Rare organ fully restored as part of major project to make church community hub
A rare organ has been fully restored as part of a major project to make the church a community hub.
The instrument at St John's Church in Killingworth, North Tyneside, holds the distinction of being the sole organ in the United Kingdom awarded Grade II star status by the British Institute of Organ Studies.
Richard Postill of York built 166 organs during his career.
This includes one of his other notable instruments at Blenheim Palace in Oxfordshire.
Only 10 Postill organ survives today, making the Killingworth instrument exceptionally significant to Britain's musical heritage.
Before its restoration, the organ had deteriorated significantly.
Grimy pipes were patched with gaffer tape.
A missing middle D note was temporarily fixed with a bent paper clip.
The extensive renovation work was partially financed through the fundraising efforts of Nigel Brown, the church's organist.
He completed an epic 1,490-mile bicycle journey across England and Scotland, stopping at churches housing other Postill organs along the way.
Mr Brown said: "The restorers have done a wonderful job.
"They had to completely dismantle it and they've returned all the woodwork to how it would have looked in Victorian times."
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The organ's revival forms part of a wider modernisation programme at St John's.
The church has also seen the installation of a new kitchen, toilet facilities, and meeting spaces.
"We want this beautiful building to be used by the community every single day," the Revd Sarah Moon, the church's vicar, told the BBC.
She explained that the transformation began six years ago, when the church lacked running water and relied on coal for heating.
Revd Moon said: "This is part of a modernisation which began six years ago in a church with no water, built to be heated by coal, to bring it into the 21st century."
The restoration comes as Britain is seeing an unexpected surge in Christianity, particularly among young people.
Figures from YouGov’s bi-annual tracker revealed that belief in God among 18 to 24-year-olds has almost tripled in just three-and-a-half years, rising from 16 per cent in August 2021 to 45 per cent in January 2025.
Among 25-49-year-olds, belief has risen more modestly, from 21 per cent to 33 per cent over the same period.
Church attendance figures have also increased, according to two YouGov polls in 2018 and 2024, which showed a 56 per cent growth in UK adults attending church at least once a month.
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