The Temple Organ

Under Oliver Cromwell, Puritan soldiers treated church organs as enemy contraptions. They tore them down, mocked them as “squeaking abominations,” melted the pipes into bullets, and even paraded through the streets blowing the rescued pipes—or pawning them for a few cups of ale.

After the Restoration, cathedral services returned and organ‑building boomed. The Temple Church in London decided to commission the finest instrument money could buy—on one condition: any builder who wanted the job had to install a full organ in the church and submit it to public trials.

Only two accepted: Schmidt and Harris, the best of their day. When the tests began, Schmidt’s organ was demonstrated by English stars like Purcell and Blow; Harris hired the Frenchman Lully. Trial after trial ended in a draw. They added new stops. Still no decision.

Then things got ugly. Each man had friends inside the church, and sabotage followed—pipes quietly removed, bellows cut, anything to cripple the rival. At last the dispute went to Lord Chief Justice Jeffreys, who ruled for Schmidt. His organ, the winner of the most dramatic “audition” in London, still stood in the Temple Church.