History

The organ at the Savoy was one of only 6 Standaart organs imported to the UK.

1929: The organ was opened on 20th June by Percy Milton

1933: A considerable amount of money was spent on the organ, including refinements to the pedalboard and a glass surround was added being manufactured locally.

1945: May 1st. A freak whirlwind tore part of the cinemas roof off leaving the organ chamber exposed to the elements. this had a disastrous effect on the blower & motor, as well as the wooden flute where the water had caused the glue to dissolve meaning the pipes were turned to a pile of wood.

1963: The building was converted to Bingo. Ricky hart was given permission to remove the organ in full, although not everything was taken. One thing that was left was the Console as it used to support the new stage.

c1966: American Paul Gladson made a bigger financial offer to the building owners to remove the console and the remaining part of the organ.

1978: Ricky Hart returned to remove the blower from the organ. All that remained was the shutters, original blower motor/starter and the chest framework.

1987: Bingo ceased.

1991-c2002: The Building was converted to a night-club called “Metronome”.

Present: The front part of the building has been converted to flats, while the interior was completely gutted and lies empty.

Personalities

Percy Milton – Opening

Reginald Cross – May 1931 – August 1932

Reginald Foort – May 1934

G.T Pattman – June 1934

Frank Newman – July 1934

Elaine Blair (USA) – October 1934

Edward O’Henry – May 1941

History

1912: The theatre was opened on 14th August.

1929: The building was acquired by Mr Walter Bently and on the 18th June the organ was opened by James I. Taylor who worked for Compton

1934: This seems to be the last time the organ was played.

1935: The Union Cinemas chain took over in November

1946: Following the war the cinema was re-opened 1st April by the Essoldo Cinemas chain.

1962: The Playhouse Cinema was closed on 26th August.

1963: The Building was demolished in May. Thankfully Ricky managed to save the Stopped Flute and a few other parts from the organ before the rest was scrapped.

Personalities

Harold Meredith – August – October 1929

Thomas Dooley – October – November 1929

Cyril Birmingham – July 1934

History

1935: The Astoria Cinema opened on 20th April 1935 with Fred Astaire & Ginger Rogers in “The Gay Divorce”.

1937: Re-named Odeon.

1974: On 26th January the cinema was closed and shortly after was demolished. The organ was bought for £850 by a Mr Wicks who lived in Suffolk.

1983: The organ was bought by Arie Vonk for installation in Pernis a suburb of Rotterdam in the Netherlands.

1986: On December 27th the organ was opened in Pernis by Len Rawle.

Current: The organ is in storage awaiting a new home.

Personalities

Leslie Holman – Opening – December 1935

John E Francis – December 1935 – January 1936

Frank Tapp – January 1936 – April 1936

Albert Payne – April 1936 – November 1936

Andrew Fenner – November 1936 – March 1937

Jack Courtnay – March 1937 – May 1937

James Peters – May 1937 – June 1937

Henry Windfield – June 1937 – September 1937

Reginald Stone – September 1937 – September 1938

Verden Waugh – September 1938 – November 1939

History

This organ was second-hand to Folkestone.

1935: The Compton was opened in the Rendezvous Cinema, Cambridge by Reginald Dixon (Tower Ballroom Blackpool Organist) on 21st October.

1947: The cinema was sold at auction. At this time D. Oswald David was appointed manager of the Pleasure Gardens Folkestone and wanted a cinema organ

1949: The organ was opened in Folkestone but was little used.

c1963/4: The building was demolished. Most of the organ was saved by Ricky.

Personalities

Cambridge

Reginald Dixon – Opening

Harold Ramsay – November 1935

Florence De Jong – December 1935

Stanley Miller – October 1935 – February 1936

Leo Rae – February 1936 – July 1937

Derek Taverner – April 1943

Folkestone

Reginald Moore – 1947

Ricky Hart saved some of this organ and the Cornopean was implemented into his instrument.

History

Baptists in Folkestone first gathered in the house of John Stace, who owned the windmill in what was then the village of Foord, in 1720.

It was John Stace who gave a piece of land in Mill Bay on which the first chapel was built in 1730. Up until 1750 the Folkestone church was a branch of the church in Canterbury, in that year it was granted ‘dismission’ and became a separate entity.

On May 22 1845, the foundation stone of the first Baptist chapel, on this site was laid. The new building was called Salem Chapel and was funded largely by a loan given by the Folkestone MP, Mr SM Peto. The foundation stone of this building was laid on August 4 1874.

More than a century later, in 1987, Baptist worship here came to an end when the building was sold and is now a Weatherspoon’s pub. The Baptist Church that once worshipped in this building now worships in a new building in Hill Road, which it first occupied on Christmas Eve 1989.