new farming practices, and investment in all of the many cottages and houses to make them rentable. As an aside - he married Claire Rose in 1966, and after four children they divorced in 1981. In 1984 Claire then married Stuart Wyndham Murray-Threipland. Stuart's son, Alexander, then married Lady Sophia, the first of Claire's children with Henry Herbert, in 2001. A tight-knit family 😉@@excession3076
Greetings from New Zealand.🇳🇿 And thank you for your ability to bless us with your historical visits to churches and making awesome worship. God bless.🙌🏼😊
Ciphers are indeed the bane of an organists existence. My worst experience was during the last hymn on Christmas Eve in a packed cathedral. The organ was overdue for a rebuild. I got to the final verse and the whole pedal division started to cipher! Panic stricken I looked over to the choir director and he said “whatever you do don’t lift your hands!” So the hymn ended with a bagpipe like drone and I quickly killed the power. So much for a postlude.
Had to laugh, sorry! 😀
Even the greatest machines have their flaws.
Your uploads are a treat for anyone who loves England, who loves organ music, who loves (church) history, who loves worship. A huge thank you !!
As an American Church historian, clergyman and Church choirmaster, I wholeheartedly endorse your comment. Thanks.
I don't know how, but I can almost "smell" the oldness of your churches while watching you from Texas!!
I like your excitement at the church itself. I would feel the same way if I were there. Thanks for showing her to us, even though the organ did not cooperate in your plan.
What a beautiful church! Thank you taking us on your trip.
Ben! There are times when you learn more, see more, yet enjoy just as much when things go wrong as when they go right. (Just to prove that they do, sometimes) A beautiful church, an endearing visit, and something else - the indomitable, unflappable spirit of the Salisbury Organist .And a reminder of the glories of George Herbert. And that love will never cease, indeed. Thank you.
Excellent channel boy ! Speaking as a pipe organ builder I really enjoy it. Sorry about the ciphers guvnor. Sometimes it will clear if you play the cipher while there is enough pressure on the pallet to blow out the dead moth or mouse poop.
Organ builder's are usually reluctant to encourage the Organist to go rummaging around inside the organ though. Musicians generally aren't the most practical types. No offence.
Mechanical action organs need to be played fairly often. Accumulated dust is the usual cause of problems along with Vermin of course.
The rat's love chewing the gusset leather on reservoirs. I releathered the Walker at our local church some time back.
Cone tuned. Super reliable.
Anyway, do me a favour Ben.
If you ever get the chance, please do Ellingham parish church near Fordingbridge. It's a beautiful church.
My grandfather was a Devizes boy, so watching your channel is a heart warming trip down memory lane. Thank you and keep up the good work.
If I wasn't so far away I'd give you a hand to fix stuff.
Oh and don't forget to oil your blower bearings ! At least once a year, preferably twice and enter it in the log book.
Carry on.
What a fantastic little organ this would be if someone with loving hands could restore it to like new again. Very interesting video.
I love the way you walk up to and around the churches, then around the inside and up to the organ, gives a feel of actually being there. Thanks (an anglophile in Texas)
Where in Texas? I, too am an Anglophile in Texas, in Brownsville.
Wonderful, Ben! How delightful to see this gorgeous, old church and organ. Your sparkling smile is such a joy. How I would love to go with you in person to the wonderful churches. Thank you so much for making these videos.
Thank you sir, Mr Maton or would I say more informally dear Ben. It's so lovely to see your videos and hear your talented playing. May God bless you and your awakening trips to almost forgotten churches where praises and worship were heard daily at the old days. Greetings from Finland. 🇫🇮♥️🇬🇧
Organ builder from Canada here. The cipher got “better” after you pressed the keys, so I’m sure one of the problems was a pallet hung up on a linkage. In these types of organs the bottom of the grid inside the pallet box often had paper or leather covering over the wood, that would offer forgiveness if the grid expanded between two note channels. However age will cause all things to rot, and often a cipher will develop as the note channel expands beyond the width of the pallet, or the crack opens up in front of the pallet, but still inside the pallet box. The quick fix is thus: find the offending note channel and see if there is a split. Then I find Gaffers tape works well.
Hmm. That sounds like the kind of advice you would get from an Organ tuner more than a builder.
Gaffer tape ! First rule of Organ maintenance. Never let the tuner near it. They usually become tuners because they flunked on the shop floor. It's bad enough trusting them to tune without worrying about them doing a fix on the fly. Its bad enough trying to keep the idiot boss off the shop floor and screwing up a job.
Organ builders are a unique breed apart. They have this incredibly rare thing called common sense and even more unusual, they actually know what they are doing.
