The British Organ Archive

The British Organ Archive (BOA) contains information about organs and organ builders. It was established at the University of Keele in 1974 by the late Dr Michael Sayer, moving to Birmingham Central Library in 1986. The British Organ Archive is now housed in the Cadbury Research Library at the University of Birmingham.

(BOA) has joined other Special Collections in the new Cadbury Research Library on the Edgbaston campus of the University of Birmingham. The Cadbury Research Library is situated on the Lower Ground Floor of the Muirhead Tower. Entry is at ground-floor level with full disabled access throughout. Once inside the entrance hall press the lift button for the Lower Ground Floor [LG] and this will show you the correct lift to take you down to the Cadbury Research Library [there are no buttons within the lifts themselves].

Most of the Primary and Secondary source collections currently held by BIOS are available for research, many on fiche, film or disc. Full location and transport details can be found at www.special-coll.bham.ac.uk and information about the British Organ Archive and other Collections can be found at www.calmview.bham.ac.uk.

To contact the Cadbury Research Library, send an enquiry e-mail to collections@contents.bham.ac.uk or telephone 0121 414 5839. A limited search facility is available through the Library should you wish to check that the information you are seeking is currently available within the British Organ Archive prior to making a visit.

Opening hours are from 09:00 until 17:00 from Monday to Friday with a later opening time on Monday morning of 10:00 and a later closing time on Thursday evening of 19:00. [The Library is closed on Saturday and Sunday]. In order to use the Cadbury Research Library you will need to be issued with a Special Collections Card which is specific to this establishment. On your first visit please bring with you two forms of identification which contain your name, printed address and signature [e.g a driving licence]. The blue County Archive Research Network Reader’s ticket is not valid for use at the Cadbury Research Library.

Primary Sources

Original manuscript and typescript documents, including Estimate books, Order books, Account books, Ledgers, Shop books and Drawings.

Organbuilders covered include: Bevington, Blackett & Howden, Percy Daniel, Elliot & Hill (1829) Forster & Andrews, Gray & Davison, Harrison & Harrison, Hill & Son, Hill Norman & Beard, Hope Jones, Jardine, Lewis, Norman & Beard, Wadsworth, Willis and Yates. Records may not include all dates of activity.

Secondary Sources

Published documents including Journals and Periodicals and cuttings from them, reports by official bodies and theses and dissertations.

These include: Sperling notebooks, the Leffler manuscript, the Harvey notebooks, the Haycraft notebook, a wide variety of pamphlets, The Organ magazine, the Rotunda magazine and theses by Jim Berrow and Joseph McKee.

Photographic Records

Including over 700 glass plate photographs by the late Andrew Freeman. These have been scanned and digitised (with the help of the Freeman family). Click here for more details about the Freeman Collection.

For more information about the British Organ Archive, visit the Cadbury Research Library.

Freeman images can also be viewed from the National Pipe Organ Register (NPOR) under the heading Buildings Found at the foot of the individual entry for the location and then clicking the entry under Cadbury Digitised Plates. Another route is via the BOA section of the NPOR and the relevant Document Archives page and then clicking the entry under Cadbury Digitised Plates.