Chester organ that gave pleasure to thousands in the city is now entertaining a new generation of film fans Down Under

The organ, formerly installed in the ABC Regal cinema on Foregate Street in Chester was removed from the venue in the mid 1960s before being shipped to the other side of the world in 1971.

While the organ of the Gaumont Palace Cinema (now Mecca Bingo) was destroyed when the building ceased to be a cinema, happily, the same fate did not befall the Compton organ of the ABC Regal (now part of Primark/Cafe Nero).

The late Blair Linnett at the console of the former ABC Regal Chester Compton Organ at his home in Brisbane in 1979​

The organ, installed in the Foregate Street cinema in 1937 was carefully removed by organist and engineer Ron Curtis and his team from Bolton and in 1971 was sold to organ enthusiast Blair Linnett and shipped to his home in Brisbane, Australia. Mr Linnett extended his garage to form a purpose built studio auditorium and carefully reconstructed the organ over the next ten years.

When Mr Linnett sadly passed away, the future of the instrument was uncertain until that is, his family gifted the organ to the Majestic Theatre in Pomona, Queensland.

Organist Ron West at the console

Organist Ron West, organ builders Don Clark and John Brooks set about restoring the organ and installing it in its new home.

Now, after a six and a half year period the organ is in full working order again and an event to celebrate the completion of its restoration took place at the Majestic Theatre recently with a party which included renowned Australian

The restored Compton organ

Theatre Organist David Bailey playing the organ to accompany a silent film. The Majestic Theatre which will celebrate its 100th anniversary in 2021 is the oldest theatre in the World to still show silent movies continuously with regular screening attracting capacity audiences.

The history of the organ’s original installation at The ABC Regal in Chester was featured during the recent event to mark the completion of the installation and restoration work with photographs of the organ in its original home projected on to the cinema screen in the Queensland theatre. The event also featured a good luck message from a former projectionist at The ABC Regal, Peter Davies, one of the founders of the popular website ChesterCinemas which contains a wealth of photographs and archive material about Chester's long lost picture palaces.

The opulent ABC Regal Cinema Chester complete with its Compton Cinema organ on its opening day in 1937

Peter, who has been following the progress of the restoration work with regular updates from the team in Australia, supplied the photographs of the organ in its Chester home for the celebratory event in Queensland.

Speaking about the former Chester cinema organ being fully restored and played once again Peter said "Many people can remember the marvellous experience of listening to this fabulous theatre organ. It was originally installed in the Chester’s third and final "super cinema”, the ABC Regal, which was the largest and most opulent cinema in the city. My personal memories of hearing the Compton was during 1951 when as a youngster I was taken by my parents to the Regal. During the interval the lighting would change dramatically as the illuminated console rose from the orchestra pit, central to the stage and levelled to above the footlights. The side lighting of the theatre’s proscenium would go through a programme of colour changes. The illuminated console would be on a motorised colour change sequence which was independent to that of the proscenium. The resident organist was Joseph Storer, a typical showman of this era. Immaculately dressed with blonde wavy hair and a smile that could be seen in the far reaches of the theatre. He would go through a programme of popular tunes that were well known to the audiences who were accustomed to community singing.

How the ABC looked in 1963 prior to the organ being removed

Peter added "Ten years later I joined the projection staff as a trainee. By then, the days of the Compton organ interlude had past, apart from an organist who would play on Saturday mornings for the children’s programme. In the mid-1960s however, the decision was taken to remove the organ and convert the organ chambers into dressing rooms. The console was removed quickly after a member of a pop group stood on the illuminated section of the console surround, badly gashing his leg that had gone through the glass. I was present when Ron Curtis dismantled the console off its lift, and then later as he and his team carefully stripped out the organ chambers. Thankfully Blair Linnett purchased the organ in 1971 shipping it across to Australia. Although Blair sadly passed away a few years ago, I was delighted to hear that his family had ensured the organ’s future by gifting it to the Majestic Theatre In Pomona. There are many cinema organ enthusiasts in Chester and around the UK who are following the progress of this fine Compton organ and indeed the restoration that has taken place. I send my very best wishes for the continuing success of this marvellous instrument in its new home."

The organ prior to its transportation to Australia

Ron West who at 87 years young still plays regularly to accompany the Majestic Theatre’s popular silent film showings said “Some eight years ago an unusual weather event caused flooding in Pomona and there was six inches of water over the floor of the auditorium of our theatre which caused extensive damage to our existing theatre organ which had originally been installed in the Regal cinema in South Shields in North-East England. Although the console was not affected as it was on a small platform, the area containing the mechanical parts which provided the air for the pipes was filled with water. This was not discovered until over a week later but by then the damage had been done and sadly, it was a write off. When the Linnett family heard what had happened, negotiations took place and they very kindly donated the ABC Regal Chester organ to the theatre. Don Clark and John Brooks have done a magnificent job, painstakingly dismantling the organ in Brisbane, transporting it to Pomona and then re-building and restoring it over a six and a half year period, including building new authentic Compton style side panels for the console to replace the illuminated panels which had been scrapped. We are delighted that this 81 year old organ originally from Chester in the UK is now known as the Blair Linnett Memorial Organ.

"The organ will be used regularly to accompany our popular screenings of classic silent movies and will we hope continue to be played and heard for generations to come.”

Further details about the ABC Regal Compton cinema organ during its heyday in Chester can be found at www.chestercinemas.co.uk/cinemas/abc-regal/

where there is also a video clip of the organ being played by Australian Organist David Bailey at the Majestic Theatre in Queensland during the celebrations to mark the completion of the organ's restoration.