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THE BRITISH INSTITUTE OF ORGAN STUDIES
Encouraging and promoting the study of the pipe organ
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BIOS News & Events
New Historic Organ Listings – June 2025
The June meeting of the BIOS Council approved five new Historic Organ Listings. Morville, St Gregory, c 1855 Holdich [N04753]: Grade II An organ by Holdich from c 1855 that contains historic pipework and includes a rare, intact example of a Holdich Diaocton. Grade, Cornwall, St Grada & Holy Cross, 1885 Brewer & Co [D00797]: Grade […] read more
The Global British Organ
BIOS will be celebrating its 50th anniversary in 2026 with a residential conference in Oxford from 9-11 April. The topic of the conference will be “The Global British Organ”. We warmly invite proposals for individual papers and themed round-table discussions, as well as other types of presentation (including 30-minute lecture-recitals, venue permitting), on any relevant topic. read more
A G.P. England organ reconstructed
St John’s Church, 12 St John’s Street, Chichester PO19 1UU Saturday 7th June: Opened in 1813, St John’s Chapel is a rare surviving example of a Georgian proprietary chapel retaining most of its original early nineteenth century features. Proprietary chapels were a solution to the problem of insufficient capacity within existing parish churches to meet […] read more
Day Conference & Annual General Meeting 2025
Saturday April 12th 2025 – 10.30 for 11.00 The morning featured talks entitled ‘Wills, Willis and St Monica’s Care Home, Westbury-on-Trym’ with William McVicker and Owen Woods charting the history and technical detail of what was the Wills family house organ. In addition Ds Bertjan van de Lagemaat, Minister of the Dutch Church, provided a […] read more
New to the HOSA YouTube channel
The BIOS Historic Organ Sound Archive (HOSA) continues to grow. The latest addition to the YouTube collection is the 1755 Snetzler organ now at Clare College in Cambridge and restored by the William Drake company. (NPOR A01068). Dr Anna Steppler plays music by Eliza Turner, Maurice Greene, Ignatius Sancho, Elisabetta de Gambarini and G F […] read more
Richard Hird
Richard D. Hird MA MRTPI LTCL had a number of roles in the UK organ world and died a few days ago. He was active in several organisations as well as BIOS. For many years he was the BIOS Honorary Treasurer and also built and managed the website BIOS used until 2012. By profession he […] read more
The National Pipe Organ Register
The NPOR comprises surveys of pipe organs in Great Britain and Northern Ireland. The database includes organ specifications, photographs, sound recordings, builders, and historical sources. The NPOR is a free service provided for everyone interested in the organ and its history.
BIOS Guidance
Care and Conservation
Well-made organs will give excellent service for many years provided they are properly cared for. It is not uncommon to find organs functioning efficiently after a century or more, with only occasional cleaning and minor repairs. An organ is a valuable resource. The following pages suggest which instruments may be worthy of preservation, and indicates […] read more
Sound Advice – Care of your Organ
A valuable resource The organ is usually the largest item of furniture in a church. Its prime purpose is to support singing, both of a choir and of the whole congregation. Mozart called the organ ‘The King of Instruments’. It commands both the widest range of pitch of all instruments and also the widest range […] read more
A Guide to Grants
For funding work on historic pipe organs (13th edition) The grant scene is constantly changing. Although we hope the current advice remains applicable, readers will need to pursue their own enquiries, and BIOS can take no responsibility for the absolute accuracy of this guide. Please note that BIOS itself can give only advice, not actual […] read more
Featured Publications
BIOS publishes an annual Journal, a quarterly newsletter, and books on British organbuilders or aspects of British pipe organ history.
Join 500+ members
BIOS is a society made by and responsible to its members. The organ and its music – the largest of all solo repertoires – continually attract much interest, technical skill and intelligent musicianship, so the Society looks forward to a growing membership, and would welcome you.