Organ

 St Paul's houses one of the grand instruments of Manchester. The organ was first built by Henry Cephas Lincoln and was reportedly played by Felix Mendelssohn (see church history page). From 1843 to 1863 it was seated on the west end gallery and was then moved to a new position in the north transept. 1874 saw a radical re-build and tonal re-design by the then famous and highly respected organ builder Wadsworth & Co of Manchester. This brought with it better developed choruses on the Swell and Great Organs but also a new choir division.

 A further re-build occurred in 1897 by Alexander Young. The organ as it stands now was completed in 1957 by Charles A Smethurst and is a tribute to the romantic organs found in most British cathedrals. The 1957 rebuild enlarged the organ by over 20 stops and added much needed reed choruses to the Swell. Unfortunately it also bears the scars of some of the trends of the time. In 1994 a significant refurbishment was undertaken which addressed some of the problems.

 The organ is now showing signs of age and some of the electric actions from the 1957 rebuild are starting to fail.The organ requires further repair and refurbishment to restore it to something approaching its former glory. This however will cost a substantial amount of money. If you would like to donate to this wonderful instrument so that many generations of the future can also enjoy it please contact the Director of Music, Andrew Condliffe-Jones on 0161 282 9676. Email: andrew.condliffe-jones@hotmail.co.uk

 Pedal Organ

16 Open Wood, 16 Open Metal, 16 Bourdon, 16 Contra Dulciana, 10 2/3 Quint, 8 Octave, 8 Principal, 8 Bass Flute, 8 Dulciana, 4 Fifteenth, 16 Double Trumpet, 8 Trumpet, Swell to Pedal, Great to Pedal, Choir to Pedal

 Great Organ

16 Double Open Diapason, 8 Large Open Diapason,8 Small Open Diapason, 8 Stopped Diapason, 8 Dulciana, 4 Octave, 4 Harmonic Flute, II Grave Mixture, Swell to Great, Choir to Great

 Swell Organ(Enclosed)

8 Open Diapason, 8 Lieblich Gedact, 8 Gamba, 8 Voix Celeste, 4 Principal, 2 2/3Twelfth, 2 Fifteenth, 1 Twenty Second, 8 Oboe, Tremulant, 16 Double Trumpet, 8 Trumpet, 4 Octave Trumpet, Swell octave, Swell sub octave, Swell unison off

 Choir Organ (Enclosed)

16 Contra Dulciana, 8 Violin Diapason, 8 Dulciana, 8 Cor de Nuit, 4 Gemshorn, 4 Dulcet, 4 Flute, 2 2/3 Nazard, 2 Octave Dulcet, 8 Clarinet, Tremulant, 16 Double Trumpet, 8 Trumpet, 8 Octave Trumpet, Octave, sub octave, unison off, Swell to Choir

 Playing Aids

1 Balanced pedal to swell; 1 Balanced pedal to Choir ; 6 Pistons to Swell ; 6 Pistons to Great;

6 Pistons to Choir ; 6 toe Pistons to Pedal ; 6 Toe Pistons to Swell ; Great to Pedals Combinations;

Reversible toe piston Gt-Ped ; Reversible piston SW-Ped; Reversible piston Gt-Ped;

Reversible piston Ch-Ped; Reversible piston Sw-Gt; 8 channel Memory Bank.