List of musicians at English cathedrals


The following list contains information about organists at Church of England cathedrals in England.
The cathedrals of England have a long history of liturgical music, often played on or accompanied by the organ. The role of the cathedral organist is a salaried appointment, the organist often also serving as choirmaster. There is often also an assistant organist and an organ scholar.

Birmingham, St Philip's Cathedral

Organists at St Philip's Cathedral, Birmingham have included composers Charles John Blood Meacham, Richard Yates Mander and Rupert Jeffcoat.

Directors of Music

Assistant Organists

  • 1907–1914 T. Appleby Matthews
  • 1950–1951 Harrison Oxley
  • 1954–1956 John K. Nicholas
  • Malcolm Hicks
  • 1966–1968 Roland L. Keen
  • 1968–1974 John Pryer
  • Hubert Best
  • 1978–1979 Gary Cole
  • Timothy Storey
  • 1986–1995 Rosemary Field
  • 1995–1997 Rupert Jeffcoat
  • 1997–2004 Christopher Allsop
  • 2004–2010 Stuart Nicholson
  • 2010–2014 Tim Harper
  • 2014–2018 David Hardie
  • 2019– Ashley Wagner

Blackburn Cathedral

Notable organists at Blackburn Cathedral have included Charles Hylton Stewart, John Bertalot and Gordon Stewart.

Directors of Music

Organist in Residence

  • 2022-2025 John Hosking

Assistant Directors of Music

  • Justin Waters
  • James Thomas
  • Benjamin Saunders
  • Robert Costin
  • David Goodenough
  • Tim Cooke
  • 2000–2006 Greg Morris
  • 2006–2012 James Davy
  • 2012–2021 Shaun Turnbull

Bradford Cathedral

Organists at Bradford Cathedral have included the following.

Organist and Master of the Choristers

  • c1861–1893 Absalom Rawnsley Swaine
  • 1893–1939 Henry Coates
  • 1939–1963 Charles Hooper
  • 1963–1981 Keith Vernon Rhodes
  • 1982–1986 Geoffrey John Weaver
  • 1986–2002 Alan Graham Horsey
  • 2003–2011 Andrew Teague

Organist & Director of Music

  • 2012–2016 Alexander Woodrow
  • 2017–2023 Alexander Berry
  • 2023-2025 Graham Thorpe
  • 2025- Geoffrey Woollatt

Cathedral Organist

  • 2011–2014 Paul Bowen

Sub-Organist & Assistant Director of Music

  • 1957-1960 Charles Edmondson
  • 1970-1976 Brian Tetley
  • 1976-1979 Barry Lancaster
  • 1979 Jonathan Newell
  • 1980 Neil Maddox
  • 1984-2004 Martin Derek Baker
  • 1997-2000 Jonathan Kingston
  • 2004-2011 Paul Bowen
  • 2009-2012 David Condry
  • 2012-2016 Jonathan Eyre
  • 2016-2018 Jon Payne
  • 2019-2023 Graham Thorpe
  • 2023-2024 Anthony Gray
  • 2025 - William Campbell

Associate Organist

  • 2018–2019 Ed Jones

Bristol Cathedral

Organists at Bristol Cathedral have included the writer and composer Percy Buck and the conductor Malcolm Archer.

Organists

  • 1542 Thomas Denny
  • 1588 Elway Bevin
  • 1638 Arthur Phillips
  • 1639 Thomas Deane
  • 1680 Paul Heath
  • 1724 Nathaniel Priest
  • 1734 James Morley
  • 1756 George Coombes
  • 1759 Edward Higgins
  • 1765 George Coombes
  • 1769 Edward Rooke
  • 1773 Samuel Mineard
  • 1778 Richard Langdon
  • 1781 Rice Wasbrough
  • 1825 John Davies Corfe
  • 1876 George Riseley
  • 1899 Percy Carter Buck
  • 1901 Hubert Hunt
  • 1946 Reginald Alwyn Surplice
  • 1949 Clifford Harker
  • 1983 Malcolm Archer
  • 1990 Christopher Brayne
  • 1998 Mark Lee

Assistant Organists

  • 1856–1860 John Barrett
  • 1862–1876 George Riseley
  • Albert Edward New
  • 1888–1892 J.H. Fulford
  • 1902 Arthur S. Warrell
  • 1920–1941 Geoffrey Leonard Mendham
  • 1956-1959 Lionel Pike
  • Stephen Taylor
  • John Jenkin
  • 1980–1986 Martin Schellenberg
  • 1986–1989 Tony Pinel
  • 1989–1991 Claire Hobbs
  • 1991–1994 Ian Ball
  • 1994–2001 David Hobourn
  • 2001– Paul Walton

Canterbury Cathedral

Organists and Assistant Organists at Canterbury Cathedral have included composers Clement Charlton Palmer, Gerald Hocken Knight and Philip Moore and musical directors Sidney Campbell, Allan Wicks and Stephen Darlington.

Organists

Assistant Organists

  • 1836 William Henry Longhurst
  • 1873 John Browning Lott
  • 1875 Yoku Myles Bossman
  • 1884 Herbert Austin Fricker
  • 1892 J. Sterndale Grundy
  • 1906 W. T. Harvey
  • 1909 Frank Charles Butcher
  • 1918 Rene Soames
  • 1926 ?
  • 1936 Henry Frank Cole
  • 1938 ?
  • 1953 John Malcolm Tyler
  • 1956 Gwilym Isaac
  • 1964 Stephen Crisp
  • 1968 Philip Moore
  • 1974 Stephen Darlington
  • 1978 David Flood
  • 1986 Michael Harris
  • 1997 Timothy Noon
  • 2001 Matthew Martin
  • 2005 Robert Patterson
  • 2008 John Robinson
  • 2010 Simon Lawford
  • 2011 David Newsholme
  • 2020 Adrian Bawtree
  • 2022 Jamie Rogers

Second Assistant Organists

  • 2015 Adrian Bawtree
  • 2020 Jamie Rogers
  • 2022 Adrian Bawtree
  • 2022 Robin Walker

Carlisle Cathedral

Notable organists at Carlisle Cathedral have included the composer, astronomer and mathematician Thomas Greatorex and founder of the Royal School of Church Music, Sir Sydney Nicholson.

Organists

Assistant Organists

  • 1900–1902 Stanley G. P. Stubbs
  • 1915–1919 Charles Frederick Eastwood
  • 1932–1934 G. F. Stuart
  • 1940–1945 Keith Burton-Nickson
  • William L. Snowdon
  • Ifor James
  • 1970–1973 Christopher Rathbone
  • 1974–1985 Hugh Davies
  • 1985–1987 Andrew Shaw
  • 1987–1989 Andrew Sackett
  • 1989–1995 Ian Hare
  • 1995–1999 Charles Harrison
  • 2000–2005 David Gibbs
  • 2005–2008 John Robinson (Organist and Choir Director)
  • 2008–present Edward Taylor

Chelmsford Cathedral

Notable organists at Chelmsford Cathedral have included Stanley Vann and Philip Ledger.

