Grace Church is blessed to have a Hutchings Pipe Organ; a magnificent, handcrafted instrument, purpose built for Grace Church. The organ was installed in the church in 1892 (Opus 252). Many people have stated that an operating Hutchings Pipe Organ of this vintage is extremely rare. For Grace Church to have an instrument of this caliber, and in such good condition, after 131 years is close to miraculous.
“The organ was built be George S. Hutchings Co. George S. Hutchings (1835-1913) was one of the most notable organ builders of his time. His instruments are considered innovative in both design and quality. During the 1890’s his shop in Boston was thought to be one of the largest and best equipped in the world, capable of producing 30 custom made organs a year.” (From a proposal by Artisan Painting, 2011)
The instrument consists of two manuals (key boards) of 60 keys each, a footboard of 27 pedals, a reservoir, 147 pipes arranged in seven ranks, 8 stops and other hardware. The organ is called a “tracker” organ because each key/pedal is mechanically connected to its specific pipe by means of thin wooden bars called trackers. The organ pipes at the front of the organ are operational, those on the side are decorative. A sketch of the organ internals is below.
The expandable reservoir inside the organ was originally supplied air via a hand pump. A young parishioner would be pressed into service operating the pump whenever the organ was played. An electric blower and associated ductwork were added during the 1960’s, replacing the need for manual pumping, much to the relief of parish youngsters!
In 2011, the Parish undertook the disassembly and retrofit of the reservoir, trackers, manuals, footboard, stops and internal pipe ranks. The work was completed in September of 2011 and the organ was placed back in service.
