Abbey, John

(b Whilton, Northants., 22 Dec 1785; d Versailles, 19 Feb

1859). English organ builder. The son of a local joiner, he first learnt
his fathers trade. Against family opinion he was apprenticed while
still in his youth to the organ builder James Davis and later joined in
partnership with Hugh Russell. Abbey became acquainted with
Sbastian Erard in London and went to France to build an organ for
the 1827 Industrial Exhibition at the Louvre, which was later moved
to the Paris Conservatoire (before 1864). Settling first in Paris, and
later in Versailles, he received a royal commission to build an organ
for the chapel of the Lgion dHonneur at St Denis and another for
the chapel of the Palais des Tuileries (1827), which was badly
damaged during the 1830 Revolution. In 1831 with Meyerbeers
protection Abbey was employed to build the organ of the Paris Opra
(destroyed by fire, 1873). These instruments were the first in France
to be fitted with free reeds, a Venetian swell, inverted-rib bellows
(invented by the clock maker Cumming) and composition pedals.
Another innovation was Abbeys small organ built in the chancel of St
Etienne-du-Mont, Paris (1829), which initiated the French tradition of
the orgues du choeur for accompaniment purposes, as opposed to
the larger instruments to be found in west-end galleries. Such
innovations, together with Abbeys reputation for fine craftsmanship
and voicing, quickly established a fame overshadowed only by
Cavaill-Coll, with whom he competed unsuccessfully for the
building of the new organ at St Denis (1833).
Abbey built large new gallery organs for the cathedrals at Amiens
(1833), Tulle (the 1839 Exhibition organ for which he won first prize),
Bayeux (1843), La Rochelle, Rennes, Viviers and Chlons-surMarne (the last two survive in their original form), and restored those
of the cathedrals at Mende (18359), Reims (c1845), Evreux
(destroyed 1944), Moulins and Nevers (later superseded). Other
restorations include those at St Etienne-du-Mont, St Philippe-duRoule (1834) and Notre Dame de lAssomption in Paris and the
parish church of Sedan. He established smaller, one- or two-manual
gallery or chancel organs in churches, chapels and convents

throughout France, notably at Versailles Cathedral (1837, chancel

organ), Versailles Hospital chapel, Houdan (chancel organ),
Neauphle-le-Chteau (1845), Jouyen-Josas and in Paris at St
Nicolas-des-Champs, Ste Elisabeth, St Thomas dAquin and St
Mdard (chancel organs). He also developed a trade in chamberorgans and exported small-scale instruments as far as Chile. He was
competent as a teacher and many builders were trained by him and
followed his principles.
After Abbeys death, the business was successfully continued by his
two sons, Edwin (184095) and John-Albert (18431930) and his
grandson John-Marie (18861931), after whose death after the firm
closed down in 1935.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
BicknellH
J.W. Hinton: Organ Construction (London, 1900, 3/1910/R)
W.L. Sumner: John Abbey: Organ Builder, The Organ, xxix
(194950), 1227
W.L. Sumner: The Organ: its Evolution, Principles of
Construction and Use (London, 1952, rev., enlarged 4/1973/R)
J.-A. Villard: John Abbey, facteur dorgues en France, Bulletin
de lAssociation Franois-Henri Clicquot, no.13 (1986), 1624;
nos.1617 (1989), 1743; Eng. trans. in JBIOS, x (1986), 719;
xii (1988), 2030
W.H. HUSK/MARC LEROY/STEPHEN BICKNELL