Masters of the Music

Assistant Organists

  • Geoffrey Becket
  • 1963 John Jordan
  • 1966 Peter Cross
  • 1968 David Sparrow
  • 1986 Timothy Allen
  • 1991 Neil Weston

Assistant Directors of Music

  • 1999 Edward Wellman
  • 2003 Robert Poyser
  • 2008 Tom Wilkinson
  • 2009 Oliver Waterer
  • 2013 Laurence Lyndon-Jones
  • 2019 Hilary Punnett
  • 2023 Samuel Bristow

Chester Cathedral

Notable organists of Chester Cathedral include the composers Robert White and John Sanders and the recording artist Roger Fisher.

Organists

  • 1541 John Brycheley
  • 1551 Thomas Barnes
  • 1558 Richard Saywell
  • 1567 Robert White
  • 1570 Robert Stevenson
  • 1599 Thomas Bateson
  • 1609 John Alien
  • 1613 Michael Done
  • 1614 Thomas Jones
  • 1637 Richard Newbold
  • 1642 Randolph Jewitt
  • 1661 Rev. Peter Stringer
  • 1673 John Stringer
  • 1686 William Key
  • 1699 John Mounterratt
  • 1705 Edmund White
  • 1715 Samuel Davies
  • 1726 Benjamin Worrall
  • 1727 Edmund Baker
  • 1765 Edward Orme
  • 1776 John Bailey
  • 1803 Edward Bailey
  • 1823 George Black
  • 1824 Thomas Haylett
  • 1841 Frederick Gunton
  • 1877 Joseph Cox Bridge
  • 1925 John Thomas Hughes
  • 1930 Charles Hylton Stewart
  • 1932 Malcolm Courtenay Boyle
  • 1949 James Roland Middleton
  • 1964 John Sanders
  • 1967 Roger Fisher
  • 1997 David Poulter
  • 2008 Philip Rushforth

Assistant Organists

  • 1857 Mr. Munns
  • 1872–1876 Herbert Stephen Irons
  • 1876–1877 Joseph Cox Bridge
  • ????–1890 John Gumi
  • 1893–1925 John Thomas Hughes
  • 1925–1926 Guillaume Ormond
  • 1934–1944 James Roland Middleton
  • 1944–1947 George Guest
  • 1955–1960 Brian Runnett
  • 1960–1962 Peter Gilbert White
  • 1962–1967 Harold Hullah
  • 1967–1971 John Belcher
  • 1971–1974 John Cooper Green
  • 1974-1976 Gwyn Hodgson
  • 1976–1978 John Keys
  • 1978–1980 Simon Russell
  • 1980–1984 Martin Singleton
  • 1984–1986 David Holroyd
  • 1986–1989 Lee Ward
  • 1989–1998 Graham Eccles
  • 1998–2002 Benjamin Saunders
  • 2003–2008 Philip Rushforth
  • 2008–2011 Ian Roberts
  • 2011–2016 Benjamin Chewter
  • 2016–2020 Andrew Wyatt
  • 2020 – present Alexander Lanigan-Palotai
  • 2023 – present Daniel Mathieson

Chichester Cathedral

Notable organists at Chichester Cathedral have included composer Thomas Weelkes and conductors John Birch and Nicholas Cleobury.
Until 1801, there were two distinct posts, 'Organist' and 'Master of the Choristers', which were merged upon the appointment of James Target. Since the mid-nineteenth century, there has existed the role of Assistant Organist. Currently, the 'Organist and Master of the Choristers' is responsible for the direction of the choir and cathedral liturgy, and the 'Assistant Organist' accompanies the choir.
The sacking of Chichester Cathedral in December 1642 caused all cathedral services to be suspended. They were not resumed until the restoration of the monarchy in 1661. The choir was re-formed in the same year, but the appointment of a new organist did not occur until 1668.

Organists and Masters of the Choristers

Organist
Master of the Choristers
Organist and Master of the Choristers

Assistant Organists

Precentors

Coventry Cathedral

This list details only those who have held positions in the new Coventry Cathedral.

Directors of Music

Assistant Organists (Assistant Director of Music)

  • 1960 Martyn Lane
  • 1962 Michael Burnett
  • 1964 Robert George Weddle
  • 1972 J Richard Lowry
  • 1976 Ian Little
  • 1977 Paul Leddington Wright
  • 1984 Timothy Hone
  • 1988 Chris Argent
  • 1990 David Poulter
  • 1995–2002 Daniel Moult
  • 2004 Alistair Reid
  • 2011–2013 Laurence Lyndon-Jones
  • 2018–2020 Rachel Mahon
  • 2020-2025 Luke Fitzgerald
  • since 2025 Liam Condon

Derby Cathedral

Notable organists at Derby Cathedral have included Arthur Claypole and Wallace Ross.

Organists

Assistant Organists

  • Samuel Baker
  • Celyn Kingsbury
  • Rodney Tomkins
  • 1985 Tom Corfield
  • 2017 Edward Turner

Durham Cathedral

Notable organists at Durham Cathedral have included the composers Thomas Ebdon and Richard Lloyd, organists Philip Armes, John Dykes Bower who went on to St Paul's Cathedral, London, Conrad William Eden and James Lancelot, and choral conductor David Hill.

Organists

Sub-Organists

  • 1843–1850 John Matthew Wilson Young,
  • ???? - 1853 George Freemantle
  • ca. 1854 James Vasey
  • ca. 1865 Henry Leslie
  • 1865-1867 G.H.F. Orwin
  • ca. 1867 Mr Owen
  • ????–1874 J. C. Whitehead
  • 1876-1878 Thomas Henry Collinson
  • 1876-1880 George Cummings Dawson
  • ca. 1888 Mr. Ellinson
  • ????-1890 Joseph Walker
  • 1895–1903 Revd John Lionel Shirley Dampier Bennett
  • 1901 F. E. Leatham, 1
  • 1903–1918 William Ellis,
  • 1918–1919 Basil S. Maine
  • 1919–1968 Cyril Beaumont Maude
  • 1968–1972 Bruce Richard Cash
  • 1973–1980 Alan Thurlow
  • 1980–1982 David Hill
  • 1982–1991 Ian Shaw
  • 1991 Ralph Woodward
  • 1991–2011 Keith Wright
  • 2011–2019 Francesca Massey
  • 2019–present Joseph Beech

Assistant Organists

  • 2009–2011 Oliver Brett
  • 2011–2015 David Ratnanayagam

Ely Cathedral

Organists of Ely Cathedral have included the composers Basil Harwood and Arthur Wills.

