The Wizarding Organ
As a special half-term treat on Monday 27 May, Ewa Belmas performs John Williams’ music from the first three ‘Harry Potter’ movies. Advance booking is encouraged, with tickets available from Wednesday 1 May.
Find out moreApril & May 2024 – Before planning your visit, please check our ‘Visitor Notices’ for accessibility updates and one-off changes to opening times. Click here to view.
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NEWCASTLE CATHEDRAL
NEWCASTLE CATHEDRAL
A BEACON OF LIGHT
Our organ
The Cathedral organ accompanies daily choral services and large-scale special services and features in our weekly Monday lunchtime Organ Recital Series – one of the country’s few examples of a series that continues throughout the year.
Every Monday at 1:05pm, the Cathedral hosts organ recitals that are open to all. No pre-booking is required; simply find a seat in the Nave and enjoy. While attendance is free, we encourage those who attend to consider contributing in-person or online to our retiring collection.
Click here to contribute a suggested donation of £5.
Organ recitals
April 2024
| Monday 1 April, 1:05pm | Ian Roberts and Kris Thomsett, Newcastle Cathedral |
| Monday 8 April, 1:05pm | Andrew Robinson, Durham |
| Monday 15 April, 1:05pm | Andrew Caskie, Worcester |
| Monday 22 April, 1:05pm | Magnus Williamson, Newcastle University |
| Monday 29 April, 1:05pm | Peter Locke, Gateshead |
May 2024
| Monday 6 May, 1:05pm | Michael Haynes, Hexham Abbey |
| Monday 13 May, 1:05pm | Jordan English, St Giles’ Cathedral, Edinburgh |
| Monday 20 May, 1:05pm | James Watson, Newcastle Cathedral |
| Monday 27 May, 1:05pm | Ewa Belmas, ‘The Music of Harry Potter’ |
This page is updated by the first recital of the month; please check back soon for May’s music programme and June’s guest organists.
About the organ
The history of Newcastle Cathedral’s organ is rich and diverse. Initially built in 1670 by Renatus Harris with only Great and Choir divisions and 17 stops, the instrument has undergone several transformations. The Harris double-fronted casework remains, with the distinctive east case design now forming the central section of the current transept front. The Harris west front has been repositioned to face east into St George’s Chapel.
Over the years, notable modifications were made, including a rebuild by Snetzler in 1767, and significant work by Wood, Small & Co. of Edinburgh (1814), Bruce (1839), and John Nicholson of Newcastle (1844). Around 1880, Lewis essentially created a new organ, resulting in a substantial four-manual instrument with 58 stops and tubular pneumatic action.
In 1911, just 31 years after we were elevated to Cathedral status, Harrison & Harrison reconstructed the organ in Edwardian style, making further adjustments in 1954. The present state of the instrument results from a significant reordering by Nicholson & Co. (Worcester) in 1981, resulting in a four-manual instrument with seven divisions and 110 stops. Tonally enhanced and featuring substantial upperworks, the organ received a second console (movable, three manuals) in the transept in 1991.
The organ, essentially comprising two distinct entities – the Main Organ (Great, Swell, Chaire, Bombarde, and Pedal) in the North Transept and the Choir Organ (Great, Swell, and Pedal) in the Quire – is complemented by the primary console located adjacent to the Choir organ, in the westernmost bay of the north Quire arcade.