Which explains why we get paid so poorly and treated like idiot's.
@@joschmoyo4532 I am not an organ builder. Only one with a bit of experience tinkering around with mechanical organs (And yes. I am better at tuning them than fixing them!) And. Your advice is still sound! Why in the heck would anyone put a gaffer tape anywhere near an organ! Don’t do it! All you need is a bit of common sense !
@@thecrankjonkie2391
Many is the time we have rocked up to fix a pipe organ and found leaks "fixed" with gaffer tape. It never works. By and large pipe organs are built to last a long time if cared for. The one big short coming of most organs is lack of air filtration at the blower. This means that dust is sucked in every time its played and over time it settles on the pipe racks. I've seen dust an inch thick in places. Dried out old leather gaskets and seals are the start of many problems.
Organists are not temperamentally suited to fixing organs usually. Musicians just are not practical people.
Most organ builders hate tuning. It's boring. Holding keys for a tuner is torture. There really is a stand off between organ builders and tuners. They envy our skills and we think they are just weird.
I remember a story about the tuner who totally messed up the cone tuning on our own church.
The organist was fuming because of the damage to the pipe feet.
The boss covered his arse but his reputation was destroyed. He was an idiot. Widely disliked on the shop floor. Lol.
I hope to see a follow up with that organ singing again.
Ben, the term 'changes' refers to the ringing of bells in all sequences that are possible with the number of bells available. As you can imagine, a complete set of sequences, or 'changes' which involve more than just a few bells can take hours to play. Many ceremonial changes which are rung in honor of royal weddings or other state events do take a long time.
Look forward to you finding a solution to the bellows. Very sad that no one uses such a beautiful and old church. I will bet that if the city brough in some electric to the building and the organ it would all be brought back to life. THAT would be a plan.
Ben. Thank you for taking me with you on your journey. Simply wonderful, all of it. How blessed are we to have God in our lives!
Thank you for giving us the opportunity to see inside some of Englands beautiful and historical Churches and to hear those beautiful works of art. Your ability to bring them to life and play hymns I’m familiar with is appreciated. Thank you!
The William Herbert hymn you played at the end was divine. Thank you
You'll have to get yourself a pet monkey to do the pumping!!! In all seriousness, thank you so much for your wonderful channel. God bless.
Maybe you should consider a book about the church’s you have visited.
You might enjoy Dorothy Sayers' Nine Tailors, the only mystery novel one ever needs, full of angels in the architecture and bells in the belfry. Thank you for your wonderful videos.
I agree 100%! I thought of telling him the same!
Wonderful book! Lord Peter Wimsey at his best! Dorothy Sayers was an excellent writer.
I absolutely love watching your videos, Ben! You’re so talented not only in playing the organ, but of narrating and walking us around and through these amazing, historic churches in England! Thank you so much! P.s., what a beautiful hymn!❤
Thanks for sharing another wonderful tour of historic churches and their organs. I’ve been enjoying your Little Christmas Album, and the St.Martin’s downloads. I’ll be ordering the other collections shortly. Keep up the good work, Ben. From Southern Illinois, USA. 🙏🙏❄️❄️❄️👍👍
Afternoon, Ben...
Thanks for these, they bring me comfort & joy...
Me too!
Me three!
I as well! Kindest regards from Canada. 🇬🇧🇨🇦
@@Turbogran 🇬🇧 🇨🇦 🥶
Hi, Ben. Anyone notice what looked like the business card of an organ repair specialist under the stops? Hmmm. OK, Ben, you've left us with great suspense to hear "Part II" once the organ is fixed. P.S. Maybe if enough people hit the 'Thanks' button above, you could pay for one of those shoebox-sized silent generators, which you could keep in the boot, in case you run into the same problem again. Cheers from California!
This channel is a blessing!
Beautiful little church, I think the worst nightmare I've seen is organs vandalised and left to rot in disused chapels. At least it can be fixed and hopefully you can make a return visit one day.
A cheerful heart does good like medicine and your cheerful smile popping in today was good medicine indeed on a cold, wintry day! The church is lovely and its history is fascinating but so sad that throngs of worshippers aren’t enjoying all that it has to offer. Thank you so much for finding these treasures to share with us!
I have painted buildings, dogs, flowers, birds, scenery, and everything in between in watercolors for years and on my bucket list trip to Wiltshire I plan to paint these beautiful churches inside and out to remind people of the beauty that is hidden right in their own nearby countrysides!
Hi Ben, came across your site & am so glad I did! What a treat to visit these old churches. Great to sing along with some of the hymns. Your givt is a givt to us. THANK YOU!
