Ralph Downes was strongly influenced by his experience at the London Oratory and time spent in Holland and France, when it came to designing the revolutionary Royal Festival Hall organ. Jonathan Ambrosino suggests that the seven years Downes spent in the United States could also have influenced his ideas – in particular his friendship with G Donald Harrison of Aeolian-Skinner.

A dairy door in a 17th-century house in Wetheringsett, Suffolk, and a piece of decaying timber found behind old pews and lumber in the churchyard shed at Wingfield, Suffolk, have transformed our knowledge and understanding of the pre-Reformation English organ.

This article and free download includes detailed descriptions and specifications of the Wetheringsett and Wingfield Organs, along with a look at the culture of the English church before the Reformation, including the use of the organ and its music within the liturgy.