Over Christmas I finished painting the outside of the top sections of the Swellbox, and on 31 December Mike and his team arrived to finish building it. They also fitted the bottom Pipes of the Pedal Principal rank in front of the Subbass pipes and fitted a completely new windchest behind the Swellbox, which will take the bottom octave of the refurbished 16′ Bourdon stop. This will provide us with a soft bass sound for accompanying cantors and quiet choir items (our old bass was much too loud for this).  Emily and I now have more painting to do whilst the next sections are being built in the workshop.

Refurbished pedal principal pipes installed and awaiting final painting

From a distance (you’ll never see this view once it’s finished!)