Thank , wonderful visit, you also have a good one.
I thought the organist's worst nightmare was actually breaking the organ. Or playing some bum notes during a wedding or funeral. Organ already broken but easily fixable isn't that bad, at least it's not your fault. Keep up the good work.
Love your visits to the old churches - and your musical talent!
Mr Maton, your work here is veritably of consequence, beyond mere musical or historical implications. Hymns, and sacred tunes at large, make, by much, one other incontrovertible and portentous proof of Divinity in us humans--as opposed to our simpler, coarser animalistic part.
Please keep it up!!! Only one two-fold request of mine, if you would entertain it: First, can you include in your trips a visit to Scotland's old kirks? And second, mariners' or nautical hymns are a transformative and awe-inspiring part of our Christian worshipping....which in my humble opinion could make such a fitting addition to your videography. Titles such as Jesús, Saviour, Pilot Me or Master the Tempest is Raging sure come to mind, and there are many others, sadly forgotten, or nearly so now.
Whatever that is I remain obliged anyways. May the Light that Christ Jesus is, keep you safe, able to perform and surging forward!
Conroe, TX, January 21, 2024
The last hymn must be King of glory, King of piece😉👍
I love this tune but the Episcopal Hymnal uses a different one (which is also good but completely different).
Fwiw, "peace".
@cwingate438 Ooh, That's interesting!😎 In Korean Anglican Church, we used 'King of glory' lyrics with the Gwalchmai tune:) Thanks for the info!😉👍
Dear Ben
I find your journeys most entertaining.
I will be in the UK in two weeks- probably will go back to Salisbury.
I am from Montreal and here, the organ stories are sligtly different- all churches have heat.the parishioners are declining, therefore we are faced with closing places of worship.
Nevertheless, I thoroughly enjoy your very educational tours of beautiful rural churches and organs.so charming!! I have given concerts in London and studied at the Royal School of church music at Durham Cathedral, but the charm of rural settings is beyond charming!!!
Thank you Ben - from Australia ... I just can't get enough of your beautiful videos, and look forward to each one that you do ... I'm an organist in my church, but not in your league ... It is good to praise God with music and worship ... Bless you for all the blessings you give to us - from your footsteps as you enter each beautiful church, to your wonderful music ...
Love this video!! Ben, you are very funny!! Thank you for all your lovely videos!!😊💕🎶🌷🎵✝️
Blessed hope in the beauty of such a church.
Thanks for the video... I was a Church Organist for 40 years in Western New York ( Buffalo area ) and we often had 4 months of cold weather and that is when I would experience a cipher... I remember once playing the entire service with one. Sometimes you can tell the Congregation to hold on to their seat and then pull out all the STOPS and play something and it might blow it out. Great Organ - Lance †♫♪♫
From sunny South Africa; we thank you Ben, for this interesting visit.
We look forward to the upload on this organ when it is brought back to life, and you demonstrating its ability to make lovely music.
The hymn King of Glory, King of Peace is such a delightful hymn and again, you played it with love.
Please continue to show us the rich history of your beautiful country.
Kind regards
Dawie and Werner.
There is always a note of joy from Ben; I cannot but recommend this channel for anyone needing uplifting hope, both musical and especially spiritual! Keep up the good work, Ben!!!!
Enjoyed the visit just the same! Is that George Herbert the poet I wonder?
Yes
@@rogerwalton8160 Thanks!
What a beautiful old church and organ; I hope it can be fixed easily so we can hear you play it.
Always great to see another upload from the handsome and dashing Mr. Maton! What a fantastic little church -- the architecture is very unique and beautiful. The winters in the UK look so mild!
yet again another great video , l used to choose my hubbys hymns when he went preaching , King of Glory King of Peace , love it ....thanks for sharing
Thanks, and be well.
Once again, a delightful video!
In spite of the ailing organ it was a wonderful escape to a place of calm and rest. Thanks so much, from California!
It was a treat anyway - gorgeous old church and interesting information about organs. Not to mention the beautiful piece at the end. Looking forward to an update on how to fix it. Thank you, Ben!
You need Michael Petherick and Nick Moon from France. They have just rebuilt an organ donated by the Catholic church in Norwich. We learnt all about ciphers. Great church, kept beautifully. 🙂
😉The headline made this Video extremely exiting❣️
Greetings from Switzerland
Sad not to hear the organ. I'm a former bellringer many years ago as a teenager I was taught at Sunderland Parish Church and was fortunate to go on several ringing tours which involved York and Beverley Minsters, Ripon Cathedral, numerous small churches and Loughborough Bell Foundry
There are only three ropes there I think so all which could be rung is call changes or a sort of round, . a peal would require at least five to ring Grandsire Doubles with a lot of "bobs" to add changes.
