Walk west for half an hour from London’s Regent’s Park and you will find yourself in the suburb of Kilburn Park, with the hills of Hampstead to the north and the Paddington basin to the south. Here is to be found one of the architectural treasures of the capital, easily undiscovered unless you have a copy of Simon Jenkins’s Thousand Best Churches to hand. St Augustine’s, Kilburn was designed by John Loughborough Pearson RA (also responsible for Truro Cathedral). Its 13th-century Gothic style architecture with French influences, lavishly decorated within by artists of renown, led Sir Nikolaus Pevsner in his series The Buildings of England to write: ‘One of the best churches of its date in the whole of England, a proud, honest, upright achievement… The Chancel is embellished with a profusion of stone sculpture, a piling on of effects that would swamp a lesser church.’

High on the north side of that chancel at triforium level stands the Willis instrument dating from 1871, now fully restored to its former glory. Much as my own visits to services here over several decades have tantalised by the diminishing presence of this once great instrument, so now there could be a hankering after the imagined ranks ‘prepared for’ in Willis’s specification, their stop knobs and fourth manual silently augmenting the console of what is actually a three-manual organ of 37 speaking stops. Granted, a Pedal Double Open Wood 32, Great Contra Tromba 16, and a Swell 4ft Lieblich Flöte would make useful additions, yet there is no urgent need for them. The existing ranks, their superb voicing and reach, and (the most important stop) the building’s reverberation time of over two seconds, are sufficient. The Willis prepared-for Solo division, that would on paper complete the organ’s tonal scheme, is also of scant concern given the truly heroic nature of what is already here.

The Pedal Open Wood 16 before cleaning

At the console, there is some imbalance in the way that divisions can be heard (the Great Organ above the player obliterates much else when heavy registrations are drawn), the Choir Organ in the middle of the instrument is very quiet from the bench, but there is a lovely sense of the Swell division, high up at the back, speaking out and around the building. Tearing myself away from what is a perfectly comfortable console with no awkward stretches, I walk around the nave to hear the instrument in different registrations. There is excellent balance between all divisions and a real sense of the building being filled with unforced sound. Opening the box to full swell creates a thrilling drama; the Great reeds are equally good soloing out a hymn verse, or creating a Gospel fanfare, and there are sufficient strings (with octaves and sub octaves) and enough 8ft fonds to create the spine-tingling effects required for accompanying benediction and creating intimations of the numinous.

After hearing the instrument from the nave, and the chancel (into which the manual divisions speak, the Pedal facing west from behind the pipe rack above the Lady Chapel altar), I ask organist Vladimir Antonov-Charsky (currently reading for a Master’s degree at the Royal College of Music) how he finds the newly restored instrument to play, especially in a liturgical context.

View of the Great Organ pipework looking south: reeds in the foreground, flues in the background

‘I find that it has all the tools to furnish a service effectively and sensitively and elicit an enthusiastic response from the congregation. It’s also an exciting instrument on which to perform organ literature. It gives a fresh and thrilling take on some of the staples, and even though it’s definitely of a Romantic character, it sounds quite convincing for Bach and some early music, as well as contemporary pieces. The challenge lies mostly in the lack of programmable pistons, but having composition pedals helps.’ I certainly found the lack of a general cancel a stumbling block, though understandable given the complete authenticity of the restoration blueprint.

‘I particularly enjoy adding the Octave Quint on the Great,’ he says, ‘which gives a beautiful colour to the foundation stops for quieter, reflective moments in the liturgy. The Great reeds crown the full organ sound that fills the church, but are also effective on their own. All the reeds on this organ are remarkable and full of character. Using the Trompette on the Swell for Remembrance Sunday, I was told that some people were convinced they were hearing an actual bugle. The Oboe is delightful and with the tremulant has a wonderfully soaring quality, as does the Choir Clarinet. In some contexts I feel the lack of a consistently quiet but distinct Pedal stop – even the Sub Bass feels a bit too boomy. On the other hand, the 16ft Open Wood has an amazing oomph to it that almost makes the missing 32ft feel redundant. It’s a very exciting instrument to explore and I still keep discovering new things it can do, to my delight and surprise and that of other listeners.’

The scope of restoration

While some projects provoke lengthy debate about what qualifies as a restoration, rebuild or reconstruction, this was, without question, a restoration in the truest sense. The schedule of work was comprehensive, including the releathering of the wind system and the complex pneumatic key and drawstop actions. A new adjustable organ bench was also provided.

Voicing work was purely restorative. The original cone-tuning was preserved throughout, though in a few of the most delicate top notes, to prevent further damage to the pipework, tuning slides were discreetly added. The tonal scheme itself remains completely untouched – and rightly so – as it stands as a textbook example of Willis’s work at its best.

A key part of the project was to improve access for tuning and maintenance. In our new organs, we favour buffalo board, but such a material would have felt out of place here. Our aim was to improve access in a manner that was both aesthetically sympathetic and compliant with modern health and safety standards. New solid wood ladders, passageboards and handrails were provided to supplement the original arrangement.

