# Thomas Dallam

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{{Short description|English organ builder (born 1575)}}
{{About|the first Thomas Dallam|his grandson of the same name|Dallam family|}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=July 2016}}
{{Use British English|date=July 2016}}
'''Thomas Dallam''' (bap. 1575, d. in or after 1630) was an English organ-builder and diarist.<ref name=odnb>Christopher Kent, ‘Dallam, Thomas (bap. 1575, d. in or after 1630)’, [Oxford Dictionary of National Biography](/source/Oxford_Dictionary_of_National_Biography), Oxford University Press, 2004 [http://www.oxforddnb.com/view/article/7030, accessed 26 Oct 2014] (subscription or UK public library membership required)</ref>  

==Life==
Thomas Dallam was baptised at [Flixton, Lancashire](/source/Flixton%2C_Greater_Manchester), on 1 May 1575, probably the son of Thomas Dalham, who was an itinerant blacksmith.<ref name=odnb/> Between about 1589 and about 1596 he served an apprenticeship in organ building under the aegis of the [Blacksmiths' Company of London](/source/Worshipful_Company_of_Blacksmiths). He then became a liveryman.<ref name=odnb/>

Dallam married soon after 1600; his wife's name is unknown. They had six children.  The eldest son [Robert Dallam](/source/Robert_Dallam) became an organ builder and Robert's sons in turn also became organ builders: Thomas (c.1630), Ralph (d. 1673) and George (d. 1684)<ref name=robert>  Kent, C.  (2004, September 23). [https://0-www-oxforddnb-com.catalogue.libraries.london.ac.uk/view/10.1093/ref:odnb/9780198614128.001.0001/odnb-9780198614128-e-7029 Dallam, Robert (c. 1602–1665), organ builder]. ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography''. Online resource, accessed 16 February 2025, from https://0-www-oxforddnb-com.catalogue.libraries.london.ac.uk/view/10.1093/ref:odnb/9780198614128.001.0001/odnb-9780198614128-e-7029.</ref> One daughter, Catherine, by her marriage to the organ builder Thomas Harris, was the mother of the organ builder [Renatus Harris](/source/Renatus_Harris).<ref name=odnb/>

==Organ builder==
Thomas Dallam's work as an organ builder consolidated the two-manual 'double organ' with twelve to fourteen flue stops (without reeds, mixtures, or pedals) as the norm for English cathedrals and for larger collegiate churches during the period before the [English Civil War](/source/English_Civil_War).<ref name=odnb/>

* c.1599: For the Ottoman Sultan [Mehmet III](/source/Mehmet_III), a mechanical organ and clock that could be played manually or played the hours using clockwork. This was the gift of Queen [Elizabeth I](/source/Elizabeth_I).<ref name=odnb/>
* 1605–6: [King’s College, Cambridge](/source/King%E2%80%99s_College%2C_Cambridge).<ref name=grove> Bicknell, S., & Cocheril, M.  (2001). 'Dallam, Thomas'. [https://www.oxfordmusiconline.com/grovemusic/view/10.1093/gmo/9781561592630.001.0001/omo-9781561592630-e-90000380745 Grove Music Online]. Online resource, accessed 16 February 2025.</ref>
* 1607–8: [Norwich Cathedral](/source/Norwich_Cathedral).<ref name=grove> </ref>
* 1609–10: [St George’s Chapel, Windsor](/source/St_George%E2%80%99s_Chapel%2C_Windsor).<ref name=grove> </ref> 
* 1613: [Worcester Cathedral](/source/Worcester_Cathedral) (to the scheme of [Thomas Tomkins](/source/Thomas_Tomkins)).<ref name=grove> </ref>
* 1613–14:  [Eton College](/source/Eton_College).<ref name=grove> </ref>
* c.1615: [Holyrood Palace](/source/Holyrood_Palace), Edinburgh (case by Inigo Jones).<ref name=grove> </ref>
* c.1617: [St John’s College, Oxford](/source/St_John%E2%80%99s_College%2C_Oxford).<ref name=grove> </ref>
* 1620: [Wells Cathedral](/source/Wells_Cathedral).<ref name=grove> </ref>
* 1620: [All Saints, Wakefield](/source/Wakefield_Cathedral).<ref name=grove> </ref>
* 1621: [Durham Cathedral](/source/Durham_Cathedral).<ref name=grove> </ref>
* 1629: [Bristol Cathedral](/source/Bristol_Cathedral) (Robert Dallam).<ref name=grove> </ref>

The legacy of surviving instruments is minimal, because much of his work was destroyed by people hostile to church organs following the outbreak of the [English Civil War](/source/English_Civil_War).

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
Thomas Dallam's diary:
* Print book. ''The Diary of Master Thomas Dallam, 1599-1600''. Internet Archive. Online resource, accessed 16 February 2025. 
* Audio book. ''[https://archive.org/details/dallamstravels_1310_librivox Dallam's Travels with an Organ to the Grand Signieur, 1599-1600]''. Internet Archive. Online resource, accessed 16 February 2025.

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dallam, Thomas}}
Category:People from Flixton, Greater Manchester
Category:16th-century English people
Category:English blacksmiths
Category:British pipe organ builders
Category:English travel writers
Category:Year of birth uncertain
Category:Year of death uncertain
Category:17th-century English diarists

{{UK-music-bio-stub}}

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Thomas Dallam](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_Dallam) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_Dallam?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.