Organists

Assistant Organists

  • ????-1857 Mr. Bailey
  • ????-1865 William J. Kempton
  • George Legge
  • William George Price
  • 1903–1906 Frederick Chubb
  • 1906–1909 Harold Carpenter Lumb Stocks
  • 1911–1915 Edwin Alec Collins
  • 1927–1929 Guillaume Ormond
  • William Bean
  • 1939 C. P. R. Wilson
  • 1945–1949 Russell Missin
  • 1949–1958 Arthur Wills
  • 1958–1961 Christopher Scarf
  • 1961–1964 Michael Dudman
  • 1964–1966 Anthony Greening
  • 1968–1972 Roger Judd
  • 1973–1976 Gerald Gifford
  • 1977–1989 Stephen Le Prevost
  • 1989–1991 Jeremy Filsell
  • 1991–1996 David Price
  • 1996–1998 Sean Farrell
  • 1999–2002 Scott Farrell
  • 2002 Jonathan Lilley
  • 2013 Edmund Aldhouse
  • 2019 Glen Dempsey
  • 2024 Jeremy Lloyd

Directors of the Girl Choristers

Assistant Organists of the Girls' Choir/Graduate Organ Scholars

  • 2006–2008 Edward Taylor
  • 2008–2012 Oliver Hancock
  • 2012–2014 Alexander Berry
  • 2015–2017 Alexander Goodwin
  • 2017–2021 Aaron Shilson
  • 2021–2023 Jack Wilson
  • 2023–2025 Stanley Godfrey
  • 2025-present Andrew Liu

Exeter Cathedral

Notable organists at Exeter Cathedral include composer and hymn writer Samuel Sebastian Wesley, educator Sir Ernest Bullock and conductor Sir Thomas Armstrong.

Organists / Directors of Music

Assistant Organists (Organist from 1999)

  • 1856 H. G. Halfyard
  • 1861–1870 W. Pinney
  • 1861?–1868 Graham Clarke
  • ????–1880? Edward Ellis Vinnicombe
  • 1881–1889 Ernest Slater
  • Frederick Gandy Bradford
  • ????–1898 Walter Hoyle
  • 1900–1906 Revd Arnold Duncan Culley
  • 1906–1918 F. J. Pinn
  • 1919–1927 Ernest Bullock
  • 1929–1937 William Harry Gabb
  • 1937–1940 John Norman Hind
  • 1945–1946 John Norman Hind
  • 1946– Edgar S. Landen
  • 1950–1955 Howard Stephens
  • 1956–1961 Stuart Marston Smith
  • 1961–1969 Christopher Gower
  • 1969–2010 Paul Morgan

Assistant Directors of Music

Assistant Organists

  • 1994–2016 Stephen Tanner

Gloucester Cathedral

Notable among the organists of Gloucester Cathedral are Samuel Sebastian Wesley and composers and choral conductors of the Three Choirs Festival, Sir Arthur Herbert Brewer, Herbert Sumsion and John Sanders.

Organists

The known organists of the cathedral are listed below. In modern times, the most senior post has become known as Director of Music; only these names are recorded here.

Assistant Organists

  • 1701–1710 William Hine
  • Walter Brooks
  • 1862–1865 John Alexander Matthews
  • ????-1873 Henry John Vaughan
  • 1879–1880 George Robertson Sinclair
  • 1880–1882 A. Herbert Brewer
  • George Washbourn Morgan
  • James Capener
  • 1896 A. Herbert Brewer
  • 1898-1900-???? Ivor Morgan
  • ????-1906 S.W. Underwood
  • 1907–1913 Ambrose Robert Porter
  • 1915–???? Harold C. Organ
  • ca. 1919 Charles Williams
  • 1920–1926 Reginald Tustin Baker
  • 1926-1917 William O Minay
  • 1927–1932 Arthur John Pritchard
  • 1932–1937 (Alfred) Melville Cook
  • 1938 W. Lugg
  • ????-1945 Herbert William Byard
  • Peter Stuart Rodway
  • 1948–1954 Donald Frederick Hunt
  • 1954–1958 Wallace Michael Ross
  • 1958–1963 John Sanders
  • 1963-1973 Richard Latham
  • 1973-1975 John Francis Clough
  • 1975–1983 Andrew Millington
  • 1983–1990 Mark Blatchly
  • 1990–1998 Mark Lee
  • 1998–2002 Ian Ball
  • 2002–2008 Robert Houssart
  • 2008–2012 Ashley Grote
  • 2012–2013 Anthony Gowing
  • 2014–present Jonathan Hope

Guildford Cathedral

Organists at Guildford Cathedral have included choral director Barry Rose and the composer Philip Moore.

Organists

Sub-Organists

  • 1927–1940 Walter William Lionel Baker
  • 1954–???? Harry Taylor
  • 1960-1961 Roger Moffatt
  • 1961-1962 Gordon Mackie
  • 1962–1965 Peter Moorse
  • 1965-1970 Gavin Williams
  • 1970–1977 Anthony Froggatt
  • 1977–1989 Peter Wright
  • 1989–2002 Geoffrey Morgan
  • 2002–2003 Louise Reid
  • 2003–2009 David Davies
  • 2009–2017
  • 2017–2023 Richard Moore
  • 2023 – present Asher Oliver

Hereford Cathedral

Notable organists of Hereford Cathedral include the 16th-century composers John Bull and John Farrant, briefly, Samuel Sebastian Wesley, the conductor and advocate of British composers Meredith Davies and the editor of Allegri's Miserere, Ivor Atkins.

Organists

Assistant Organists

  • 1883–1884 F. J. Livesey
  • 1884–1889 Allan Paterson
  • 1890–1893 Ivor Atkins
  • 1892–1895 Edgar C. Broadhurst
  • 1898-c. 1912 Percy Hull
  • c. 1912 W. R. Carr
  • 1919–1923 Ernest Willoughby
  • 1924–1935 Reginald Harry West
  • 1935–1940 Colin Archibald Campbell Ross
  • 1940–1942 Christopher John Morris
  • 1942–1949 Colin Mann
  • 1950–1953 Ross Fink
  • 1953–1958 Michael Illman
  • 1958–1962 Michael Burton
  • 1962–1967 Roger Fisher
  • 1968–1984 Robert Green
  • 1985–1988 David Briggs
  • 1989–1994 Geraint Bowen
  • 1995–1998 Huw Williams
  • 1998–present Peter Dyke

Leicester Cathedral

Notable organists at Leicester Cathedral have included Gordon Slater and Jonathan Gregory.

