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The Grand Organ in The Royal Aquarium and Summer and Winter Gardens at Westminster.

The builder of the instrument was Henry Jones of 136 Fulham Road, Brompton. Henry Jones was born in 1822 in Folkestone. He moved to Lambeth in 1835 and undertook a seven year Apprenticeship under Joseph Walker as an Organ Builder. In 1843 he set up in business on his own account, firstly at 10 Pond Place, Chelsea, and then from 1853 at 136 Fulham Road on the corner of Thistle Grove Lane where he employed 14 men and boys. The organ at the Royal Aquarium was his largest and most prestigious work. It was built under the supervision of Sir Arthur Sullivan (of Gilbert & Sullivan fame) and was installed at the rear of the main stage for the opening of the Hall in 1876. The organ was originally designed to have four divisions and a much larger pedal section but was never fully completed. In 1878 the firm were asked to move the instrument from the stage, where it was constantly being masked by scenery, to a position up in the Gallery. The shear size and power of the instrument combined with the vast open acoustics of the glass-roofed Hall must have made for some very spectacular sounds from this organ.

Left - Henry Jones (1822-1900) 136 Fulham Road, West Brompton. The builder of the Grand Organ in the Royal Aquarium and Summer and Winter Gardens, Westminster. The Photograph of Henry Jones is "in the
public domain". It was found framed beside the organ at Ninfield Parish Church in Sussex and dates from 1872. At that time there was a strike amongst the men in the workshops of the London organ-builders for better pay and conditions. The only exception to this was at Henry Jones' workshop where many of the men had been with him from the beginning and were so well treated that, instead of coming out on strike, they presented him with a silver cup to celebrate his 50th birthday. You can see the cup beside him in the photo.

The wind for the organ came from four large bellows placed beneath the instrument which supplied wind at different pressures to different parts of the organ. These bellows were driven by steam power but were placed so that the instrument could be hand-pumped "should any mishap occur among the steam machinery". The Console was made of polished Rosewood, with diagonal draw-stops, overhanging keys, radiating and concave foot pedals and "every modern improvement to bring the whole instrument comfortably within the control of the performer". The spectacular Trumpets were placed on a very high wind-pressure and many of the softer solo Orchestral Reed stops were specially manufactured and voiced for the organ by two of the most eminent firms in Paris. The organ "retained the solidity of the English Open Diapason in all its grandeur on the Great and Bass organs and the German Gamba and Harmonic Stops are remarkable for their bright and clear tones". The organ was obviously in continual use up until the late 1890s giving recitals between shows and accompanying the singers. The Organist in 1891 was Mr. J. Mortimer Dudman.

Henry Jones (shown right) retired from the business in 1889 and left it in the hands of his son, Henry Spain Jones, of 70 Park Walk, Chelsea. The firm of Henry Jones & Sons undoubtedly retained the care of the organ until the Hall was closed in 1903. The firm itself continued until 1942 when the family home in Edith Grove, West Brompton, was bombed killing the remaining members of the family. Nothing is yet known of the fate of the Aquarium organ. When the Hall closed in 1903 it must have been dismantled but whether the instrument was rebuilt somewhere else or just broken up I have yet to find out. I have searched high and low for a photograph or illustration of the organ but to no avail.

(Crufts began at the Royal Aquarium as the Allied Terrier Club Show from 1886-1891 when it moved to the Agricultural Hall in Islington.)

The Specification of the Organ (given below) was published in full in the "Musical Opinion" of 6th July, 1878 and in Henry Jones' Opus List of 1881, both of which are in the British Organ Archive at Birmingham Central Library.

Text Courtesy Chris Kearl (member of the British Institute of Organ Studies 'BIOS') and forms part of a book in progress by Chris about Henry Jones and his instruments. Source material about the organ comes from "Musical Opinion" 1878 and "Henry Jones' Opus List" of 1881. Both of these publications are in the British Organ Archive.

Organ Specification

Above - Specification of the Organ published in full in the "Musical Opinion" of 6th July, 1878 and in Henry Jones' Opus List of 1881, both of which are in the British Organ Archive at Birmingham Central Library. - Courtesy Chris Kearl.