BIOS Reporter – Volume 21, No.3 – July 1997

The availability of money for the organ from the National Lottery has provided a new impetus for the repair and restoration of many ailing instruments and the construction of new, exciting designs. Some churches will not use such money on the grounds that it is derived from gambling, others have no such scruples. Where there is acceptance of the new money, there has been much enthusiastic work based on a general feeling of confidence that such work can now be undertaken, avoiding the mistakes of the past, such as organs with inappropriate specifications shoehorned into cramped quarters. The opportunity may arise for ambitious schemes to be undertaken which could not have been countenanced on more limited resource. However, there is no guarantee that some older, reprehensible habits will not surface again, with organs being mutilated and enlarged (with comprehensive funding available) to suit personal whims…