Name of organ pump or blower room

[robert]

I am writing up an archaeological report for a church. While excavating I came across a room outside of the Church and below ground that I suspect once housed the pump and bellows for the Church's organ. I wonder if anybody could provide me with the technical name for this room. Thanks

[Clavier]

I am not sure about this, but I think it's simply called a 'blower room'. However, if the organ was never upgraded with electricity, that would sound absurd, so it could very well be a 'pump room', or perhaps 'bellows room'?

[Havoc]

I seriously doubt that a room not connected to the church below ground could have been used as a blower room. In the day of human powered blowers the distance to the organ was kept short. At most a room just beside or below the organ. Communication with the organist was needed in that case.

[robert]

Thanks for the feedback so far but I think I need t explain the organ and building so that respondees can get a better idea. The actual organ is relatively modern, dating to the turn of the twentieth century, that is, just over one hundred years old. When excavating in the grounds outside of the cathedral but nearly adjacent to the original cathedral choir loft, I came across a double brick wall with water proofing on the out side. Whilst I haven't completely excavated the room, I am fairly certain it once contained an electric pump for the organ which was located in the choir loft.The actual room itself does not appear on any floor plans that I have, so I am guessing it is where the organ pump was located because I detected a metal pipe coming out of the wall of the cathedral, which I then traced under ground (where it changed from a metal to a porcelein pipe) and eventually into the wall that I excavated, approximately 1.5 meters deep. The organ itself was relocatd to a new choir loft in 1973 and enlarged. (It has currently been removed again and further enlarged and will be re-installed into the position of the original choir loft that has been completely rebuilt and enlarged).</P>


Anyhow, I hope this fills in the picture. As I am writing up a report and cataloguing photographs, I would dearly like to know the proper name for a room that contined theorgan's electrical pump and that is below ground and outside the actual cathedral wallsbut immediately adjacent to the walls. The acutal air would have had to travel approximately twenty-five meters to the instrument. I also presume that the bellows would have been located in this room. Would this preseumption be correct</P>


Looking forward to your assistance.</P>

[Havoc]

This raises further doubts for me. Can you give some more detail please?

- how large was the organ when installed at the place you think it was connected to that room? (manuals? ranks? pedals?)
- what is the diameter of the pipe?
- a distance of 25 meter is way too large and if that was the case, then the bellows would certainly have been at the organ.*Otherwise regulation is next to impossible.* Unless the pipe you speak of is very large. Do not forget that organs don't work on high pressure like power tools do now.
- the use of a metal pipe is also suspect. The main wind ducts need to be so large that mostly wood is used. And I never heard of porcelain being used since that never reaches the size needed for organ wind ducts. And why change the material?

[robert]

The actual diameter of the pipe leading to the organ from where I presume the pump waslocated was approx. 15 cm with a circumference of 48cm. I may have exagerated th length of the pipe. Revisiting the site I now estimate the lenght of the pipe to be between 15 and 20 meters. I am unsure of the number of stops etc. Does his information help. The actual pipe leading from the pump room (or whatever it is called!!!!) is made of porcelein, the same type of pipe used for storm-water. This makes sense as it was laid underground. When it surfaces against the wall of the Church it changes to metal. It is the metal pipe measurements I have given above. The ceramic pipe was 19 cm in diameter. The metal pipe then ascends the wall to a height of 4.4 meters when it penetraes into the wall into the choir loft where the organ was formerly situated.