Greetings Ben, from Virginia. ❄️🇺🇸
Greetings from Virginia! Hoping you are safe and warm. Still iced in here.
@@divadaedalus Several inches of snow and still coming down here in the mountains of southwestern Virginia! Stay warm! ❄️❄️❄️
@@KenG557 I’m in the Blue Ridge Mountains near Roanoke. Bitter cold for Sunday and Monday! Stay safe and warm!
@@divadaedalus You're not too far away! Virginia is a beautiful state. I'm in Tazewell County. It's been snowing heavily all day, and we still have major snow from the Monday storm. ❄️
I was excited to see this latest video. I couldn’t wait to watch it.
Sad you couldn’t get it working but I’m sure you will. Lucky for me and many others you have some kind of magic in your words that inspires people like me.
Thanks Ben. You’re wonderful. ❤
I think I ended in the middle of a sentence - what makes your videos so special is that it’s not just about the churches or the old organs and your music. It’s the way you tell the story - the drive and trudging through the puddles in your Wellies - it’s like I’m there - it gets into my imagination. I doubt it matters that I grew up in the English countryside. It’s probsbly the same for everyone. Magical
I'm not religious but my mum played the organ for the local churches , so I learnt to love them as sacred and amazing historical buildings. This channel brings me untold comfort; thank you!
Greetings from Canada, Ben. What a wonderful episode. A lovely country church with a rich history. As soon as you said, George Herbert, I got very excited. What a treat to see his parish church.
The hymn that you ended with, King of Glory, King of Peace is an absolute favourite of mine.
Such a beautiful old church. I hope you will be able to find someone who knows how to activate this organ. Good luck. Greetings from Michigan.
GLORIOUS - I feel blessed to have "stumbled across" your TH-cam channel this Christ-mas Ben! Just what I've really needed to cheer me up and inspire me, after a very challenging year! Many thanks for these videos!
👍....How sad a letdown. Was really hoping to hear this unusual organ. Maybe another time. Keep up the good work.
Simply wonderful. Greetings from fans in the frigid, snowy Hudson Valley.
Where in the Hudson Valley are you? I grew up in Garnerville, near Haverstraw. My father worked at West Point. The happiest days of my life, in the most beautiful area in the United States.
If you had someone to pump the organ for you, you could have just improvised around the ciphers...maybe. Interesting situation. Every time I see your new video I so much want to be along for the adventure. You seem like such a nice guy!
Congratulations Ben this is much more enjoyable. You dont look as "angry" or concerned, you are much more relaxed and you are light hearted and smilng. A much more enjoyable viewing thank you. keep the vids coming please.
Singaporean organist saying thank you! Love George Herbert’s poetry, love what you do.
I was introduced to ciphers when I was thrilled to get permission to play a pipe organ in a United Church for my cousin's wedding. I wasn't familiar with pipe organs then; being a Baptist I only got to play electronics. I practised and practised for this wedding, and on the big day: five minutes before the ceremony a pipe sticks open. I was majorly rattled, as I quickly found there was nothing I could do to free it. I just had to play the Here Comes the Bride over it and shut it down. I omitted playing The Holy City for the signing of the register. When it came time for the recessional march, I turned the organ back on, and I said to hell with it and floored the crescendo pedal and played at max volume, which normally at that time I would be too timid to do. Oh it sounded beautiful! My family was impressed.
I think "change ringing" was the term you were looking for to do with musical bell ringing, Ben! You needed an accomplice for this adventure it seems...
"Change ringing" is the name for the sequence of the different peals. English church bells are turned upside down (best way to describe it) to be "rung", they swing round on a "wheel" then back up to the original position. So I presume the tower is just too narrow to turn the bells so they can only be "tolled" (which is just them "swaying" side to side).
Beautiful stained glass.
Another special vlog. Thank you
Your playing of the organ is really special in itself! I've seen many of your videos and i don't know i it's the choice of hymns or the organ, but for sure, your arrangements never fail to evoke emotions!
We have a church with no electricity in our parish and, therefore, a hand pumped organ. It has more stops than this one but the pedals are a bit unreliable to say the least. We still have services there at Christmas and Evensong throughout the summer months. I am fortunate enough to have a regular and reliable pumper but there can still be some surprises!
Re the bells. They can be rung with extreme care, and I have met a number of ringers who have rung at Fugglestone. From what I have been told, they are a 'unique challenge' only ringable by skilled ringers.
Will you be making a trip to the parish church down the road in Wilton? I'm sure your viewers would be very interested in the Italianate architecture and the organ.
