The Ebenezer Chapel (on North Road) and the new Congregational Church, Loftus; both no longer in such a magnificent condition – the Archive wondered if the organ still existed and if the donor was the famous Carnegie; if so then the organ should have been preserved. Douglas Bruce advises: “Indeed it was the famous Andrew Carnegie; the organ was shipped to Germany in 2006, and bought in 2012 by St Bonifatius RC Church in Giessen. It was used as a transitional instrument while the new organ on the west gallery was being built, but people reckoned it could have been built specifically for the Bonifatiuskirche and wondered whether the new instrument was really necessary. The Hopkins organ stands at the front of the church and is used to accompany the choir (for which the gallery is unsuitable) as well as various services where the congregation is predominantly at the front of the church.”
Image from a postcard produced by the Rev. Colledge Booth and many thanks to Douglas Bruce for the update.
Indeed it was the famous Andrew Carnegie (as identified on the organ by his Scottish home, Skibo Castle
The organ was shipped to Germany in 2006, and bought in 2012 by St Bonifatius RC Church in Giessen. It was used as a transitional instrument while the new organ on the west gallery was being built, but people reckoned it could have been built specifically for the Bonifatiuskirche and wondered whether the new instrument was really necessary. The Hopkins organ stands at the front of the church and is used to accompany the choir (for which the gallery is unsuitable) as well as various services where the congregation is predominantly at the front of the church.