Wednesday 11 + Thursday 26 Novemer, Henry the Organ, London Bridge Station, SE1 9Gp

If so, why not learn to play Henry, the pipe organ at London Bridge Station?

These free lunchtime sessions will introduce players to playing this magnificent instrument by a professional organ teacher Marilyn Harper.

Places are limited to five people per session, and the first two sessions will be 12:30-13:00 on Wednesday 11th November and Friday 27th November.

You must already be able to play a keyboard of any sort, at any standard.

About Henry

Henry is the open-access organ on the concourse of the Network Rail station, free to play any time the station is open.

Henry is a one-manual, eight-stop organ with pedals. He is at the southern end of the (lower) Network Rail (not Underground) concourse called Stainer Street, close to its entrance from St Thomas Street, London SE1.

Built by Henry Jones in about 1880, Pipe Up for Organs rescued him from a closed United Reformed church in Whetstone, north London in 2021 and relocated him to London Bridge in July 2022, with thanks to Network Rail for their support. If you would like to play the organ it is open to the public as long as the station is open.

Playing Henry

Other than for the introductory sessions, there is no booking system. All you need to do (apart from waiting your turn if there’s a queue) is to ensure that the wall switch to the right is on, and then press the blue-lit button on the blower box itself.

The blower is on a 30-minute time-switch, and the blue-lit button starts flashing a minute before it cuts off. If it has already switched itself off, re-set the wall switch first and then press the blue-lit button, and Henry will come to life again for a further 30 minutes.

Please don’t stand on the pedals before sitting on the bench. This stresses the mechanical links. Instead, sit on the bench first, then swing your feet over.

Bring your own music! We haven’t had a lot of success keeping sheet music collections at Henry.