SOUTHAMPTON churchgoers have been left "stunned" after hearing a pipe organ which had been moth-balled now working again. 

The organ at St James' by the Park church in Shirley began developing problems five years ago, randomly playing notes in the middle of a funeral. 

And when it was found that the bill to repair the instrument would be in the region of £30,000, it was decided that the organ had come to the end of its days. 

But after two members of the congregation, retired engineer Gordon Cockburn, and semi-retired IBM manager Keith Watson, decided they’d have a go at repairing the organ themselves, they found it could be repaired for less than £10. 

READ MORE: Meet the congregation aiming to give everyone a Christmas gift

The pair said: “When we saw that the organ was fitted with electronics from a 1980s overhaul – the same sort of technology we’d learned about when we were at university – we got excited because we knew how they worked.

"Gradually we got the electronics working again, repaired a few sticky keys, and introduced the ability to link the organ up to a computer.

"That means we can potentially use the organ even on a day when we don’t have an organist available.” 

Rev Dan Clark, vicar at the church said: "They had no previous experience with organs – I thought they were mad to even have a go but I was delighted to be proved wrong.”

Daily Echo: Keith Watson playing the organ at St James’ by the Park church in Shirley.Keith Watson playing the organ at St James’ by the Park church in Shirley. (Image: St James’ by the Park church)

The organ was repaired with the help of an occasional video call to a retired professional organ repairer with the pair working on it every week for six months. 

Very few people in the congregation knew the organ was even being repaired – so when it thundered out during the closing hymn of a recent service, there was a round of applause.

“It’s made my day, in fact. it's made my week” said one member of the church. 

Now the church plans to use the organ on a more regular basis again.

The reverend added: “Most of our services have band-led worship songs.

“But we will use the organ for our more traditional services – and we look forward to welcoming people from the wider community to hear the organ at our upcoming carol services."

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