The present St. Matthew's Church was built in 1875. The new two-manual organ was built by A. Kirkland of Wakefield and was blown by a two-cylindered horizontal hydraulic engine. This organ proved unsatisfactory, as, in 1903, it was sold for a grand sum of £60 and a new organ commissioned from Mr. William Andrews of City Organ Works, Bradford, costing £1350. A high proportion of the pipework was imported from Laukhuff in Germany. This project included the erection of the blower house in what is now the car park. The wind was conveyed via tubing under the car park, into the cellar, then up into the organ chamber.

In 1924, the Vicar reported that a number of stops were out of action because of the collapse of the mechanism and the paralysis was spreading. In 1924, a rebuild by the famous firm of William Hill & Son and Norman & Beard Ltd. was carried out, at a cost of £1500.

There were several tonal changes to the Great, Choir and Pedal organs. The piston action was totally replaced by a new tubular pneumatic action. The console was remade, raised slightly and set further back. This rebuild, whilst providing an excellent action, was detrimental to the tonal flexibility.

In the late 1970s to early 1980s, work was carried out by Messrs. J. T. Jackson & Son, of Leeds, who kept the organ playable up until mid-1992. Their work entailed a thorough cleaning of the instrument and several tonal alterations. However, between 1979 and 1992, the organ suffered from rain and grit entering the organ chamber and in 1993 a £30,000 rebuild by Woods of Huddersfield was approved.

The 1924 key and pedal action pneumatic systems were discarded and a new solid-state note-switching system was fitted, together with a new capture system piston action. Significant tonal changes were made. The organ includes some stops of real interest. Owing to the presence of much German-oriented pipework, it can cope better than many other church organs in the region with the German Baroque repertoire, basically because of the uncommon brightness and silveriness of the Great Principal Chorus. In addition, the organ contains some beautiful Romantic voices, allowing successful performances of much of the Romantic repertoire.

In 2000, the blower was moved from the old blower house to directly beneath the organ chamber, resulting in a noticeable brightening in tone.

For a more detailed history and specifications:

http://nordlys.users.netlink.co.uk/hoa/focus/lcfhistory.html