Organists and Directors of Music

  • Richard Hobbs
  • William Boulton
  • Anthony Greatorex 1765 – c. 1772
  • Martha Greatorex 1772–1800
  • Sarah Valentine 1800–1843
  • Mrs Mary Lee Scott 1843-1870
  • John Morland 1870–1875
  • Charles Hancock 1875–1927
  • Gordon Archbold Slater 1927–1931
  • George Charles Gray 1931–1969
  • Paul Morley-April -July 1994 Who became Director of Music 2002-2006,now Director of Leicester Church Music Consort 2005 to present, formerly Organist of Leicester Church Music Consort 1984- 2005
  • Jonathan Gregory 1994–2010
  • Christopher Ouvry-Johns 2011–present

Assistant Organists and Assistant Directors of Music

  • Frederick William Dickerson
  • Dennis Arnold Smith 1918
  • Stanley Vann 1932
  • Thomas Bates Wilkinson 1933
  • Wallace Michael Ross 1951
  • Sidney Thomas Rudge 1955
  • Robert Prime 1965
  • Geoffrey Malcolm Herbert Carter 1973
  • David Cowen 1995
  • Simon Headley 1999–2018
  • Rosie Vinter 2019–present

Lichfield Cathedral

Notable organists of Lichfield Cathedral include the 17th-century composer Michael East, and the musical educator and choral conductor Sir William Henry Harris who conducted at the coronations of both Elizabeth II and George VI

Organists

  • 1618 Michael East
  • 1638 Henry Hinde
  • 1662 Mr Lamb
  • 1688 Mr Lamb
  • 1723 George Lamb III
  • 1750 John Alcock
  • 1766 William Brown
  • 1807 Samuel Spofforth
  • 1864 Thomas Bedsmore
  • 1881 John Browning Lott
  • 1925 Ambrose P. Porter
  • 1959 Richard Greening
  • 1978 Jonathan Rees-Williams
  • 1992 Andrew Lumsden
  • 2002 Philip Scriven
  • 2010 Martyn Rawles
This post was restructured in September 2010.

Directors of Music

  • 2010 Ben and Cathy Lamb
  • 2016 Ben Lamb

Assistant Organists

  • 1849–1864 Thomas Bedsmore
  • 1865–1866 James C. Culwick
  • William Grainger
  • Montague Spinney
  • Percival J. Illsley
  • 1890–1897 Clement Charlton Palmer
  • ????-1895 Herman Brearley
  • 1902–1909 H. Rose
  • 1909–1911 Thomas Milton Sowell
  • 1911–1919 William Henry Harris
  • 1919–1924 Montague Herbert Spinney
  • 1927–1947 Edgar Morgan
  • ????-1960 Frayling
  • 1950–1952 PW Read
  • 1952–1955 Paul H Matthews
  • 1955–1959 Donald Cox
  • 1959 J W Sharwood
  • 1960–1967 Robert Green
  • 1968–1974 Peter Noyce
  • 1975–1986 Peter King
  • 1986–1994 Mark Shepherd
  • 1994–2002 Robert Sharpe
  • 2002–2007 Alexander Mason 7
  • 2007 Cathy Lamb and 2008 Martyn Rawles
This post was restructured in September 2010.

Lincoln Cathedral

Notable organists of Lincoln Cathedral have included the Renaissance composers William Byrd and John Reading and the biographer of Mendelssohn, William Thomas Freemantle.

Organists

  • 1439 John Ingleton
  • 1489 John Davy
  • 1490 John Warcup
  • 1506 Leonard Pepir
  • 1508 Thomas Ashwell
  • 1518 John Watkins
  • 1524 John Gilbert
  • 1528 Robert Dove
  • 1538 Thomas Appilby
  • 1539 James Crowe
  • 1541 Thomas Appilby
  • 1552 William Monk
  • 1559 Thomas Appilby
  • 1563 William Byrd
  • 1572 Thomas Butler
  • 1593 William Boys
  • 1594 John Hilton
  • 1599 Thomas Kingston
  • 1616 John Wanlesse
  • 1660 Thomas Mudd
  • 1663 Andrew Hecht
  • 1670 John Reading
  • 1693 Thomas Hecht
  • 1693 Thomas Allinson
  • 1704 George Holmes
  • 1721 Charles Murgatroy
  • 1741 William Middlebrook
  • 1756 Lloyd Raynor
  • 1784 John Hasted
  • 1794 George Skelton
  • 1850 John Matthew Wilson Young
  • 1895 George Bennett
  • 1930 Gordon Archbold Slater
  • 1966 Philip Marshall
  • 1986 David Flood
  • 1988 Colin Walsh
From 2003 the post was divided: Colin Walsh became Organist Laureate and Aric Prentice was appointed Director of Music.

Director of Music

  • 2003 Aric Prentice

Assistant Organists

Articled pupils fulfilled the role of assistant organist until 1893 when the Chapter formalised the position of assistant organist.

Assistant Directors of Music

Liverpool Cathedral

Notable organists at Liverpool Cathedral have included Edgar Robinson and Ian Tracey.

Directors of Music of Liverpool Cathedral

  • 1910–1916 Frederick Hampton Burstall
  • 1924–1947 Edgar Cyril Robinson
  • 1947–1982 Ronald Woan
  • 1982–2007 – Ian Tracey
  • 2008–2017 David Poulter
  • 2017–2021 Lee Ward
  • 2021-current Stephen Mannings

Organists of Liverpool Cathedral

London, St Paul's Cathedral

The many distinguished musicians who have been organists, choir masters and choristers at St Paul's Cathedral include the composers John Redford, Thomas Morley, John Blow, Jeremiah Clarke and John Stainer, while well known performers have included Alfred Deller, John Shirley-Quirk, Anthony Way and the conductors Charles Groves and Paul Hillier and the poet Walter de la Mare.

Organists and Directors of Music

Sub-Organists and Assistant Organists

In 2007 the posts of Organist and Director of Music were separated, the Sub-Organist post being re-titled Organist & Assistant Director of Music in September 2008.
Organist and Assistant Director of Music
  • 2008-2021 Simon Johnson
In 2023 the Music Department was expanded to include the three roles as follows: Organist, Assistant Director of Music, and Artistic Director of Choral Partnerships.
Organist
  • 2024 James Orford
Assistant Director of Music
  • 2025 Hilary Punnett
Artistic Director of Choral Partnerships
  • 2023 William Bruce

Assistant Sub-Organists and Sub-Organists

In 2007 the posts of Organist and Director of Music were separated, the Assistant Sub-Organist post being re-titled Sub-Organist in April 2008 to reflect the increased demands and prominence of the role.
Sub-Organists
  • 2008–2014 Timothy Wakerell
  • 2014–2017 Peter Holder
  • 2018– William Fox
  • 2025- George Inscoe

Almoners and Masters of the Choristers

The title of Almoner was abolished in 1872, while the post of Master of the Choristers was held by a succession of Vicars Choral:
  • 1846–1858 William Bayley
  • 1858?–1867 Henry Buckland
  • 1867–1874 Frederick Walker
  • 1874–1876 George Clement Martin
The training of the choristers was then entrusted to the Organist and his deputies until –
In 1990 the post was re-united with that of Organist under John Scott

Some notable Choristers and Vicars Choral

;16th century
;17th century
;18th century
;19th century
;20th century

Manchester Cathedral

Notable organists at Manchester Cathedral have included Frederick Bridge and Sydney Nicholson.

