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England (Counties as in 1851-1901) => England => Yorkshire (West Riding) => Topic started by: sadieh33 on Thursday 20 April 06 18:34 BST (UK)
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Does anyone know anything about the Nicholson's or their organ building business in Bradford (1841 - 1901......?). Other family members had the same business in Rochdale and Worcester. the company is still trading in Worcester.
The Bradford business was owned by Frederick Whitworth Nicholson. He was a Mason and also the President of a choral society.
Can anyone help please??
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There is mention of them here, together with a photo of one of their organs:
http://www.ohta.org.au/famous/organs/StPatricksMentone.html
Jill
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The firm gets a mention in the Bradford section of Pigot's Directory of Yorkshire 1834
"Nicholson Thos. & John, organ builders, Vicar Lane"
(p 686)
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Hi Jill and Dave.
Thanks for the info. I know about the organ in Mentone. It has quite a history, but the business address is news. It helps in building the profile for the research. Much appreciated. Any chance you can help with further research resources re info on Frederick Whitworth Nicholson please?
Sadieh.
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I know this original post is old, but does anyone have any information about FW Nicholson and the Bradford firm of organ builders? I have some information to swap as our local church has a Nicholson organ.
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Hi there. I'm the original poster of this thread and since it's first posting I've manage to gather a great deal of information regarding the Nicholson family & businesses. I'd be interested in hearing from you and will be happy to help your research in way I can.
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Hi. Thank you for your quick response. That would be great. Basically, I'm after all and any information about FW Nicholson Organ Builders from Bradford, as I believe Frederick Nicholson built and installed our church organ in 1869/70. How do we go about swapping information, as I am new to RootsChat specifically for this enquiry, and I think my PMs are restricted as a newbie?
The church has an organ recital soon, and it would be nice to have some more information to present about the builders. I've attached an example of some information, and also have copies of original letters and quotes.
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You may also be interested to know that the organ he built has a tenuous link to the Brontes...
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I've sent you a message through Roots internal messaging. Please let me know via this forum if you don't receive it and we can try another way.
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I don't know what denomination your church is but if it's a Methodist Church it may be a good idea to contact the National Organ Advisor Malcolm Starr at 77 The Pastures, Long Bennington, Newark, NG23 5EG, or phone 01400 281291. He is a mine of information on church organs. If it's an Anglican Church there should be an equivalent advisor. If a different denomination I'd suggest contacting Malcolm as he may still be able to advise you.
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Earlier when I spotted this thread I recall that in Birmingham University there is a National Register of Organ builders that holds info on Nicholsons - I think it implied they'd started in Rochdale area, over the border in Lancs. Could Royal Northern college of Music possibly help, or Manchester Archives?
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You may find it of interest to look at the National Pipe Organ Register. If you select to look by builder (i.e. Nicholson) you will see a long list covering the UK.
www.npor.org.uk
Hope this helps
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The details below are taken from the NPOR.........
NICHOLSON Frederick Whitworth [DBOB-ref=1543]
Born: 1830
Died: 1906+
Established: undefined
Floruit: 1851-1938D
Located: Bradford, Yorks
Trade: ob
Addresses used by this firm
Address From To
6 Leeds Rd, Bradford 1853D
South Str, Huddersfield [additional] 1853D
6 Mulgrave Str, Leeds Rd, Bradford 1857D
11 Buck Str, Leeds Rd, Bradford, Yorks [res] 1861D 1866D
8 Mulgrave Str, Leeds Rd, Bradford, Yorks [res] 1870D 1897D
11 Southend Str, Bradford [additional] 1892D
66 Hanover Sq, Bradford [additional] 1893D
45 Manningham La, Bradford [additional] 1897D
4 Cornwall Pl, Cornwall Rd, Bradford 1901D 1938D
References for the information above
BOA corres James, D.
Census 1861; also 1841 - under John Nicholson, Bradford, father
John Nicholson, organ builder of Worcester: Berrow, J. (1996) - unpublished thesis (in BOA)
Census entries for this firm
Census Reference: RG09/3317 f.123
Year: 1861
Name: NICHOLSON, Frederick W.
Address: 11 Buck Street, Bradford, Yorks
Resident Name Relation Age Trade Born
NICHOLSON, Frederick W.
Cross references for this firm
Nicholson, John (Bradford) - son of & successor to
NICHOLSON James [DBOB-ref=1544]
Born: 1838
Established: undefined
Floruit: 1851
Located: Bradford, Yorks
Trade: ob