The Historic Organs at Risk Register

The BIOS Historic Organs at Risk Register is designed to augment Historic England’s Heritage at Risk Register for historic buildings. To work for the preservation, and where necessary the faithful restoration of historic organs in Britain.

We should not give up on important historic organs that have become neglected. Restoring them to musical use contributes to our national culture. The organ has a many-faceted nature. It enables the performance of a wide variety of music and supports the growing popularity of choir singing, with almost every organ an individual creation. The evolution of its mechanism in response to the demands of musicians is a study in itself  and, as an organ is very large piece of furniture, it has often been a focus for the decorative arts.

The purpose of the register is to single out important organs under threat, either because a building is at risk of structural alteration or closure, or because the organ itself is at risk following prolonged neglect. The end result is a Register giving a dynamic picture of the instruments most at risk and in need of safeguarding for the future.

View details of organs recently added to the At Risk register.

View details of organs recently saved from the At Risk register.

Eligible Instruments are restricted to organs that have already been listed by BIOS or are potentially listable. Click here for details of the criteria for inclusion in the register.

Applications to have an organ placed on the Register may be made by any person with a genuine interest in the perceived threat to the organ in question, using the form below.