Organists

  • 1635 John Leigh
  • 1637 William Garter
  • 1666 William Turner
  • 1670 William Keys
  • 1679 Richard Booth
  • 1696 Edward Tetlow
  • 1702 James Holland
  • 1704 Edward Edge
  • 1714 Edward Betts
  • 1767 John Wainwright
  • 1768 Robert Wainwright
  • 1775 Richard Wainwright
  • 1783 Grifiith James Cheese
  • 1804 William Sudlow
  • 1831 William Sudlow and Joseph John Harris
  • 1848 Joseph John Harris
  • 1869 Frederick Bridge
  • 1875 James Kendrick Pyne
  • 1908 Sydney Nicholson
  • 1919 Archibald W. Wilson
  • 1943 Norman Cocker
  • 1954 Allan Wicks
  • 1962 Derrick Edward Cantrell
  • 1977 Robert Vincent
  • 1980–1981 Stephen Pinnock
  • 1980–1996 Stuart Beer
  • 1981–1992 Gordon Stewart
  • 1992–1996 Christopher Stokes
  • 1996– Christopher Stokes

Assistant organists

  • 1869–1871 Joseph Cox Bridge
  • 1876 R.H. Wilson
  • ?–1881 Minton Pyne
  • Samuel Myerscough
  • Richard Henry Mort
  • 1895–1896 Herbert C. Morris
  • Harold Mitchell Dawber
  • Frank Radcliffe
  • 1908–1912 Richard Henry Coleman
  • 1912–1919 Ernest Bullock
  • 1919 Arnold Goldsbrough
  • 1920–1922 Norman Cocker
  • 1922–1923 Thomas Armstrong
  • 1970–1974 Brian Hodge
  • 1972–1974 John Wenlock Gittins
  • 1975–1980 Stephen Drew Pinnock
  • 1996–1999 Matthew Owens
  • 1999–2014 Jeffrey Makinson
  • 2015 Geoffrey Woollatt

Newcastle Cathedral

Notable organists at Newcastle Cathedral have included Charles Avison and Colin Ross.

Organists

  • 1687 Samuel Nichols
  • 1736 Charles Avison
  • 1770 Edward Avison
  • 1776 Matthias Hawdon
  • 1789 Charles Avison Jnr
  • 1795 Thomas Thompson
  • 1834 Dr Thomas Ions
  • 1857 William Ions
  • 1894 George Huntley
  • 1895 John Jeffries
  • 1918 William Ellis
  • 1936 Kenneth Malcolmson
  • 1955 Colin Ross
  • 1967 Dr. Russell Missin
  • 1987 Timothy Hone
  • 2002 Scott Farrell
  • 2008 George Richford
  • 2009 Michael Stoddart
  • 2016 Ian Roberts

Assistant organists

  • 1928–1933 Thomas Christy
  • 1936 Clifford Harker
  • 1959–1960 Michael Bryan Hesford
  • 1960–1980 Graeme East
  • 1980–1984 Keith Downie : now St Helen's Gateshead
  • 1984–2009 Michael Dutton

Director of the Girls Choir and Sub-Organist

Assistant Director of Music

  • 2012–2015 James Norrey
  • 2015 Kris Thomsett

Norwich Cathedral

Notable organists of Norwich Cathedral have included Zechariah Buck and Brian Runnett, and composers Thomas Morley, Heathcote Dicken Statham, Alfred R. Gaul and Arthur Henry Mann.

Organists and Masters of the Music

Assistant Organists

Assistant Master of Music and Sub-Organist

Role created on the retirement of David Dunnett in 2025
  • 2025 Graham Thorpe

Oxford, Christ Church

First among the notable organists of Christ Church, Oxford is the Renaissance composer John Taverner. Other significant composers and conductors are Basil Harwood, Sir William Henry Harris, Sir Thomas Armstrong, Sydney Watson, Francis Grier, Simon Preston and Nicholas Cleobury.

Organists

Sub-Organists

Assistant Organist
Sub-Organist

Precentors

Peel Cathedral (Isle of Man)

Organists at Peel Cathedral have included the following.

Organists and Choirmasters

  • 1983 Mike Porter
  • 1986 Bernard Clark
  • 1991 Mark Roper
  • 1992 Stephen Dutton
  • 1993 Edward Coleman
  • 1995 Harvey Easton
  • 2001 Mike Porter
Between 1991 and 1994 the job was combined with the Head of Music position at King Williams College.

Organists and Directors of Music

  • 2008 Donald Roworth
  • 2012 Dr Peter Litman

Associate Organist

  • 2018–present Stuart Corrie

Peterborough Cathedral

Notable organists of Peterborough Cathedral have included Stanley Vann, Sir Malcolm Sargent and Sir Thomas Armstrong.

Masters of the Music

Assistant Masters of the Music

  • Samuel Round
  • 1895 George Pattman
  • 1900–1902 H. M. Goodacre
  • 1902–1903 Arthur Griffin Claypole
  • 1905–1910 Charles Cooper Francis
  • 1911–1914 Malcolm Sargent
  • 1915–1917 Thomas Armstrong
  • 1918–1925 Eric John Fairclough
  • 1930–1931 J. Durham Holl
  • 1932–? R. Shield
  • ca. 1938 Derek John Clare
  • ca. 1938 Desmond Swinburn
  • 1950–1953 John Malcolm Tyler
  • 1954–1955 Philip Joseph Lank
  • 1956–1959 Malcolm Ernest Cousins
  • 1960 Eric Howard Fletcher
  • Richard Latham
  • 1964–1971 Barry Ferguson
  • 1971–1980 Andrew Robert Newberry
  • 1980–1986 Simon Lawford
  • 1986–1992? Gary Sieling
  • 1993–1995 Simon Bowler
  • 1994–2007 Mark Duthie
  • 1998–2002 Thomas Moore
  • 2002–2007 Oliver Waterer
  • 2007–2011 Francesca Massey
  • 2011–2020 David Humphreys
  • 2020-2025 Christopher Strange

Plymouth Cathedral

Organists at Plymouth Cathedral have included the following.

Organists & Directors of Music

  • 1990 Neville Allen
  • 1996 Robert Osmond
  • 1998 Kevin Holmes
  • 2001 Christopher Fletcher
  • 2020 Robert Osmond

Assistant Organists

  • 1996–1998 Brian Apperson

Organists

  • 1995–1997 Timothy J Lewis
  • 1950s Webster Mansfield

Portsmouth Cathedral

Notable organists at Portsmouth Cathedral have included Adrian Lucas and David Price.

