The organ in the Wren Chapel dates back to the 18th-century and was most likely built a decade after the 1732 construction of the chapel in which it now resides. It was originally constructed by an unknown builder for Kimberly Hall, the ancestral home of the Wodehouse family in Norfolk, England. There it stayed until 1953 when noted organ builder Noel Mander discovered it before selling it to the
Colonial Williamsburg Foundation in 1954. Upon its arrival in Williamsburg, the organ was installed in the ballroom of the Governor’s Palace. It was later moved to the lobby of a new conference center in Williamsburg in 1963 since it was determined to be out of proportion with the size of the ballroom. In 1970, the organ was placed in the west gallery of the Wren Chapel where it has remained ever since. James (Jock) Darling, then the Choirmaster at Bruton Parish, began the weekly Saturday morning concerts at that time. In 2001, it was temporarily moved to the Colonial Williamsburg conservation lab to receive major maintenance and minor cosmetic repairs. Notably, the lost hand-pumping mechanism and tuning temperament were restored. The organ is fully functional and is used for occasional religious services and weddings in addition to the morning recitals.
