The restoration of the Welte Philharmonic pipe organ and Orchestrion
No 10 arranged as an echo organ in the Science Theatre at Sir David
Salomon's House, Speldhurst, Tunbridge Wells, on which I reported in
MMD 960724, has received a huge conditional grant of =L=316,000
($512,000).

The money, from the National Lottery Fund, is conditional on the fund
being able to make up the remainder of the =L=400,000 it was appealing
for to complete the restoration not only of the organ but what remains
of the original electrical equipment for driving it, although modern
equipment has already been provided to enable the organ to be used.

The Orchestrion dates from 1899 and the pipe organ which incorporated
it was supplied in 1914.  Since the First World War had just broken
out, Steinway & Sons of London were appointed by Welte as installation
agents, employing one Welte craftsman trapped in England.

The organ was still playable by hand in 1937, when the Salomon family
donated the house and theatre to the county of Kent, but the theatre
was stripped of copper cable during the Second World War when the house
was in use as an emergency hospital, and the organ remained mute until
1995 when restoration started.  It is believed to be the third largest
roll-playing Welte organ installed, and the largest of any make
surviving in its original setting.

Originally there had been around 3000 pipe organ and Orchestrion rolls,
playable on the organ's two spoolboxes, but most were sold in 1937,
leaving 280 damaged ones, believed (fortunately) to have been the
favourites of the family.  These have been scanned into MIDI and the
rebuild has a MIDI input from computer as well an additional console
at stage level to assist in "repetiteur" work -- the Theatre is now an
opera school.

The Broomhill Trust is considering sponsoring pipes (2000 of them)
to try and raise the balance of the fund and is asking for other ideas
which may enable the whole award to be taken up.

Contact them at Sir David Salomon's House, Broomhill Road, Tunbridge
Wells, TN3 0TC -- phone +44 (0)1892 517720.

Dan Wilson