The Organ

The organ in Little Saint Mary's was built by the late Kenneth Tickell of Northampton and completed shortly before Easter 2007. The case and swallow's-nest gallery, designed by Lawrence Bond, were retained from the previous instrument which was built in 1978 by Bishop of Ipswich, but extra pipes from the Pedal Principal were added into the ends of the case to replace the previous turned balusters. All the prospect pipes are new, with gilded mouths, and the instrument is new in all other respects. Difficulties of access for tuning and maintenance have been eased in the new scheme by the removal of the Swell organ from the outer case, and its installation behind the Great, together with the Pedal basses. The Pedal 8' Principal is placed with the Great 4' Principal in the main case, speaking entirely from the side and front prospect pipes. The 8' Trumpet is available on either Great or Pedal. The new layout has worked excellently, and the organ now sings freely, easily filling the church with its bright, colourful sound. The George Maydwell Holdich pipework of the previous organ, which originally came from the parish church of All Saints at Necton in Norfolk, has been found a new home at St Peter's, Westleton in Suffolk.

A full specification of the organ and its predecessor is available from the National Pipe Organ Register maintained by the British Institute of Organ Studies.

In 2002, Alan Loader made a recording of the previous Bishop organ at LSM. More recently, Anne Page made a recording of the 2007 Tickell Organ, dedicated to the memory of Kenneth Tickell, which has received overwhelmingly positive reviews. Both recordings are available to order from this website or for purchase at church after any choral service.