{{Short description|British pipe organ building company}} {{More citations needed|date=June 2023}} {{Use dmy dates|date=July 2016}} {{Use British English|date=July 2016}} {{Infobox company | name = Mander Organs Limited | logo = | fate = Taken over | defunct = 2020 | genre = | former_name = N P Mander Limited | founded = 1936 | founder = Noel Mander | hq_location = Bethnal Green, England | area_served = International | key_people = John Pike Mander, Stephen Bicknell | products = Pipe Organ Builders | num_employees = 13 }}

'''N.P Mander Limited''' later Mander Organs Limited was an English pipe organ maker and refurbisher based in London. Although well known for many years in the organ building industry, they achieved wider notability in 2004 with the refurbishment of the Royal Albert Hall's Father Willis Grand Organ. That company filed for insolvency in 2020 with their trading name and intellectual rights being bought out by the Canterbury firm F. H Browne and Sons.

N.P Mander built and installed numerous celebrated organs, notably the 68-stop four manual and pedal organ in the Church of St Ignatius Loyola, New York<ref>{{Cite news |last=Tommasini |first=Anthony |date=2007-07-04 |title=3 Soloists Give Voice to a Mighty Instrument |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2007/07/04/arts/music/04orga.html |access-date=2023-07-03 |issn=0362-4331}}</ref> – reportedly the largest mechanical action built by a British builder. Simon Preston said of this instrument: "It is difficult to do justice to this famous instrument in a couple of sentences; suffice to say that to look at this beautiful instrument is to know the sound that will come out of it."<ref>[http://www.stignatiusloyola.org/ www.stignatiusloyola.org]</ref>

New N.P Mander organs were generally tracker action, which eliminates the insignificant{{Editorializing|date=January 2025}} delays which are inherent in many electrically actuated organs and which some{{Who|date=January 2025}} organists believe enables them to play somewhat{{Weasel inline|date=January 2025}} more expressively.

The company was founded in 1936 by Noel Mander. An early setback was the loss of the organ he was working on, along with all his tools, in the first air raid of the Blitz in 1940. The rebuilding of church organs after World War II provided significant business for the company.

Following the retirement of Noel Mander in 1983, the firm was run by John Pike Mander, Noel Mander's son. On John Pike Mander's retirement at the end of 2018 the company's shareholding was transferred to an Employee Ownership Trust, giving all members of staff a stake in the future of the business.<ref>[https://mander-organs.com/about-us/ Mander Organs "about" page]</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Martin |first=Douglas |date=2005-09-24 |title=Noel Mander, Organ Maker, Is Dead at 93 |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2005/09/24/obituaries/noel-mander-organ-maker-is-dead-at-93.html |access-date=2023-07-03 |issn=0362-4331}}</ref>

== Closure and purchase by F.H. Browne & Sons == The company unexpectedly closed in July 2020 following financial difficulties exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.churchtimes.co.uk/articles/2020/7-august/news/uk/church-firms-struggle-to-stay-afloat|website=www.churchtimes.co.uk|title=''Church Times'' 7 August 2020 p 4|access-date=2020-08-10}}</ref>

The Mander trading name along with all the firm's intellectual property and rights was bought by F.H Browne & Sons Organ Builders - another South East regional organ-building firm based near Canterbury and established since 1871. Employing several ex N.P Mander staff, F.H Browne & Sons trades as Mander Organ Builders.

Instruments by the original NP Mander Ltd / Mander Organs Ltd are found throughout the world, including in Australia, New Zealand, Japan, the Middle East, Scandinavia and the United States.

