The Organ which is presently in St. Margaret's was originally built by Blackett & Howden, of Newcastle, for St. Matthew's Free Church, Newton Street, Glasgow, in 1899. The Cost was estimated at £1,047 and the actual Cost was £1,300 including £55 for an Organ Case. It was due to have been finished on 1st March 1899, but an extension was requested, due to a strike of Organ-builders. The Organ was finally finished in September, but, due to certain unreliable features, it was May 1900 before the Organ was working satisfactorily.
By July 1900, St. Matthew's Church was informed that Blackett & Howden were going into liquidation, and Richard Smith of Glasgow took over tuning and maintenance, for £10-10/- per year, with Messrs. T. Melvin & Co. looking after the water engine for £3-10/-. Three years later, the key action and stop action leather had to be replaced with new kid skin for the sum of £55, but, in order to prove that this was required, the Church decreed that only the Swell organ should be done initially, for £25. This was successful and the rest of the Organ was similarly repaired. The total cost was £80. By July 1909, work was necessary on the Pedal Organ.
The Organ gave trouble off and on, and, as no amount of repairing would improve matters, by 1914, Ingram & Co., of Edinburgh were awarded the contract to rebuild the organ (The competition was from Forster & Andrews, Norman & Beard, Lewis & Lewis and Hilsdon) at a cost of £751. The Job Number or "Opus" was 771. The present Console dates from this rebuild.
After a year had elapsed, the Organ was reported to be "free from defects and had given practically no trouble over the last 12 months". This was attributed to the excellent workmanship and materials used by Ingrams.
The Organ was overhauled in 1928 following complete refurbishment of the woodwork and decoration of the Church in 1927, as well as new lighting, at a cost of £1,150.
Nothing much, apart from maintenance seems to have happened from 1928 apart from regular tuning and maintenance, but it is interesting to note that the cost of Tuning by Ingram & Co., in 1930, was £10-10/-, the same as Richard Smith was being paid in 1900.
In 1941 the Bellows required attention. There were two possibilities. The existing Bellows could be repaired for £95, or a Rotary Fan Blower could be installed for £130. Repair of the existing Bellows was chosen and the work was completed in September 1942. In 1943 a complete overhaul was recommended by Ingrams but this was never done. The Church became St. Matthew's Highlanders’ Memorial Church in 1941.
In 1949, the South West of Scotland Electricity Board offered to contribute £130 towards the cost of a new motor for operating the Organ Bellows, when alternating current was introduced.
By 1950, the Organ, which had been used for some time as an examination instrument by Trinity College, London, was requiring attention. A complete overhaul was recommended, otherwise the College stated that it would not come back. Wilfrid Phillips was the Trinity College representative and he was advised that his agreement with the Church was terminated. However, the College requested that they continue to use the Organ until January 1951.
St. Matthew's Highlanders’ Church suffered a fire in the roof space on 20th January 1951 and Glasgow Corporation's Office of Public Works reported considerable damage and decreed that no Services were to be held in the Church.
After the closure of St. Matthew's, Hilsdons estimated that the organ might well have a value of between £10,000 and £15,000 and advised the Church not to accept an offer of less than £1,000. The availability of the Organ was advertised in several papers and two offers were received, from F.F. Bell of Edinburgh at £200 and from St. Margaret's Parish Church, Dalry, at £500. This offer was accepted and the installation was done by Messrs. Hill, Norman & Beard, at a cost to St. Margaret's of £2,261 with an additional charge of £134 for installing thumb and toe Pistons. This Company ceased to exist in 1998, and the Organ is now maintained by Mr. Paul Miller.
The Organ of St. Margaret's Parish Church The first organ was a three-manual instrument by Conacher, tragically destroyed by fire in 1951, which devastated the church.
The present organ was originally built by Blackett & Howden for St Matthew’s Free Church, Newton St, Glasgow. Rebuilt in 1914 by Ingram of Edinburgh with exhaust pneumatic action. Removed from St. Matthew’s Highlanders, Memorial Church in 1952, renovated and installed in St Margaret’s Parish Church, Dalry in 1953 by Hill Norman & Beard.
ORGAN SPECIFICATION
SWELL ORGAN Lieblich Bourdon 16ft Violin Diapason 8ft Lieblich Gedeckt 8ft Gamba 8ft Voix Celestes 8ft Gemshorn 4ft Mixture III Ranks Contra Fagotto 16ft Oboe 8ft Horn 8ft
CHOIR ORGAN Dulciana Rohr Flute Gamba Lieblich Flute Piccolo Clarinet Tromba (also on Great)
ACCESSORIES 4 Thumb Pistons to Swell 4 Thumb Pistons to Great 3 thumb Pistons to Choir 4 Toe Pistons to Pedal 4 Toe Pistons to Swell (separate combinations from Swell Thumb Pistons) 1 Thumb Piston Great to Pedal (reversible) 1 Toe Piston Great to Pedal (reversible) Great & Pedal Pistons coupled (drawstop) Tremulant to Swell & Choir by rocking tablets set in key jambs Two balanced Swell Pedals
COUPLERS Choir Sub Octave Choir Unison Off Choir Octave Swell to Choir Choir to Pedal Swell to Pedal Great to Pedal Swell to Great Choir to Great Swell Sub Octave Swell Unison Off Swell Octave ............
Organists St. Margaret's Parish Church, Dalry, Since 1889
1889 - 1899 J. Whitehaven 1899 - 1905 Fred W. Baxter, FRCO. 1905 - 1909 J .R. Walters 1910 - 1922 Fred W. Baxter, FRCO 1923 - 1928 E. Beck Slinn 1928 - 1935 Miss Beatrice M. Peters 1935 – 1936 John Mearns 1936 - 1939 Cedric Thorpe Davie (later OBE., LLD" FRAM) 1939 - 1983 Frank G. Tolmie, MA., ARCO. 1940 – 1945 Miss Margaret M. Hill (Deputy during the time that Frank G, Tolmie was on Active Service in the Royal Air Force) 1983 - 1987 Andrew Miller, LLCM., TD. 1988 – 1990 J. Graeme Allan, MA., ATCL 1990 - 1993 Peter A. Black, B. Mus (Hons) ARCM 1994 - 2004 William R. Hutcheson, ALCM., MLIA(Dip) 2005 - 2006 Peter A. Black, B Mus (Hons) ARCM Mrs Isobel Walker acted as Deputy Organist until 2007 Mr Alan Smith