CAPE TOWN CITY HALL

The Norman & Beard organ in the Cape Town City Hall was erected in 1905 by Alfred Tomkins assisted by Norman & Beard. The specification for the organ drawn up by Dr T. Barrow-Dowling was approved by the then organist of St Paul’s Cathedral, London, Sir George Martin.

The façade has 45 32’ Open Diapason speaking pipes. At the time of its shipment to South Africa, these pipes were shipped in shorter sections and later welded together on site at the City Hall. There are 3 272 pipes in total with 14 bellows supplying air at different wind pressures to several sections of the organ.

Through the years the organ has served well for a variety of music from Bach to transcriptions of pop music. In recent years it has been mainly used with orchestra and choral groups.