The sounds of the fairground ring loud at the Museum

Milton Keynes Museum will be transporting visitors to the days of traditional fairground fun with the return of its popular Organ Festival this October. Sammy Jones ‘tuned up’ on the history of these enchanting machines.

Organs were the very essence of the fairground back when a visit from the travelling fair was a treat to be enjoyed by the whole community. The music making machines are still a thrill for those who remember the charming machines from their youth, and today they are still finding new receptive audiences.

Visitors to the annual Organ Festival will be able to hear the historic machines playing just as they used to while youngsters would have soaked up all the fun of the fair with its toffee apples, hoopla and thrilling rides.

These mechanical players have quite the following, and Calvin Battersby, current organiser of the festival, is one of them.
These days, we live our lives immersed in music; it’s everywhere, and it’s difficult to imagine a time when that wasn’t the case. But you don’t need to travel back too far to find a time almost silent of sounds.

“The first auto playing equipment was only available to richer families and was out of reach for most people,” Calvin explained, “The average person only heard music if they went out – they might have heard an organ grinder playing a street organ, but as they were often in a state of poor repair the grinder was regularly paid to move on!

“Otherwise, it would have been a large fairground organ playing telling local people that the fair was in town.”
The first fairground and street organs started to appear in larger quantities around the late 1800s but the smaller auto playing barrel organs, which used a wooden cylinder with pins on the outside to control levers, date back to the 1700s. Even so, that’s pretty modern if you think about it.

“The large fairground organs used a folded book to play the tune by blowing or sucking air through holes and slots cut into the card to control which pipes would be playing,” Calvin said, explaining the mechanics, “A large handle needs to be turned to drive bellows and pull the card book through the control mechanism.

“As the first fairground organs were made by the Gavioli company, the man that turned the handle and changed the books as they came to the end of the tune became known as the ‘Gavie man’.”

It was actually a trip to the Museum a decade ago that started Calvin’s passion for the players.
“I’ve always liked the sound of the fairground organs the odd time I had seen them at events, such as steam rallies or at Milton Keynes Museum.

“During one visit, I was surprised to see quite a few smaller organs that were more affordable and then I learned that some exhibitors had built their own.

“I was amazed to be told you could build your own for a relatively low cost and that one of the builders on the site sold a range of plans to build your own. My birthday had passed and my wife was still looking for that present that would inspire me – she suggested buying me some plans to have a go myself.

“Within a few months I was hooked and have now built a variety of small street organs – the fifth one is on its way!”
So what is the attraction?

“The sound the organs can make,” he says, unsurprisingly, “By using different types of pipes you can have sounds like the flute, strings, trumpets and many more – and some even have a rich percussion. With all these things going on and a good selection of arrangements, they really can stand out in the musical world.

“Fairground organs even more so, with the sheer number of pipes and the large sound they are awesome.”

Museum visitors will be able to see the beauty of these organs and musical boxes first hand – and can even try playing one during the festival.
“We will have a large range of organs playing at the event,” Calvin promised, “You may think they are not for you but there’s a good chance you will not have seen or heard so many different types and sizes of organs, and they are really enchanting and evocative of times passed.”

From petite music boxes to fairground centre-of-attractions, the Museum will be dancing to a decidedly different tune this October 12 &13!
“Some are from the distant past, many have a rich sound and others have cabinets and carvings that really are a work of art,” Calvin added, “You will find all the exhibitors friendly and happy to answer any questions you may have about their exhibit, its history and how it works.”

The star attraction at the Organ Festival is a magnificent Gavioli Organ built in 1903, and now owned by the Emmett family, who are responsible for delivering the annual firework display in the new city.

“It’s an 89-keyless Gavioli, built in Waldkirch in the Black Forest,” Keith Emmett III explained, “It was purchased by my grandfather in 1984 and underwent a full refurbishment in 2003. It has become a staple in our family, and we are so proud of it.

“The organ is very sentimental to our family and its many familiar songs spark memories for us all, of childhood and family members, some of whom are no longer with us.

“It has just had another full refurbishment this year, and we are constantly adding to the song catalogue to try to engage the younger audience,” Keith added.

Milton Keynes Museum is one of the best interactive museums, a perfect outing for all ages, staffed by friendly volunteers, and highly recommended by visitors on TripAdvisor. This feature was written by Milton Keynes Museum. Find out more about forthcoming events and see our opening times at: miltonkeynesmuseum.org.uk