"Mighty" Wurlitzer Theatre Pipe Organ - Heritage Open Days

About

See & hear the North East's only 'Mighty Wurlitzer' theatre pipe organ (one of UK's largest). The theatre organ was part of the 'Everyday History' of our society last century - find how it was used & look inside the workings of this amazing machine!

Now restored to 'as new' condition with the aid of a Heritage Lottery Fund grant, you can discover the magic of the Theatre Organ at Howden le Wear as seen recently on BBC Look North. As well as listening to the spine-tingling sounds, you can find out how the master organ building craftsmen enabled a musician to produce these amazing sounds from an instrument made of wood and metal with no modern electronic amplification or tone generation. After you see and hear the organ, perhaps you will find out a little of how it played a major role in the 'Everyday History' of the mid-Twentieth Century and explore inside the two large organ 'chambers'* which are usually hidden from view and contain over 1,300 organ pipes, varying vastly in shape and in size (from a fraction of an inch to 16 feet long) and producing a huge variety of musical tone - plus - a whole percussion department (of real instruments played by the organ's electro-pneumatic action). Find out for yourself why the Wurlitzer really was 'Mighty' in sight AND in sound: designed as a true one-man orchestra in fact!
* Access to the organ chambers may be unsuited to those with limited mobility / wheelchairs due to restricted space, steps, etc.