Organists

  • 1927 Hugh Burry
  • 1933 T. H. Newboult
  • 1944 John Davison
  • 1959 Maxwell Menzies
  • 1964 Peter Stevenson
  • 1968 Christopher Gower
  • 1977 Anthony Froggatt
  • 1990 Adrian Lucas
  • 1996 David Price

Sub-Organists

  • 1930 Mr Pease
  • 1963 Hugh Davis
  • 1978 David Thorne
  • 1999 Rosemary Field
  • 2005 Marcus Wibberley
  • 2012 Oliver Hancock
  • 2018 Sachin Gunga

Ripon Cathedral

Notable organists of Ripon Cathedral have included composers Charles Harry Moody and Ronald Edward Perrin.

Organists

  • 1447 Thomas Litster
  • 1478 Lawrence Lancaster
  • 1511 John Watson
  • 1513 William Swaine
  • 1520 Adam Bakehouse
  • 1540 William Solber1548 Interregnum
  • 1613 John Wanlassca. 1643 Interregnum
  • 1662 Henry Wanlass
  • 1670 Wilson
  • 1674 Alexander Shaw
  • 1677 William Sorrell
  • 1682 John Hawkins
  • 1690 Thomas Preston
  • 1731 Thomas Preston
  • 1748 William Ayrton
  • 1799 William F. M. Ayrton
  • 1802 Nicholas T. D. Ayrton
  • 1823 John Henry Bond
  • 1829 George Bates
  • 1874 Edwin John Crow
  • 1902 Dr Charles Harry Moody,
  • 1954 Lionel Frederick Dakers
  • 1957 Dr Philip Marshall
  • 1966 Ronald Edward Perrin
  • 1994 Kerry Beaumont
  • 2002 Andrew Bryden
  • 2003 Simon Morley
  • 2003 Andrew Bryden
  • 2020 Peter Wright
  • 2022 Dr Ronny Krippner

Assistant Organists/Assistant Directors of Music

  • Edward Brown
  • 1876–1881 Henry Taylor
  • ???? J. William-Render
  • William Rains
  • William Edward Cave
  • Edgar Alfred Lane
  • ????-1887 Herbert Arthur Wheeldon
  • 1887–1890 Charles Morton Bailey
  • Edgar Watson
  • ca. 1908 C. Richards
  • David Lamb
  • 1925–1927 Leonard Bagguley
The post of assistant organist was informal until 1928 when it was made official.
  • 1928–1935 Dennis Cocks
  • 1935–1939 Alfred H. Allsop
  • World War Two
  • 1947–1952 Alex Forrest
  • 1952–1955 Paul Mace
  • 1955–1956 Keith Bond
  • 1956–1958 Peter Anthony Stanley Stevenson
  • 1958–1963 Laurence Gibbon
  • 1963–1974 Alan Dance
  • 1974–1986 Marcus Huxley
  • 1986–1998 Robert Marsh
  • 1998–2003 Andrew Bryden
  • 2003-2004 Stephen Power
  • 2004–2008 Thomas Leech
  • 2009–2013 Edmund Aldhouse
  • 2013–2014 Ben Horden
  • 2014- Tim Harper
  • 2023- Alastair Stone

Rochester Cathedral

Among the composers, conductors and concert performers who have been organists at Rochester Cathedral are Bertram Luard-Selby, Harold Aubie Bennett, Percy Whitlock and William Whitehead.

Organists

Assistant Organists

  • -1841 Henry Edmund Ford
  • 1850–1856 Philip Armes
  • 1859–1865 Frederick Bridge,
  • Alfred Alexander
  • ca.1868 Joseph Bridge
  • 1899–1901 Glanville Hopkins
  • 1902–1908 Hector E. Shallcross
  • 1919–1921 Alfred H. Allen
  • 1921–1930 Percy Whitlock
  • 1930–1977 James Alfred Levett
  • 1977–1981 David Poulter
  • 1982–1989 Paul Hale
  • 1989–1994 Roger Sayer
  • 1994–1998 William Whitehead
  • 1998–2001 Sean Farrell
  • 2001–2002 James Eaton
  • 2002–2006 Edmund Aldhouse
  • 2006–2010 Dan Soper
  • 2010–2014 Samuel Rathbone
  • 2014–2018 Claire Innes-Hopkins
  • 2018-2024 Jeremy Lloyd
  • 2024-present Robbie Carroll

Cathedral Organists

Assistant Sub-Organists

  • 2015 Ben Bloor
  • 2016–2018 James Norrey

St Albans Cathedral

The posts of Organist and Master of the Music at St Albans Cathedral have been held by a number of well-known musicians, including Peter Hurford, Stephen Darlington and Barry Rose. The current Director pf Music is William Fox. Since 1963 the cathedral has been home to the St Albans International Organ Festival, winners of which include Dame Gillian Weir, Thomas Trotter and Naji Hakim. Following Andrew Lucas's retirement after more than 25 years in the post, the roles and responsibilities of the cathedral's two senior musicians were reviewed, and changed to Director of Music and Assistant Director of Music and Partnerships from September 2024.

Organists

  • 1302 Adam
  • 1498 Robert Fayrfax
  • 1529 Henry Besteney
  • 1820 Thomas Fowler
  • 1831 Edwin Nicholls
  • 1833 Thomas Fowler
  • 1837 Thomas Brooks
  • 1846 John Brooks
  • 1855 William Simmons
  • 1858 John Stocks Booth

Organists and Masters of the Music

Directors of Music

Assistant Organists

  • 1908–1909 John Cawley
  • 1921–1930 George C. Straker
  • 1936–1939 Sydney John Barlow
  • 1945–1951 Frederick Carter
  • 1951–1970 John Henry Freeman
  • 1970–1975 Simon Lindley
  • 1972-1973 Anthony Jennings
  • 1975–1976 John Clough
  • 1976–2001 Andrew Parnell
  • 2001–2008 Simon Johnson
  • 2008–2024 Tom Winpenny

Assistant Directors of Music

  • 2025 Dewi Rees

St Edmundsbury Cathedral

This list of organists of St Edmundsbury Cathedral also includes organists of the parish church of St James before it was elevated to Cathedral status in 1914 with the creation of the Diocese of St Edmundsbury and Ipswich.

Organists and Directors of Music

  • 1760 Mr Nair
  • 1785 Thomas Harrington
  • 1815 John Harrington
  • 1841 Philip Harrington
  • 1863 Frederick Fearnside
  • 1877 Mr Sydenham
  • 1883 Edward Iles
  • 1892 Revd J Lord
  • 1896 Harold Shann
  • 1937 Percy Hallam
  • 1958 Harrison Oxley
  • 1985 Paul Trepte
  • 1990 Mark Blatchly
  • 1993 Mervyn Cousins
  • 1997 James Thomas
  • 2020-2021 Vacant
  • 2021 Timothy Parsons
  • 2024 Claudia Grinnell

Assistant Organists and Assistant Directors of Music

  • 1867–1877 B Fearnside
  • 1917 Wilfred Mothersole
  • 1971 Mary Slatter
  • 1973 John Scott Whiteley
  • 1975 Geoffrey Hannant
  • 1986 Mervyn Cousins
  • 1993 Scott Farrell
  • 1999 Michael Bawtree
  • 2004 Jonathan Vaughn
  • 2007 David Humphreys
  • 2011 Daniel Soper
  • 2016 Alexander Binns
  • 2019 Richard Cook

Salisbury Cathedral

Among the notable organists of Salisbury Cathedral have been a number of composers and well-known performers including Bertram Luard-Selby, Charles Frederick South, Sir Walter Galpin Alcock, Sir David Valentine Willcocks, Douglas Guest, Christopher Hugh Dearnley, Richard Godfrey Seal and the BBC presenter Simon Lole.

