Shore Chapel Pipe Organ

On Tuesday 4^th May, Mr Fox, the school’s organist, conducted a Shore Chapel Pipe Organ tour, giving Hodges Boys insight into the organ’s inner workings.  It was an enjoyable and interesting experience.  The boys were able to understand how the pipe organ works and relate this to the history of the Shore Chapel.  The pipe organ was installed in 1929, the same year the chapel was opened.  One of the amazing facts about the chapel organ is that most of the pipes visible while sitting in the chapel are for ornamental purposed only.  They make no sound.  Pipe organs function similarly to a person’s voice.  The pressurised air is released from electric bellows and stored in the organ’s wind-chest, similar to a person’s lungs.  When a key is played, the air is directed through metal or wooden pipes, producing a sound mimicking a chosen instrument.  What many people may not realise about the organ is that the notes in the lowest register are played by the organist’s feet on specialised foot pedals.  These deep notes are played using pipes 16 feet long, which had to be a unique shape to fit inside the chapel.  The boys are very grateful to have received the opportunity to learn about the chapel, and more importantly, its pipe organ.

Rory Blakeley (10HS)