History of Organs at St Peter's
To follow...History of the Peter Collins Organ
The St Peter's organ was built by Peter Collins in 1986 from his workshop in Redbourne, only eight miles from Berkhamsted. He has since moved his workshop to Melton Mowbray.Peter served his apprenticeship with the firm of Bishop and Son, later working abroad with Rieger Orgelbau. He began restoring and renovating organs in the 1960s, and completed the building of his first church organ in 1967. Since then he has built over a hundred instruments, mostly in Britain, for cathedrals, churches, concert halls, universities and schools, but also in Australia, France, Germany, Norway, Korea and the United States.
Major commissions include organs for the National St David's Hall in Cardiff, for the Greyfriars Kirk in Edinburgh and for the church of St Peter Mancroft in Norwich. Examples of his work can be seen locally in St Albans Abbey (an instrument built in 1989 for the International Organ Festival there) and in St Michael's Church also in St Albans.
The St Peter's organ was totally conceived by Peter and in every regard is designed specifically for this building and its position within it. It does however incorporate some pipework from the 19th century Walker organ that it replaced. Peter was involved in every stage of its construction and is particularly responsible for its voicing. His team included JOHN HARPER who made the casework and console, RICHARD OLLIFFE responsible for the windchests and wind system, CHRISTOPHER JORDAN was the pipe maker, BRINDLEY SINGLETON executed the precision action and assembly. They were assisted by MARK COLLINS for the electrical system, HAROLD COLLINS with painting and gilding, JANET COLLINS in the administration, ADRIAN TILLEY in general construction and NICHOLAS LUMLEY for advice on the screens and ornament. It is particularly interesting to note that both John Harper and Richard Olliffe were born and bred in Berkhamsted.
The case work is entirely executed in English oak, the ornament and screens are in sycamore, the windchests in oak and mahogany, and the keyboard and stops in ivory and padauk.
Specification
| Swell | ||
| Gedact | 8 | From Walker Organ |
| Viola | 8 | From Walker Organ |
| Celeste | 8 | From Walker Organ |
| Principal | 4 | From Walker Organ |
| Stopt Flute | 4 | Part Collins |
| Gemshorn | 2 | From Walker Organ |
| Larigot | 1 1/3 | Collins |
| Mixture | IV-V | Part Collins |
| Cremona | 16 | Part Collins |
| Schalmey | 8 | From Walker Organ |
| Clairon | 4 | From Walker Organ |
| Tremulant | ||
Great | ||
| Dulciana | 16 | From Walker Organ |
| Principal | 8 | From Walker Organ |
| Rohr Flute | 8 | From Walker Organ |
| Octave | 4 | From Walker Organ |
| Hohl Flute | 4 | Part Collins |
| Quint | 2 2/3 | Part Collins |
| Octave | 2 | Collins |
| Tierce | 1 3/5 | Collins |
| Mixture | IV | Part Collins |
| Trumpet | 8 | From Walker Organ |
| Tremulant | ||
Pedal | ||
| Principal | 16 | From Walker Organ |
| Subbass | 16 | From Walker Organ |
| Octave | 8 | From Walker Organ |
| Pommer | 8 | From Walker Organ |
| Wide Octave | 4 | From Walker Organ |
| Trombone | 16 | From Walker Organ |
Couplers | ||
| Swell to Great | ||
| Swell to Pedal | ||
| Great to Pedal | ||
Photos
 |  |
| The Console | The Pedalboard |
 |  |
| The Console | The Pipework |