Organists

Assistant Organists

Sheffield Cathedral

Notable organists at Sheffield Cathedral have included Edwin Lemare and Reginald Tustin Baker.

Organists and Directors of Music

Assistant Directors of Music

  • 2013 Joshua Hales
  • 2016 Joshua Stephens
  • 2018 James Kealey
  • 2018 Joshua Stephens
  • 2020 Ian Seddon
  • 2023 James Mitchell

Assistant Master of the Music

  • 1992–1995 Tim Horton
  • 1995–1999 Chris Betts
  • 1999 Mark Pybus
  • 1999–2005 Peter Heginbotham
  • 2005–2012 Anthony Gowing

Sub Organists

  • ?–1976 Hubert Stafford
  • 1975-1979 David G Read
  • 1979–1985 Paul Parsons
  • 1989–1992 Martin Colton

Southwark Cathedral

Among the organists of Southwark Cathedral are Edgar Tom Cook, known for his lunchtime organ broadcasts on the BBC, and the organ designer and noted teacher Ralph Downes.

Organists

Assistant Organists

  • F. Stanley Winter
  • 1908–1917 Charles Edgar Ford
  • 1917–1922 Francis W. Sutton
  • 1922 J.C. Bradshaw 1922
  • 1923–1925 Ralph William Downes
  • 1934–1935 Philip Miles
  • 1936 Ernest F.A. Suttle
  • 1937–1954 Ernest Herbert Warrell
  • 1955–1956 William Allen Humpherson
  • 1957–1959 Denys Darlow
  • 1959–1962 John Flower, Alan Dance, John Oxlade
  • 1962–1970 Arthur Newell
  • 1971–1974 Christopher Jenkins
  • 1975–1978 Nicholas Woods
  • 1978–1985 John Scott
  • 1985–1988 Andrew Lumsden
  • 1988–1997 Stephen Layton
  • 1997-2022 Stephen Disley
  • 2022- Simon Hogan

Southwell Minster

At Southwell Minster, the term Rector Chori is used rather than Director of Music, or Master of the Choristers. It literally means Ruler of the Choir, and is an historic title.

Rectores Chori

Organists

Assistant Organists:
  • ????-1861 W.D. Hall
  • W.L. Dodd 1861–1865
  • ca. 1868 E.D. Hoe
  • ca. 1870 H. Nicholson
  • ????-1885 G. Fletcher
  • 1890–1897 Alfred Winterbotham
  • 1897–1902 Lawrence Frederick Baguley
  • 1903–1904 Sydney Weale
  • Oswald Steele
  • Cecil Wyer ???? – 1919
  • 1958–1994 Peter Wood
  • 1994–2002 Philip Rushforth
  • 2002–08 Simon Bell
In 2008 the title of Assistant Organist was replaced with Assistant Director of Music, in line with other Cathedrals.
Assistant Directors of Music:
  • 2008–2012 Philip White-Jones
  • 2012–2019
  • 2019–present Jonathan Allsopp

Truro Cathedral

The Diocese of Truro was established in 1876 and Truro Cathedral was consecrated in 1887. The parish church of St Mary the Virgin occupied the site before the cathedral was built, and had an organ: its organists included Charles William Hempel and his son Charles Frederick Hempel.

Organists and Masters of the Choristers

Assistant Organists

  • 1885–1886 Ivor Atkins
  • 1902–1907 Frederick Rowland Tims
  • 1907–1911 William Stanley Sutton
  • 1911 Mr. Hall
  • Donald Behenna
  • 1922–1926 Gerald Hocken Knight
  • Arthur William Baines
  • 1950–1971 John Charles Winter
  • 1971–1991 Henry Doughty
  • 1991–2000 Simon Morley
  • 2000–2008 Christopher Gray
  • 2008–2017 Luke Bond
  • 2017–2019 Joseph Wicks
  • 2019–2020 Michael Butterfield
  • 2020–present Andrew Wyatt

Wakefield Cathedral

Organist of Wakefield Cathedral have included the following.

Organists

  • 1886 Joseph Naylor Hardy
  • 1930–1945 Newell Smith Wallbank
  • 1945–1970 Percy George Saunders
  • 1970–2010 Jonathan Bielby
  • 2010–2020 Thomas Moore
  • 2020–2021 James Bowstead
  • 2021- 2022 Ed Jones
  • 2023 - James Bowstead

Assistant Organists

  • 1896–1900 William Frederick Dunnill
  • 1961–1971 John Holt
  • 1975–1983 Peter David Gould
  • 1983–1985 Gareth Green
  • 1985–1991 Keith Wright
  • 1991–1996 Sean Farrell
  • 1996–2002 Louise Reid
  • 2002–2010 Thomas Moore
  • 2010 Daniel Justin
  • 2011–2015 Simon Earl
  • 2015–2017 Sachin Gunga
  • 2018–2020 James Bowstead
  • 2020–2021 Robert Pecksmith
  • 2021-2023 James Bowstead
  • 2023- Alana Brook

Westminster Abbey

Westminster Abbey, formally titled the Collegiate Church of St Peter at Westminster, is a large, mainly Gothic abbey church in the City of Westminster in London, located close to the Palace of Westminster. It is the traditional site for the coronation of the British monarch, for royal weddings and funerals and for other state occasions. In addition, the organist oversees the music for daily services sung by a choir of 12 professional adults and up to 30 boys from the adjacent choir school.
The present organ was installed in 1937 and was built by Harrison & Harrison. The fifth manual was a later addition, added during the 1982-1984 rebuild, with the Bombarde pipework being intalled in 1987. The organ case, however, is from the previous Hill organ.

