A number of Wurlitzer theatre organs were imported and installed in the United Kingdom in the period from 1925 to just before the Second World War (1939–45).
The first Wurlitzer theatre organ shipped to the UK was dispatched on 1 December 1924, and shipped in via Southampton Docks. A very small, six-rank instrument, it was installed at the Picture House, Walsall, Staffordshire, where it opened on 26 January 1925. After a period in private ownership in Sedgley, also in Staffordshire, during the mid-1950s, it is now installed and operational in the Congregational Church in Beer, Devon.
The second Wurlitzer theatre organ to be opened in Great Britain was at the Palace Cinema in Tottenham, North London. This instrument was inaugurated on 6 April 1925. Like the Beer Wurlitzer it was a 2-manual, 6-rank instrument. This organ is now located at Rye College in East Sussex.
The Trocadero Elephant and Castle Wurlitzer was the largest organ ever shipped to the UK, installed in 1930 for the grand opening of the 3,400-seater cinema.The Cinema Organ Society
The Blackpool Opera House organ of 1939, designed by Horace Finch, was the last new Wurlitzer to be installed in the UK. The Granada, Kingston also received a Wurlitzer in or around 1939, but most of this came from an earlier installation in Edinburgh. This was the last Wurlitzer installation to be opened, with Reginald Dixon at the console.
Wurlitzers made regular radio broadcasts via the BBC, becoming stars themselves beside their organists. The more famous of these organs were at the Empire Cinema, London, and the Tower Ballroom, Blackpool, the latterly most regularly played by Reginald Dixon creating what became known as the "Blackpool sound". In the late 1960s the BBC acquired a Wurlitzer from the Empress Ballroom Blackpool, which was installed as the new BBC Theatre Organ at the BBC Playhouse studios in Manchester until the studios closed in 1986.Tony Nuttall. The Playhouse Theatre, Manchester It was introduced on 12 November 1970 as a gala performance edition of The Organist Entertains by Robin Richmond, with performances by Ernest Broadbent, Reginald Dixon and Reginald Porter Brown.'Gala Performance of The Organist Entertains', BBC Radio 2, 12 November 1970 The image of an elegantly dressed virtuoso cinema organist, sometimes rising up through the floor on a lift, was an iconic image of 1920s and 1930s Britain, parodied for example by Monty Python.
Many Wurlitzer organs have survived and are installed in private homes, town halls, concert halls and ballrooms throughout the country. The Cinema Organ Society has an extensive list of British cinema organs.
List of Wurlitzers in the United Kingdom +Wurlitzer Organs in the United Kingdom Style Date installed Installation location Size (Manual/ Rank) Current status Current location Notes 956, Style D 1924 Picture House, Walsall Operational Beer, DevonFirst Wurlitzer shipped to the UK 2 Manual, 6 Rank instrument bought and installed for around £3,900. Shipped via Southampton Docks, opened end of January 1925 by Jack Courtnay. In run-up to World War 2, Wilfred Gregory became resident organist. Sold to Allan Hickling post-war; he installed it in Dormston House in Sedgley, Staffordshire. Deciding he wanted something bigger, he sold it to Arthur Thorn of Beer, Devon, who installed it in the local Congregational Church. The percussions and "toy counter" division were removed and re-cycled when the organ was installed in the church, since it was not considered necessary for church purposes. Since 2008 money has been raised to replace the missing percussion items and novelty effects and take the Beer Wurlitzer back to its former glory. The Beer Wurlitzer is in regular use for concerts and shows throughout the year.Style 2601926Plaza Lower Regent Street (Plaza Piccadilly Circus)OperationalDreamfactory, Degersheim, SwitzerlandSecond Wurlitzer imported to the UK but fourth to be playing. Style D 1925 Palace Cinema in Tottenham, North London Operational Rye College, Rye, East Sussex Second Wurlitzer installed in the UK. The same model as the Beer Wurlitzer, first played by organist Jack Courtnay on 6 April 1925. Sold to Rye College in 1957, with the console installed sideways-on a balcony above the school hall. Originally 2/6, later augmented to 2/10. In recent years "Friends of Rye Wurlitzer" have raised funds to move the organ's console onto its own lift rising from beneath the stage Style F 1925 New Gallery Regent Street London Still in situ Restored and still in situ although building is now a Burberry store. 1929 Troxy Cinema, Stepney Operational Assembly Hall, Worthing, West Sussex Largest Wurlitzer organ console in Europe. Owned by the National Organ Trust. Upgraded to an electric air pump system, programmable pre-sets, and a full pipe system. Special 1929 Regal Cinema, Kingston upon Thames Operational Musical Museum, BrentfordIn regular use for museum tours and for concerts. The organ is connected to a very rare Wurlitzer Automatic Roll Playing Cabinet, enabling the performances of many American Theatre Organists of the 1920s to be faithfully recreated 1930 Trocadero cinema, Elephant and Castle, London Operational Troxy