The Cornforth Years

On 7th March 1971, the Secretary of Cornforth's United Social Club wrote to NETOA Chairman, Jack Temple, informing of their proposal for the building of new Club premises, and offering "every facility" for the installation of the organ in this building.  By the end of the month, as there was no sign of any progress elsewhere, it was agreed that the Wurlitzer should go to Cornforth, and preliminary plans were prepared for organ chambers.

We had not managed to recover the console lift from Bradford, so a search was started for a suitable lift to aid presentation and security of the console.  The Odeon at Byker, Newcastle upon Tyne provided the answer and soon we were dismantling and loading it into a lorry bound for Cornforth.

During all of this time various events had been arranged to provide members with entertainment and to boost the funds for the coming installation work.

Back at Cornforth, the final plans for the organ chambers were ready by June 1972, and the contractor was soon moving onto site to start the excavation work for the chambers.  These were to be located below the stage of the new hall, and were of the same dimensions as the original ones in Bradford.

March 1973 saw the installation of the lift, then the blower.  The building was now well advanced, and soon the console and other parts of the organ were brought in and rebuilding was under way.

By January 1974 we were busily testing things out and putting finishing touches to the console wiring.  Understandably, some members of the Club were becoming impatient, that is until they were shown around the organ chambers with their mass of pipes, cables, etc., and could grasp the size of the job in hand.

At last we felt able to set a date for the opening concert, although when we worked out the number of people to be fitted in, we needed two shows!  The final touches were put to the Wurlitzer, tunings carried out, and we waited for the big day.

And so it was that, in two concerts on 21st April and 5th May 1974, the Wurlitzer organ from the New Victoria Theatre, Bradford was played again in public.  The organists were our then President, Con Docherty; Robbie Ions; Norman Green; Bill Thomas; and our star guest from the Tower Ballroom, Blackpool, Ernest Broadbent.

It must be said that although the organ was very well received at Cornforth, there were certain shortcomings in the installation.  The hall design had been altered after the initial planning stage, and a suspended acoustic ceiling installed at a lower level than originally intended, also a step up in the floor level about one third of the way to the back of the hall had the effect of bouncing the sound back from the front step.  The combination of these two caused those seated in the rear half of the hall to have difficulty in seeing the console, and made the sound rather muffled to them.  The organ had some faults, particularly in the console combination action, and whilst these were unnoticed by 99.9% of the audience, it was at times embarrassing having to explain these shortcomings to visiting organists - shortcomings which could have been overcome had more time been available for the installation.

Our 1975 winter season of concerts commenced on 12th October when Robinson Cleaver played to a full and enthusiastic house - little did we know that it would be ten years before the organ would be played in public again.  We had already planned further concerts and a special show with Joe Marsh which included the accompaniment of a silent film, when unexpected problems with the availability of the hall on Sunday afternoons necessitated the cancellation of all future concerts.  When no progress could be made over solving the problems, a general meeting of the Club Members was called, and it was agreed at this meeting that the organ should be removed.

Preparations were made over the Christmas and New Year holidays, and during January the Wurlitzer was dismantled and moved to storage in Crook and Hartlepool.  It was generally agreed that the organ could never have reached its full potential in that hall, but here we were back at the beginning of the road, looking for a good home for a good organ.