New Ipswich is a rural New Hampshire town on the state border, about 15 miles north of Fitchburg, Massachusetts. Its Main Street is dotted with antique clapboard houses. Among these sits a relative newcomer, the 1903 shingle-style Congregational Church, which replaced its burned predecessor. The church has a charming two-manual, 7-rank Hook & Hastings organ, Opus 2001, with original 1903 stenciling on the façade pipes. All of the manual pipes, except the Great Open Diapason and Dulciana basses, are under expression. In 1966 we renovated the instrument as our Opus R-120.

In 2007, after a century of snow loads caused the roof trusses to spread and the walls to lean outward at an alarming angle, the building was condemned. The congregation embarked upon an ambitious plan to save the church and renovate it completely for its next century of use. In October 2007 we removed the organ and stored it in the parsonage barn, to await reinstallation the following summer. Meanwhile, the congregation worshipped in rented quarters. In the sanctuary renovations, the pulpit was relocated to the opposite end of the room and the pews turned around. This expanded the rear seating into an adjacent building.

Unfortunately, midway through the project the general contractor declared bankruptcy. The congregation had to raise additional funds to pay the subcontractors and finish the renovations. It finally moved back into the partially completed building in the summer of 2009. But the organ had to wait while other items, such as the elevator, were funded and installed.

In October 2010 an anonymous gift made the organ’s reinstallation possible. In March 2011 we removed the organ from storage and installed it in a new location. The organ’s original chamber (at the front left) was very small and cramped, with scant access to the interior parts - especially the Pedal chests and pipes at the rear. Even worse, a 1-foot-high structural beam ran through the swell box roof and side walls!

The new organ chamber (at the front right), a former entrance vestibule, is more spacious. We modified the casework for the new location, patched the swell box roof and walls, and provided a new silent blower in the chamber. Previously, one had to remove facade pipes and swell shades to tune the pipes. Now, there is ample room behind the organ for servicing the interior parts, and a tuning access door on the back of the swell box.

The organ had been greatly missed, and its reinstallation was a source of much excitement for the congregation. There were smiles and tears on Easter Day 2011 when, after a 40-month absence, the organ once again sang out. As one congregation member wrote us, it was “like having an old friend return to our community.”

The following people worked on the project: Matthew Bellocchio, project team leader, Ryan Bartosiewicz, Brent Bothelo, Al Hosman, Tony Miscio, Jonathan Ross, Craig Seaman and David Zarges.