The history of the organs
The earliest mention of any organ in the Collegiate Church of St Mary, Warwick, comes in medieval times when an instrument stood on a stone screen under the Choir arch. Little detail is known about this instrument, but what is certain is that it was destroyed in the fire of 1694, which also claimed the 14th-century Nave and Tower of the Church and destroyed much of Warwick’s town centre as well.
When the Church was rebuilt, a new organ was placed on a screen between the Nave and Chancel by Thomas Schwarbrick, a German organ builder who had settled in Warwick. This work was completed in 1717, and the organ remained in that position until 1795 when it was removed to the West gallery of the church where the case remains to this day, although slightly larger now than its original form. The craftsmanship of the case is particularly fine, the carving at its base being by Grinling Gibbons. Nothing remains of the old organ except the draw stops, which had been sawn off and were in a bucket, ready to be thrown away.