== Some Mander organs == [[File:Chelmsford Cathedral Organ, Essex, UK - Diliff.jpg|thumb|right|upright|The Nave organ in Chelmsford Cathedral, UK, new Mander organ of 1995 in new facade (designed by Mander employee Stephen Bicknell<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.mander-organs.com/chelmsford-cathedral-nave/|title=Chelmsford Cathedral (Nave)|website=Mander Organs|language=en-GB|access-date=2021-02-08}}</ref>)]] [[File:Chapel Organ Console Princeton University.jpg|thumb|Organ of Princeton University Chapel (1928); major rebuilding by Mander in 1991]] *Church of St. Ignatius Loyola (New York City)<ref>[http://www.saintignatiusloyola.org/concerts/st-ignatiusorgan.html Church of St. Ignatius Loyola, NYC, USA] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070523092921/http://www.saintignatiusloyola.org/concerts/st-ignatiusorgan.html |date=23 May 2007 }}</ref> *[http://www.royalalberthall.com/ Royal Albert Hall, London, England]<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.royalalberthall.com/about-the-hall/our-history/explore-our-history/building/henry-willis-organ/|title=Henry Willis Organ {{!}} Royal Albert Hall|website=Royal Albert Hall|language=en-GB|access-date=2019-08-21}}</ref> *[https://web.archive.org/web/20081002005603/http://www.stpauls.co.uk/page.aspx?theLang=001lngdef&pointerID=85250sZ49KnngyGvQ2IfrbNAMfxSGrA8 St. Paul's Cathedral, London, England]<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://npor.org.uk/NPORView.html?RI=N13153|title=The National Pipe Organ Register - NPOR|website=npor.org.uk|access-date=2019-08-21}}</ref> *Chelmsford Cathedral, England. Two organs provided by Mander: a larger one<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://npor.org.uk/NPORView.html?RI=D01021|title=The National Pipe Organ Register - NPOR|website=npor.org.uk|access-date=2021-02-08}}</ref> at the back of the Nave and a smaller one<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://npor.org.uk/NPORView.html?RI=D02906|title=The National Pipe Organ Register - NPOR|website=npor.org.uk|access-date=2021-02-08}}</ref> in the South Quire aisle near the choir-stalls. *Rochester Cathedral, England. Major re-modelling by Mander in 1989<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://npor.org.uk/NPORView.html?RI=D04979|title=The National Pipe Organ Register - NPOR|website=npor.org.uk|access-date=2021-02-08}}</ref> *Chichester Cathedral, England. Major re-modelling of the 1851 Hill organ by Mander in 1984-86<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://npor.org.uk/NPORView.html?RI=N15562|title=The National Pipe Organ Register - NPOR|website=npor.org.uk|access-date=2021-02-08}}</ref> *St John's College Chapel, Cambridge<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://npor.org.uk/NPORView.html?RI=D01634|title=The National Pipe Organ Register - NPOR|website=npor.org.uk|access-date=2019-08-21}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.joh.cam.ac.uk/chapel-organ|title=The Chapel Organ {{!}} StJohns|website=www.joh.cam.ac.uk|access-date=2019-08-21}}</ref> *Pembroke College Chapel, Cambridge - new organ by Mander in 1980 using some historic pipework and case facades.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://npor.org.uk/NPORView.html?RI=N05266|title=The National Pipe Organ Register - NPOR|website=npor.org.uk|access-date=2019-08-21}}</ref> *National Churchill Museum, Westminster College, Fulton, Missouri, USA - Church of St. Mary the Virgin, Aldermanbury, the church transplanted to Missouri from London, England.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.nationalchurchillmuseum.org/church-of-st-mary-history.html|title=American National Churchill Museum - St Mary's Church|website=nationalchurchillmuseum.org|access-date=2021-02-08}}</ref> * St Peter's Episcopal Church, St Louis, Missouri, USA<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.mander-organs.com/st-peters-st-louis/|title=Mander Organs, St Louis, Missouri|website=mander-organs.com|access-date=2021-02-08}}</ref> *Urakami Cathedral, Nagasaki, Japan<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.mander-organs.com/urakami-cathedral//|title=Mander Organs, Nagasaki|website=mander-organs.com|access-date=2021-02-08}}</ref> *St. Andrew's University, Osaka, Japan<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.mander-organs.com/st-andrews-university/|title=Mander Organs, Osaka|website=mander-organs.com|access-date=2021-02-08}}</ref> *Sydney Grammar School, Australia<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.mander-organs.com/sydney-grammar-school/|title=Mander Organs, Sydney|website=mander-organs.com|access-date=2021-02-08}}</ref> *St Giles-without-Cripplegate, London, England. Two organs provided by Mander: a larger one<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://npor.org.uk/NPORView.html?RI=N17641|title=The National Pipe Organ Register - NPOR|website=npor.org.uk|access-date=2021-02-08}}</ref> at the back of the Nave, transplanted here by Mander in 1971 from St Luke Old Street, London, England and substantially re-modelled in the process, and a smaller, entirely new one<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://npor.org.uk/NPORView.html?RI=E01412|title=The National Pipe Organ Register - NPOR|website=npor.org.uk|access-date=2021-02-08}}</ref> dating from 2008 in the North Nave aisle. *St Paul's, Bow Common, London, England<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://npor.org.uk/NPORView.html?RI=T00225|title=The National Pipe Organ Register - NPOR|website=npor.org.uk|access-date=2021-02-08}}</ref> *St Peter's Church, St Albans, Hertfordshire, England<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://npor.org.uk/NPORView.html?RI=P00088|title=The National Pipe Organ Register - NPOR|website=npor.org.uk|access-date=2021-02-08}}</ref> *Abbey Church of Waltham Holy Cross and St Lawrence, Waltham Abbey, England. 2019 rebuild of organ.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2019-04-03 |title=Rebuilt Organ at Waltham Abbey - Mander Organ Builders |url=https://mander-organs.com/rebuilt-organ-at-waltham-abbey/ |access-date=2022-03-12 |website=mander-organs.com |language=en-GB}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2020-01-24 |title=Waltham Abbey, Essex - Mander Organ Builders |url=https://mander-organs.com/waltham-abbey-essex/ |access-date=2022-03-12 |website=mander-organs.com |language=en-GB}}</ref>

==References== {{reflist}}

Mander, Organs<!--to sort after Mander, Noel--> Category:British pipe organ builders Category:Manufacturing companies established in 1936 Category:1936 establishments in England Category:British companies established in 1936 Category:Organ building companies of the United Kingdom