Liverpool has been a centre of organ building excellence since the 18th century, a tradition that was confirmed when it became home to two of the most famous organs in these Islands - the 1855 Father Henry Willis at the St. George's Hall, and in 1924 his grandson's mighty instrument at Liverpool Cathedral - the largest organ in the British Isles. Both of these pioneering instruments have for many years been amongst the many in the care of David Wells Organ Builders Ltd, which has carried out major work on each in addition to the regular care and attention necessary to keep them in perfect trim.
David Wells was born into the Liverpool tradition, serving his apprenticeship with the Liverpool Branch of Henry Willis & Sons Ltd, with which company he remained for many years before broadening his experience with the renowned Durham firm of Harrison & Harrison Ltd. After twenty-two years wide experience in all organ building skills, he established his own company - David Wells Organ Builders - in 1981.
The team has built its rapidly growing reputation on an insistence upon the highest standards of craftsmanship combined with painstaking attention to detail. The equally high standard of care and maintenance has resulted in an impressive number of prestigious establishments entrusting the care of their instruments to the company, including:
St. George's Hall Liverpool
Victoria Hall Hanley
Liverpool Philharmonic Hall
Parr Hall, Warrington
Royal Naval College, Greenwich
University of Lancaster
Corpus Christi Cambridge
David Wells and his team combine an awareness of the best of the past with a full commitment to present-day technology - a combination that has produced an increasing work-load. In 1998, larger workshop and office premises were established in Kirkdale, Liverpool and subsequently extended. Here the full range of organ building work is undertaken from small-scale repairs to complete rebuilding with new actions, both mechanical and electric.
Extensive work with some of the largest and most important organs of the Romantic era by builders such as Willis and Hill has given David Wells' staff of skilled craftsmen a special understanding of instruments of that period. The company has expanded upon that with a growing specialisation in the strict restoration of historically important smaller instruments, to the highest standards expected by the informed conservationists of today.
More recently, small new organs have featured in the output of the Cathedral Works, and again these benefit from a commitment to the highest standards, combined with an awareness of all of the advances in design over recent decades.
Meanwhile, the combination of traditional techniques with efficient management and, where appropriate, modern materials and technology, ensures that all clients receive committed and personal attention, allied with excellent value for money.
