St Austell Market House - Nanstallon Organ

Hi,

We are fundraising to rescue Nanstallon Church Organ ("the Organ"), our goal is to have the Organ renovated and installed into the St Austell Market House to be used at events and concerts.

The Organ is estimated to be 120 years old (and may be older) and was installed in Nanstallon Methodist Church in 1923. It was built by John Trudgian who was born in Polgooth (1843) and moved to St. Dennis in around 1880. John worked driving a winding engine at Hendra Clay Work.

John was a very talented engineer and taught himself to build organs and set up an organ factory in mid-Cornwall in 1888, known as J Trudgian & Son of St Dennis. The firm flourished until around 1930.

John died in 1925 and his son, also John Trudgian (Junior) who had run the factory with him, died in 1932. The Organ occupied a central position in the arch at the front of the building, being well suited to its surroundings and giving the impression of being designed for the space, although it is understood there was some work undertaken in order to accommodate the instrument.

The Organ sits on a platform about 30 inches above floor level, and speaking pipes from the Great Open Diapason are mounted in the façade over the console and are painted silver with gold mouths. The whole instrument is very compact and occupies a relatively small footprint.