About Paul

Within The Helks, Over Kellet is a fully functioning pipe organ containing two keyboards, a pedalboard and 785 pipes. However, many are unaware of its existence. The organ has been designed and built by myself to fit within one of our downstairs rooms allowing space for a piano, sitting and storage of books, music and other archives.

The building project was started early in 2003 when I was within five years of retirement; it has proved to be an excellent hobby and provides a practice facility as I prepare for playing at church services.

I was born and brought up in Huddersfield and moved to Over Kellet in 1997.

I began to study the piano at the age of seven, and by eleven I was assisting and playing the piano in Sunday School. One day I was asked to help by playing the organ for church services. I was fortunate to be able to observe and be coached by the regular church organist. Shortly afterwards, I took over as church organist and maintained the post for the next five years. Being intrigued by the workings of the organ from an early age, I rarely missed an opportunity to view an instrument from the inside when the organ builder attended for tuning and repairs.

Having started formal organ lessons, I was gradually introduced to other church organs and invited to play their organ. I was excited by the sheer grandeur of these instruments, the enormous variety of sounds they could produce and the fact that it is very rare indeed to find two identical pipe organs.

Over the next few years, including undergraduate training, I played and practised the organ at various churches. This included playing for services, weddings and occasional oratorio concerts involving choirs. This led to me being appointed Organist and Choirmaster at St Mark's Church, Longwood, Huddersfield, a position I held for nineteen years before moving to St Stephen's Church, Lindley, Huddersfield as Organist and Choirmaster in 1996 - I held this post until 2004 when I married and moved to Over Kellet.

Since this time, I have assisted at a number of churches in North Lancashire by playing the organ at services, funerals and weddings. I currently have a regular playing commitment at the Church of the Ascension, Torrisholme, Morecambe.



After retiring from a full time career in teaching and lecturing in 2008, I was able to devote much more time to organ building. Consequently, the project began to progress much more rapidly; the instrument was finally completed in March 2015.

The organ has been uniquely designed and constructed to fit under an eight foot ceiling within a west-facing room at The Helks. It consists of two manuals and pedals, with mechanical action throughout, and has been built from scratch using a variety of wooden and metal components. The instrument has fourteen speaking stops and three couplers and includes two fine ivory and ebony keyboards in excellent condition, dating from 1939, from the redundant pipe organ at Hathersedge Methodist Church, Derbyshire.

The nine ranks of new metal pipework have been made by F. Booth & Son (Voicers) Ltd. of Leeds. The organ also contains a remodelled and re-voiced Oboe rank made by the organ builders Harrison and Harrison of Durham; this rank serves well as a Trompette on the lower manual (lower keyboard). There are three wooden ranks of pipes on the organ, two are new and have been made by David Leach of Cleckheaton, West Yorkshire. The third rank is the Pedal Bourdon which comes from the organ in St Stephen's Church Lindley, Huddersfield following restoration work and tonal changes in 2002.

The wind in the organ is produced by a special organ blower having a half horse-power electric motor manufactured by British Organ Blowers of Derby. The wind pressure for each section of the organ is controlled by three small single-rise bellows which act as pressure regulators.



To mark the completion of the organ, a musical open day at The Helks was held on Saturday September 12th 2015 from 11am to 5pm. This was a relaxed and enjoyable day with a number of organists and other musicians taking part. Refreshments were available and all funds raised were split between St John's Hospice and St John's Church, Yealand.



61 notes, 2.75" wind pressure - pipe organ wind pressure is usually measured in inches or mm. of water
Wald Flute 8'
Principal 4'
Fifteenth 2'
Nineteenth 1 1/3'
Twenty Second 1'
Trompette 8'

(61 notes, 2.5" wind pressure)
Gamba 8'
Gedackt 8'
Gemshorn 4'
Nazard 2 2/3'
Block Flute 2'
Tierce 1 3/5'

(30 notes, 4" wind pressure)
Bourdon 16'
Clarinet 16'