Troon Methodist Church has gone by several names since it was built in 1863. Originally named Troon Wesleyan Chapel, in the 1930s the church became known as Troon St John’s Methodist Church, and assumed its current name in 1968 after the closure of Troon Chapel Square Methodist Church, which stood across the road and only a few yards distant, when the two congregations were combined.

The present organ dates from 1913 and was built by the Sweetland Organ Building Company of Bath, and replaced an earlier, smaller instrument. Whilst not as historically significant and tonally preserved as some of the other instruments that I have written about, the organ is, nevertheless, of interest, especially so given its connection with a notable Cornish musician of the time. It was dedicated at a concert on December 4^th, 1913, with Henry Charles Tonking as the soloist. Tonking was born in Camborne in 1863 and received his early musical training locally, becoming the organist of Illogan Parish Church when only 13 and before going on to study at the Royal Academy of Music in London, where he was later to teach the organ. As well as being an accomplished organist, Tonking was also a very proficient violinist, though it was as an organist that he made his name, playing on many occasions at the Crystal Palace and giving recitals at the Royal Albert Hall. Tonking returned to Cornwall in the early years of the 20^th century and took up posts as organist at St Ia’s Parish Church, St Ives, possibly at the time when the church’s very fine 1907 Hele Organ was installed, and subsequently at Newquay Wesley. This latter church closed in the early years of the 21^st century and the organ was dismantled, some of it finding its way to the organ built by Lance Foy in 2013 for St Michael’s Church, Newquay. The organ at Troon, as built by Sweetland, had 20 speaking stops spread over 2 manuals and pedals as follows:-

Pedal

Open Diapason           16

Bourdon                      16

Bass Flute                    8 (extension of Bourdon)

 

Great

Open Diapason Major 8

Open Diapason Minor 8

Clarabella                    8

Dulciana                      8

Principal                      4

Wald Flute                   4

Clarionet                     8 (tenor C)

 

Swell

Lieblich Bourdon         16

Open Diapason           8

Lieblich Gedackt          8

Salicional                     8 (grooved bass)

Voix Celeste                 8 (tenor C)

Gemshorn                   4

Piccolo                         2

Mixture                       III

Cornopean                  8

Oboe                           8

Tremulant

 

Couplers

Swell to Pedal

Great to Pedal

Swell to Great

Swell Octave

 

Combination Pedals

3 to Great

3 to Swell

1 reversible Great to Pedal

 

Lever Swell Pedal

Pneumatic key and stop actions.

(1913 technical details and specification sourced from the programme of the opening recital in the church’s archives.)

In 1990 there was severe storm damage to the roof of the church that necessitated a complete refurbishment of the building, which re-opened in 1991. Subsequent work to the organ converted the Pedal action to electro-pneumatic, substituted a II rank Quartane for the Clarionet, changed the Swell Pedal to a balanced pedal and re-made the pedalboard. Smaller stop-heads have been introduced with changes of nomenclature for three of the ranks. It is reported that some, if not all of this work, was carried by W H Hosken of Plymouth. Since then, the organ has passed into the care of Lance Foy of Truro, and as of August 2023, the specification and technical details of are:-

Pedal

Open Diapason           16

Bourdon                      16

Bass Flute                    8 (extension of Bourdon)

 

Great

Open Diapason I         8

Open Diapason II        8

Clarabella                    8

Dulciana                      8

Principal                      4

Harmonic Flute           4

Quartane                     II (199?)

 

 

 

Swell

Lieblich Bourdon         16

Open Diapason           8

Lieblich Gedackt          8

Salicional                     8 (grooved bass)

Voix Celeste                 8 (tenor C)

Gemshorn                   4

Piccolo                         2

Mixture                       III

Cornopean                  8

Oboe                           8

Tremulant

 

Couplers

Swell to Pedal

Great to Pedal

Swell to Great

Swell Octave

 

Combination Pedals

3 to Great

3 to Swell

1 reversible Great to Pedal

Balanced Swell Pedal

(2023 specification and technical details sourced from a site visit.)

 

Jeffrey Williams

Organs Advisor to the Diocese of Truro

Principal Organist, St Ia Church, St Ives

Historic Organs Co-Ordinator for the British Institute of Organ Studies