"It was built for Sacred Heart's Paris convent, but in 1901, the French government had its own Disolution of the Monasteries moment, when it passed a law restricting religious congregations, leading to their closure and banning them from teaching, paving the way for the 1905 separation of church and state. The government audited the convent's assets, and it seems that the convent's sisters, fearing they were about to have the organ confiscated, dismantled and smuggled it across the Channel in 1904."
"Somehow, that bit of its history was lost until a condition survey was carried out by Dr William McVicker, Curator of Organs at the Royal Festival Hall. Greeting Dr McVicker was an organ stop which read 'Flute Pyramidale' - one he'd only encountered once before, in an old church in Brussels. After further work, he was able to confirm that the Hammersmith organ is the only example of Loret's work in the UK, and one of only a handful surviving in Europe."
Recent research identified the Sacred Heart High School chapel organ as a c.1861-62 instrument made by Flemish builder Hippolyte Loret rather than an 1883 installation. The organ was originally built for the Sacred Heart Paris convent. Following a 1901 French law restricting religious congregations, convent assets were audited and the sisters dismantled and smuggled the organ to the UK in 1904 to avoid confiscation. The organ's provenance was rediscovered during a condition survey when a stop labelled 'Flute Pyramidale' prompted specialist investigation. The instrument is the only known Loret example in the UK and one of few surviving in Europe. Fundraising is underway to restore it for concerts and organ tuition.
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