The 1881 children's hymn "In our dear Lord’s garden", to the tune "Enon" (or "St. John Baptist") by Oswald M. Feilden (1837-1924), played by Peter Tylor on the 1920* Trudgian pipe organ at the Village Hall (formerly the Methodist Church) at Nanstallon near Bodmin, Cornwall (NPOR T00807), 31/07/2024.

In our dear Lord’s garden,
Planted here below,
Many tiny flowerets
In sweet beauty grow.

Christ, the loving Gardener,
Tends these blossoms small;
Loves the little lilies
As the cedars tall.

Nothing is too little
For His gentle care;
Nothing is too lowly
In His love to share.

Jesus loves the children,
Children such as we;
Blessed them when their mothers
Brought them to His knee.

Jesus calls the children,
Bids them come and stand
In His pleasant garden,
Watered by His hand.

Lord, Thy call we answer;
Take us in Thy care;
Train us in Thy garden,
In Thy work to share.

(Words by Ella Sophia Armitage, 1841-1931)

My 2022 recording of this hymn to a different tune - see [ Ссылка ] - has proved to be one of my most popular videos. Although this tune is perhaps less well known than the other, it was set to these words in the "Congregational Church Hymnal" (1887), "Golden Bells" (c.1925) and elsewhere; this pairing of words and music is also a particularly fitting one, since the composer of the tune was not only a clergyman, but also a keen botanist - see [ Ссылка ]

This modest instrument, with just eight speaking stops, was built in 1920* for this similarly modest village chapel by the Cornish firm of J. Trudgian & Son of St Dennis. Following the closure of the church in 2021, the building was acquired by the Nanstallon Community Trust for use as a Village Hall. Although the organ is to remain in situ for the time being, efforts are being made to rehome it - preferably in Cornwall - in order to enable the inside of the Hall to be reconfigured to better serve its purpose as a community space.

Many thanks to Sheila Trethewey and the other members of the Nanstallon Community Trust for making me welcome to visit and play this lovely instrument, which I hope duly finds the appreciative new home that it fully deserves!

*Update (11/08/24): At the time of editing and uploading this video, I understood from other online sources that this organ dated from 1923. However, I have since been reliably informed that it had in fact been installed in 1920; its opening was reported in the "Newquay Express and Cornwall County Chronicle" for Friday 6 February of that year. According to that report, the total cost of its installation, including necessary structural alterations to the building, was "about £150" - equivalent to around £8400 in 2024.

Links:

Music score available online, free of charge, at: [ Ссылка ]

Information about the organ and its builders:
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Nanstallon Community Trust website:
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