Hart Family – Organ Builders

By Jean Sheehan

Joseph Hart was born in 1770 in Wingfield, the eldest of 14 children. The family had moved to Redgrave by 1777. He married Anne Booty in 1805 and they had ten children, many of them dying at an early age.

Joseph's brother Philip purchased two cottages in 1808, one of them was Walnut Tree House and the one next door was called Ivy Cottage, now known as Rose Cottage. These two cottages are in The Street, between the former old petrol pumps and Street Farm. Joseph Hart bought one of these cottages in 1814. In the back yard was a large two storied shed which was shared by both cottages, along with the privy and the well. The organs were made in this shed, with one end being open to the roof to accommodate the large organs which were built. This building was demolished in the 1960s.

The first known reference to Joseph's work is for tuning the organ in St.James, Bury St. Edmunds in 1802. Five organs built by Joseph remain in churches, the earliest one was built for St. Peter's, Thurston, supplied in 1807 for which he received forty guineas and two guineas were paid for putting it up and a further fifteen shillings and sixpence for carriage. This organ eventually went to Drinkstone church around 1900, and was restored about three years ago by Peter Bumstead.

The next one built was for St. Mary the Less, Thetford in 1809. The church was eventually made redundant and in 1989 the organ was purchased by Little Waldingfield Church who commissioned Peter Bumstead to remove, overhaul and re-erect the organ. As a result of this Peter became very interested in Joseph Hart and greatly admired his work and began to research the history of the Hart family with the help of his wife Annette who spent hours in record offices looking for information.

There is a small organ in St. Mary, Warren, Dyfed, which had a small brass plate attached to the organ in 1916 saying it was made by Hart for Mendelssohn in 1842. The organ was originally in St. Peter's church, Sibton but Peter and Annette discovered that the organ was in Sibton church c. 1794 but Joseph Hart was commissioned to build a new organ in the original case in 1817, nearly twenty years before Mendelssohn's first visit to England.

Another major project undertaken was to enlarge a small organ built by the famous Schmidt in 1666 which was situated in St. Nicholas, East Dereham. The Norwich Gazette of December 1827 gives a glowing report when the organ was 'opened' before a congregation of at least 1600 people. It was enlarged again in 1876 by Hill of London, although much of Hart's work survives.

Whites Directory of Suffolk 1844 mentions a new organ was made by Joseph Hart for Redgrave Church in 1842 at a cost of £185 although there is no mention of this in the church accounts. There were plans at this time for a gallery, although there was a gallery already in existence for which Rowland Holt bought new matting in 1786. The Hart organ was replaced when a new organ was installed in memory of Lucy Holt Wilson and the original organ was sold in 1892. This organ is probably now in Bawdsey Church and Peter Bumstead was astonished and delighted when asked to inspect and overhaul the organ there to find an inscription saying 'Joseph Hart, Redgrave, Suffolk, 1842'. Bawdsey Church had purchased the organ in 1947 from St. Margaret, Shottisham, who had set up an organ fund in 1893. Peter believes that it would be very unlikely that Joseph would have built more than one organ in a year and it is most likely to be the one made for Redgrave church. Peter thinks the organ in Botesdale Chapel of Ease was also made by Hart around 1815 but he has no documentary evidence for this.

Hart worked on tuning and repairing many other church organs in Suffolk and Norfolk. He also made pianos which he leased out. There is a bill in the Suffolk Record Office for tuning a piano and an organ at Redgrave Hall as early as 1819. Joseph also made barrel organs for churches and there is one on display in the museum in York.

Joseph's son Philip also helped to make organs and Joseph left him his tools for making the organ pipes in his will. Philip lived in one of the two cottages which his father also left to him in his will. In later censuses he is described as a tuner of musical instruments and he died in 1887 aged 81. Another son, Charles, who was described as a carpenter, may have made the cases for the organs as the firm is described as 'Joseph Hart & Sons' in Whites Directory of 1855. Charles died in 1882 aged 70.

Joseph Hart also played the organ for Redgrave Church from at least 1813 until 1826 at a salary of £5 p.a. He probably carried on playing the organ after this time but the name of the organist is not given. From 1843 a boy was paid 2/6d p.a. for blowing the organ, rising to 7/6d in 1848, although the organist was still only being paid £5 in 1844.

The gravestones of the Hart family can still be seen in Redgrave Churchyard on the north side of the church.