Great Britain: Hampton Court Palace

 

In 2018 Great Britain issued a set of stamps celebrating the Hampton Court Palace, most strongly associated with King Henry VIII. Six stamps show views of the exterior of the building, and two landscape shots. A mini-sheet of 4 stamps shows interior views. Shown inside are the Great Hall, the King's Bedchamber, the Chapel Royal, and King's Staircase. Two of these stamps pay the FirstClass postage rate, and two of the stamps are denominated 1.45 British pounds. The chapel image includes the facade of the organ contained therein. The first organ in the chapel was installed in 1711-1712, built by Christopher Schrider. Harrison and Harrison Ltd did the most recent work on the instrument in 2013. The current instrument is contained in the case for the original Schrider instrument, built by Grinling Gibbons.

https://www.chapelroyalhamptoncourt.org.uk/the-organ/

Triests-Italy: Verdi

The stamps in the set are the same as those issued by Italy in 1951, but having an overprint. The set pays homage to Verdi; the second stamp (Scott 139) includes an organ facade. One can view my discussion of the Italian stamps for more information on the organ.

Trieste is of course a city in Italy now. From 1947 to 1954 it was an independent territory. In 1954 the territory was divided with Italy taking the northern portion and Yugoslavia taking the southernmost region. For a time the territory issued it's own stamps. Many of these were simply Italian stamps with an overprint added. Two versions of the overprint are used on the three stamps in this set, so as to interfere with the vignette minimally.

Click the stamp image to see the whole group of three stamps.

St Paul's Cathedral, London, UK

Postal authorities in Great Britain issued this mini-sheet of four stamps in May, 2008. It was part of the set that featured cathedrals and organs around the UK. The other individual stamps in the set were black and white. This sheet is in color.

It features four stamps showing the crossing in St Paul's Cathedral, London. In the lower left stamp one can see part of the casework for the organ. The mini-sheet (Scott 2580) denominates two of the stamps at the 1st Class rate and two stamps at 81p. One also gets a view of the pulpit, part of the dome, and the choir on this mini-sheet.

The cathedral itself is quite famous, and the organs therein are likewise notable. The first instrument in the cathedral was built by a German builder in 1694. Willis installed a new instrument in 1872. The casework in the stamp is part of that installation. Repairs and additions continued over the course of time. It appears that the most recent work was in 2008 by the Mander firm. According to the cathedral website, there are an additional three organs available in the cathedral.

Great Britain: Westminster, London

Westminster Cathedral, featured on the 72p stamp is the seat of the Roman Catholic Archbishop of Westminster. The edifice opened in 1903. The Grand Organ in the cathedral was begun by Willis in 1910. Only a portion of the envisioned instrument was completed at that time. It was only in 1920 that work recommenced, to reach a certain point in 1922. At the insistence of Marcel Dupre' who consulted on the instrument, the organ was placed in the west end of the cathedral. From 1922 Dupre' and other organ recitalists played to raise funds to complete the instrument. It was only in 1932 that the organ was finally "complete." the instrument was thoroughly cleaned in 1985 and work in 1996 (both jobs by Harrison and Harrison) made the Grand Organ playable from a second console (and independent instrument) in the east end apse. The stamp shows the east end of the cathedral. There is indeed an instrument in the apse, though one cannot see it depicted. The stamp image was likely shot from the west gallery which holds the Grand Organ itself.

Great Britain: St. Magnus, Scotland

Construction of the St. Magnus Cathedral began in 1137 in Kirkwall, in the Orkney Islands off the northern coast of Scotland. St. Magnus is Britain's most northerly cathedral. The nave, pulpit and east window are featured on the 81p stamp from Great Britain. The Willis organ was installed in 1926 as part of the cathedral's rebuilding. The church's site and the Willis site state that the organ is behind a "decorative screen." This may explain why one really cannot see any of the organ in the present stamp. Henry Willis' website has a nice page devoted to the organ, including photos of the installation, of some of the recent restoration work, and the stop list.

Great Britain: St David's Cathedral, Wales

The cathedral site names 1181 as the year the present cathedral was begun. The building suffered considerable damage in 1648 and significant work in rebuilding was accomplished in 1862-1877 under the direction of Sir George Gilbert Scott. Find the cathedral website here. Information about the organ may be found here, sadly without a specification. Harrison & Harrison of Durham did the most recent work on the organ 1998-2000. The organ has a place on the National Pipe Organ Register, which thankfully does include the current specification.

Great Britain: Lichfield Cathedral

The 1st-rate stamp in the series features the rood screen and choir at Lichfield Cathedral, northwest of London. Established some 1300 years ago, the cathedral began as a shrine to house the bones of Chad, and later was the site of a Norman church and then a Gothic Cathedral, with substantial alterations in the 18th and 19th centuries. The choir program of the cathedral maintains its own website, with information about the organ. The present organ dates from 1884, with the most recent work being done in 2000 by Harrison and Harrison. A nicely detailed specification may be found here. The casework for the choir-facing section of the organ is barely discernible in the stamp image.

Update 4/2011: The current issue of the Jounral of The Organ Club (of Great Britain) has an article that includes information on the Lichfield Cathedral organ. The Club visited the cathedral and other local sites on the 21st of August 2010. The article includes notes on the cathedral itself and information about the organ, including reflections on Club members' playing of the instrument, and a current stop list.

Great Britain: Gloucester Cathedral

This is part of the set of six stamps issued in 2008 marking important organs and cathedrals in Great Britain. It's denominated 50p. It features the organ at Gloucester Cathedral, west of London. You can get a history of the music at the cathedral here. There is a helpful page on the organ here, and a specification here. The current organ is a 1971 Hill Norman and Beard, which underwent renovation in 1999 by the Nicholson firm. Mark Jameson has prepared a helpful article on the entire set of stamps in The Organ Club Journal.

Great Britain: St. Anne's Cathedral, Belfast

The organ at Belfast Cathedral is on the 48p stamp. The organ was built in 1907 by Harrison and Harrison, and rebuilt 1969-1976. You can see a stop list here. The cathedral website has a nicely developed page dealing with past and current musicians, including there organists here. This stamp is part of a set of 6 issued in 2008; Mark Jameson has written a nicely detailed article on the stamps and organs in The Organ Club Journal.