Organists and Masters of the Choristers

Sub-Organists

Assistant Organists

Organ Scholars

  • James Cryer
  • Jonathan Dimmock
  • Adrian Lenthall
  • Simon Morley
  • Geoffrey Styles
  • Nick Murdoch
  • 1981−1982: Jane Watts
  • 1990−1992: Richard Moorhouse
  • 1992−1993: Meirion Wynn Jones
  • 1993−1994: William Whitehead
  • 1994−1996: Louise Reid
  • 1996−1999: John Hosking
  • 1999−2000: Iestyn Evans
  • 2000−2001: Simon Bell
  • 2001−2002: Justin Luke
  • 2002−2003: Daniel Cook
  • 2003−2004: Richard Hills
  • 2004−2006: Ian Keatley
  • 2006−2007: Simon Jacobs
  • 2007−2008: Benjamin Chewter
  • 2008−2009: Léon Charles
  • 2009−2010: Samuel Prouse
  • 2010−2011: Edward Tambling
  • 2011−2012: Andrej Kouznetsov
  • 2012−2014: Peter Holder
  • 2014−2015: Jeremy Woodside
  • 2015−2016: Matthew Jorysz
  • 2016−2018: Benjamin Cunningham
  • 2018−2020: Alexander Hamilton
  • 2020−2022: Charles Maxtone-Smith
  • 2022−2023: Dewi Rees
  • 2023−2024: Carolyn Craig
  • 2025- : Francois Cloete

Wells Cathedral

The first record of an organ at Wells Cathedral dates from 1310, with a smaller organ, probably for the Lady Chapel, being installed in 1415. In 1620 a new organ, built by Thomas Dallam, was installed at a cost of £398 1s 5d, however this was destroyed by parliamentary soldiers in 1643 and another new organ was built in 1662,
which was enlarged in 1786,
and again rebuilt in 1855, a substantial early work of 'Father' Henry Willis.
In 1909–1910 a new organ was built by Harrison & Harrison with the best parts of the old organ retained,
and this has been maintained by the same company since.

Organists

  • 1416–1418 Walter Bagele
  • 1421–1422 Robert Cator
  • 1428–1431 John Marshal
  • 1437–1462 John Marchell
  • 1461–1462 John Menyman
  • 1461–1462 Richard Hygons
  • 1497–1507 Richard Hygons
  • 1507–1508 Richard Bramston
  • 1508 John Clawsy
  • 1514 William Mylwhard
  • 1515–1531 Richard Bramston
  • 1534–1538 John Smyth
  • 1547–1554 Nicholas Prynne
  • 1556–1557 John Marker
  • 1558 Robert Awman
  • 1559–1562 William Lyde
  • 1563 Thomas Tanner
  • 1568 Matthew Nailer
  • 1587 John Clerk
  • 1600 Thomas Hunt
  • 1608 James Weare
  • 1613 Edmund Tucker
  • 1614 Richard Brown
  • 1619–1642 John Oker
  • Commonwealth period
  • 1663 John Brown
  • 1674 Mr Hall
  • 1674 John Jackson
  • 1688 Robert Hodge
  • 1690 John George
  • 1713 William Broderip
  • 1726 Joseph Millard
  • 1727 William Evans
  • 1741 Jacob Nickells
  • 1741 John Broderip
  • 1771 Peter Parfitt
  • 1773 Robert Parry
  • 1781 Dodd Perkins
  • 1820 William Perkins
  • 1859 Charles Williams Lavington
  • 1896 Percy Carter Buck
  • 1899 Revd. Canon Thomas Henry Davis
  • 1933 Conrad William Eden
  • 1936 Denys Pouncey
  • 1971 Anthony Crossland
  • 1996 Malcolm Archer
  • 2004 Rupert Gough
  • 2005 Matthew Owens
  • 2020–2022 Jeremy Cole
  • 2023–2024 Alexander Hamilton
  • 2024- Timothy Parsons

Assistant Organists

Sub-Assistant Organists

  • 2019–2020 David Stevens
  • 2021 Adam Wilson

Winchester Cathedral

The earliest known organist of Winchester Cathedral is John Dyer in 1402. Later organists include Christopher Gibbons whose patronage aided the revival of church music after the Interregnum, John Reading, Daniel Roseingrave, James Kent, Samuel Sebastian Wesley, the composer of sacred music, who was also responsible for the acquisition of the Cathedral organ, Martin Neary, who arranged the music for the funeral of Diana, Princess of Wales, and choral director David Hill.

Organists

Organists were formerly titled "Organist and Master of the Choristers" then, briefly, "Organist and Master of the Music" and now "Organist and Director of Music"

Assistant Organists

Sometimes the appointment has been as "Sub-organist" or, in recent years, "Assistant Director of Music"
  • 1787–1802 George William Chard
  • 1851–1854 George Mursell Garrett
  • 1863–?? Thomas Somerford
  • ????-1869 E. H. Birch
  • 1876 Charles Lee Williams
  • William Prendergast
  • 1898–?? Alfred Ernest Floyd
  • E. Gilbert
  • 1902–1904 Louis H. Torr
  • 1906 George C. Macklin
  • 1906–1913 Howard Roscoe Eady
  • 1908–?? James Frederick Parsons
  • Henry William Radford
  • 1912–1921 Henry William Stubbington
  • 1919 Hilda Bird
  • Horace Hawkins
  • W. Brennand Smith
  • Cyril John Tucker Fogwell
  • Gillian Skottowe
  • 1958–1967 Graham Hedley Matthews
  • 1967–?? Clement McWilliam
  • 1975–1985 James Lancelot
  • 1985–1991 Timothy Byram-Wigfield
  • 1991–1996 David Dunnett
  • 1996–1998 Stephen Farr
  • 1999–2002 Philip Scriven
  • 2002–2008 Sarah Baldock
  • 2003–2008 Philip White-Jones
  • 2008 Richard McVeigh
  • 2008–2012 Simon Bell
  • 2012–2021 George Castle
  • 2017 Richard Moore
  • 2017-2024 Claudia Grinnell
  • 2022- Joshua Stephens
  • 2024- Oliver Morrell

Worcester Cathedral

Organists of Worcester Cathedral have included Sir Ivor Atkins, Douglas Guest, Christopher Robinson, the composers Thomas Tomkins, William Hayes, Hugh Blair, and conductors Sir David Willcocks, Donald Hunt and Adrian Lucas.

Organists (and Directors of Music from 2012)

Assistant Organists (and Assistant Directors of Music from 2012)

Sub-Assistant Organists (and Voluntary Choir Choirmasters)

  • 2007–2008 Simon Bertram
  • 2008–2012 George Castle
  • 2012–2014 James Luxton
  • 2014–2016 Justin Miller
  • 2017–2019 Richard Cook
  • 2019–2021 Ed Jones

Organists of the Worcester Cathedral Voluntary Choir

  • 1981–2021 John Wilderspin

York Minster

Among the notable organists of York Minster are four members of the Camidge family who served as cathedral organists for over 100 years, and a number of composers including James Nares, Edwin George Monk, John Naylor, Thomas Tertius Noble and Francis Jackson.

Organists

The organists of York Minster have had several official titles, including "Master of the Music"; the job description roughly equates to that of Organist and Master of the Choristers. They will have an Assistant Organist, who may be titled simply "Organist".
The names of Organists prior to 1633 have been copied from the list of Organists of York Minster on the wall of the North Transept.

Assistant Organists

Assisting Organists

  • 2016–2018 Jeremy Lloyd
  • 2018–2020 Christopher Strange
  • 2021–2023 Asher Oliver
  • 2023–Present Adam Wilson