Architect John Loughborough Pearson always made provision for an organ in his churches, and often employed ‘hanging valleys’ in roof construction. At St Augustine’s, this design element sits directly above the Pedal Organ, and has long been the cause of trouble. For decades, it has led to water ingress, with the Pedal slider soundboard suffering repeated soaking. This led to its restoration in 2009 and again in 2024. The relevant section of the roof has since been repaired, though it will still require regular attention from church officers to ensure gutters are cleared and kept free flowing.

Rear view of the bass side stop jamb machines; new solid wood ladders and passageboards; the new adjustable bench; rear view of the treble side stop jamb showing the jamb machine valves and piston combination tubing

Pneumatics

Anyone who has worked with pneumatic action knows that, while often ingenious and beautifully made, it comes with its challenges, particularly as the leatherwork deteriorates over time. The years had taken their toll: perished leather and a predictable list of leaks meant that a full overhaul was necessary. The entire mechanism, including the piston combination action, was dismantled, painstakingly restored and fully re-tubed.

The restored console contains Willis-style keys with rounded sharps with classic Harrison-design key cheeks, stop jambs and original style pedalboard

The Willis organ in perspective

The Kilburn organ dates from 1871 and shares many characteristics with other Willis instruments of the period. Aside from changes in nomenclature and the addition of a Pedal Sub Bass, along with Double Trumpet and Voix Célestes on the Swell, the 1923 rebuild by Harrison & Harrison left the Willis tonal scheme entirely intact: the cone-tuning bears this out. That Arthur Harrison exercised such restraint is remarkable, especially considering the extent to which other Willis organs were remodelled in his unmistakable tonal style.

Where Harrison & Harrison did make their mark was in providing a new exhaust pneumatic key action and a new console. Those familiar with the differences between Willis and Harrison consoles will note two particular curiosities. Firstly, the Willis keyboards – complete with rounded ebony sharps – were retained, but reclothed with typical H&H key cheeks and thumb pistons. Secondly, there is a minor but amusing engraving error: the Solo Organ includes stops for both a 4ft Harmonic Flute and a 4ft Concert Flute, when one would usually expect an 8ft Harmonic Flute paired with a 4ft Concert Flute.

What makes the Kilburn instrument particularly special is its relationship to the building. This is a Pearson church of the highest order (and not only in its liturgy), often referred to as the ‘cathedral of North London’, and with good reason. The acoustic is generous, and the organ responds wonderfully in the space, filling it with elegant grandeur. In restoring this fine instrument, our aim was to honour its history and give it the best chance of serving the church, the community, and the music for another century. Having been personally responsible for its maintenance for 16 years in my former role as London Tuner, and having nursed it through many of its more trying moments in recent years, to see it now fully restored has been something of a catharsis.

The Lady Chapel with Pedal pipework in front of the Swell box

St Augustine’s Church, Kilburn, London

Henry Willis & Sons (1871); Harrison & Harrison Ltd (1915, 1923, 2025)

I. CHOIR 

Lieblich Bordun (prepared for) 16

Rohr Flöte 8

Viole d’Amour 8

Dulciana 8

Gemshorn 4

Flauto Traverso 4

Harmonic Piccolo 2

Clarinet 8

Sw to Ch, Solo to Ch

II. GREAT 

Double Open Diapason 16

Large Open Diapason 8

Small Open Diapason 8

Viola 8

Claribel Flute 8

Octave 4

Octave Quint 2²/3

Super Octave 2

Mixture 17.19.22 III

Contra Tromba (prepared for) 16

Tromba 8

Octave Tromba 4

Ch to Gt, Sw to Gt, Solo to Gt

III. SWELL (enclosed)

Contra Gamba (12 closed wood) 16

Open Diapason 8

Lieblich Gedeckt 8

Echo Gamba 8

Voix Célestes (tenor c) 8

Principal 4

Lieblich Flöte (prepared for) 4

Flageolet 2

Mixture 17.19.22 III

Oboe 8

Vox Humana 8

Tremulant

Double Trumpet 16

Trumpet 8

Clarion 4

Octave, Sub Octave, Solo to Sw

IV. SOLO (prepared for)

Viole d’Orchestre 8

Harmonic Flute 8

Concert Flute 4

Cor Anglais 16

Orchestral Hautboy 8

Tremulant

Tuba 8

Octave, Unison Off, Sub Octave

PEDAL 

Double Open Wood (prepared for) 32

Open Wood 16

Violone 16

Sub Bass 16

Octave Wood (prepared for) 8

Violoncello 8

Flute (prepared for) 8

Ophicleide 16

Ch to Ped, Gt to Ped, Sw to Ped, Solo to Ped

Gt & Ped Combinations Coupled

5 Pedal composition pedals, 3 Choir pistons,
5 Great pistons, 5 Swell pistons, 4 Solo pistons. 

Reversible Gt to Ped composition pedal, reversible Gt to Ped, Sw to Gt, Ophicleide pistons.

Balanced expression pedal to Swell, balanced expression pedal to Solo (prepared for)

Thanks to Fr Colin Amos, Fr Simon Walsh, Vladimir Antonov-Charsky and Andrew Scott for their help in the preparation of this article

Matthew Power works in London as a musician and writer and is Organ and New Music editor at C&O

This feature originally appeared in the Summer 2025 issue of Choir & Organ – Subscribe today

This feature originally appeared in the Summer 2025 issue of Choir & Organ – Subscribe today