Organs and organists of Chichester Cathedral

The organs of Chichester Cathedral are the major source of instrumental music at the cathedral, being played for daily services and accompanying the choir, as well as being used for concerts and recitals. There has been organ music at Chichester Cathedral almost continuously since the medieval period, with a break in the mid-17th century during the Commonwealth period.

There are now five pipe organs at Chichester Cathedral, with pipes of the Main Organ dating to the Restoration, the Hurdis Organ to the late 18th century and the three most recent organs dating to the late 20th century.

The earliest recorded Organist of Chichester Cathedral is William Campion in 1543, and the earliest recorded Master of the Choristers is Richard Martyn in the 1550s. The role of "Organist" has been combined with that of "Master of the Choristers" since 1801 – the first Organist and Master of the Choristers was James Target. Since the 1870s there has been an official appointment of an "Assistant Organist".

Several well-known composers, including Thomas Weelkes and John Reading, have served as cathedral organist. Anne Maddocks (Assistant Organist, 1942–49) was the first woman in the country to hold such a post in a cathedral, and Sarah Baldock (Organist and Master of the Choristers, 2008–14) was the second woman, after Katherine Dienes at Guildford Cathedral, to hold the most senior musical post in a Church of England cathedral.

The earliest organs in the cathedral were destroyed by the forces of Colonel Waller during the period of the Commonwealth. Following the Restoration of the Monarchy, Renatus Harris built a one-manual organ on the screen in 1678; the pipes of the organ still form the heart of the present instrument. In 1725, John Byfield added the Choir Organ and Thomas Knight added the third keyboard, the swell, in 1778. Further additions were made in the 19th century by George Pike England (1806) Henry Pilcher & Sons (1829) before, in 1859, the great Victorian organ builder William Hill was employed to move the organ from the screen to its present position. The collapse of the tower and spire in 1861 left the organ a mid-19th century instrument, as all the money that could be raised at the time was spent on the building and furnishings rather than on the organ. The organ was restored further by Hele of Plymouth in 1904, but neglect dictated by financial constraints meant that in 1972 its working mechanism was in such a parlous state that the organ had to be abandoned as unplayable. After a silence of fourteen years it was eventually restored by Mander in 1984–86. Today it is widely regarded as a very special part of the heritage of English organs and it is the only surviving example of an English classical, rather than romantic, cathedral instrument.

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