Organ, 1760-1770, English, designed for Fonthill Splendens mansion by William Chambers, made by William Vile. Movement by Crang and Hancock

Organ, wood, decorated with carvings

The organ has survived only in part. The upper case, lower case and sides of the case are preserved, but the ceiling and back of the case are now missing. There are no remains of the console except for its base and ceiling, forming part of the front of the case, or of the key-action, stop-action or the mechanism for the shifting movement or wind-supply. The wind-chest, made in two sections with a double slider between, has survived largely in its original form. Remains of a number of ranks of pipework survive. The instrument's original compass and stoplist are believed to have been fifty-seven notes with ten ranks of pipes. The organ, built by John Crang for the elder William Beckford, was placed in the music-room (or 'Organ Hall'), a richly decorated cube of thirty-six feet, in his newly completed Palladian mansion, Fonthill Splendens. It was acquired to further the development of the musical talents of his son. The
organ case may have been designed by William Chambers, very possibly influenced by the French organ-case design of the period. In 1801 the younger William sold the organ, which did not fit the decorative scheme of his new Gothic mansion, Fonthill Abbey.

W.13:1-1980