Thank you for a marvelous video. Greetings from the USA. I have been a lover of organs for many years, and I participated in restoration of a very large one in Atlanta. One of the definitive books on organ building, and therefore repair, was a multi-volume set by another Brit, George Ashdown Audsley, the definitive organ builder in Victorian England. If you can find these books (reprints are available), you will love them. Incidentally, you talked about bell ringing. The term you were looking for is "change ringing," in which bells are rung in a specific mathematical sequence. Some of the world's best change ringers are in the UK.
Ben your enthusiasm is infectious.
Thank you for this video and the opportunity to learn more about George Herbert.
Thank you Ben , I hope the organ can be fixed in memory of the musical hymn writing Vicar.
I see organ tuner Michael Farley’s card was on the console. Sounds like he needs to be called! If there’s a budget!
I have one of Michael's cards too and can voucher for him. If he can maintain the dusty old organ in my church (and he does) he can breathe new life into Fugglestone!
By a remarkable coincidence, the photo in my profile picture was taken in Wilton!
Thanks for taking us along on this interesting visit!
I live just up the road from here in Wilton. Never knew about this organ. I did, however know that this church is 'off-grid' so to speak. I keep meaning to photograph this place. Nice playing!
Ciphers! Or heulers (ger.). That's the cry for help of every organ instrument and a demonic imput into every godly celebration! Could be anything that makes the valve stuck slightly open - a speck of dust? A fishbone (why not? :) ), a mouse-bone (that's more likely), a paperclip? A dried and warped leather valve lining? a rusty steel pin-guide? A loose tracker? Gosh. Lot's of fun ahead tracking it down and trying not to make it worse! :) :) Very nice content, Ben! Thank you!
Holding my breath in eager anticipation that you may be able to play it one day .
What a blessing you are to all of us!
As best I recall. Their is some crossover in term usage but, specifically regarding tower bells, as opposed to hand held bells. Ringing a single bell, which is perhaps all that is supported by that small tower, is called Toll or Tolling. Ringing multiple bells, hopefully but not necessarily in some sort of recognizable tune or pattern of sounds, for an extended period of time is called, Peal or Pealing. More recently I think, a more descriptive term, being used in place of Pealing, is the term Change Ringing, which like Pealing can be a memorized pattern of ringing with specific changes in the pattern, or following called out commands to make changes as directed to vary the music tones in a pleasant consistent pattern. Another term that is perhaps well known is Carillon but that is not applicable here as that describes when bells are rung mechanically. And finally, the overall most general term that can be used to describe the sound of ringing bells is Tintinnabulation. (Please note I used capital letters throughout only for emphasis, not to denote standard usage).
Thank you, Ben for the history lesson! Looking forward to a possible part 2 after the organ is repaired. Cheers!
Hope you’re able to fix it successfully without major complications 🎶 what a beautiful church ⛪️
The hymn was "King Of Glory King Of Peace" and I can't spell the name of the tune a Welsh one! At the end of a very English-flavoured video and a very good one thanks! Hope that organ is soon repaired and up and running (!? playing!!)
Thank you for showing us this beautiful and important church, Ben. It's wonderful to see the place where Blessed George Herbert served as a priest.
Fascinating. Thank you!
The term you're looking for is "Change Ringing", I think!
Thanks! Keep those heritage organs in playable shape!😊
Another great scenic and informative tour. Thank you Ben.
Thanks for another wonderful program. You are such a fine tour guide even an equipment failure doesn’t sink the ship. Of course hearing the beautiful hymn you treated us to at the end was icing on the cake.
Bells Unringable...... essentially they may not be rung 'full circle'. This is where, in the English tradition the bells are balanced in a mouth upwards position and rotated 360 degrees producing a single strike of the clapper for every rotation and thereby enabling mathematical changes to be performed.
If you are able to get this lovely organ fixed, the Five Mystical Songs by Ralph Vaughan Williams would be delightful. A soloist and pumper would make the lovely lyrics by Herbert come to life!
I like your description of things. Music plus a bit of the church story is great!
Absolutely fascinating👍
King of Glory, King of Peace, I will love thee. Too bad Ben’s many-sided genius couldn’t fix the problems at Fugglestone. Nonetheless, our Hero’s Road Trips to ancient churches have a worldwide following, each with hundreds of comments and thousands of views. George Herbert will have wait for his famous hymn to be played here.
Enjoy your videos
From Canada here. Sing in choir with an opus 10 Laterneau organ. Cheers
Greetings from Brazil! Thank you ! Love your videos with so beautiful churches and organs.