William Hill & Son was one of the main organ builders in England during the 19th century.[1]
The founder
William Hill was born in Spilsby, Lincolnshire, in 1789. He married Mary, the daughter of organ-builder Thomas Elliot, on 30 October 1818 in St Pancras Parish Church, and worked for Thomas Elliott from 1825. The company was known as Elliott and Hill until Elliott died in 1832.
When William Hill died in 1870, a memorial window was installed in the church at Spilsby, Lincolnshire.
The company
On Elliot's death in 1832, William Hill inherited the firm. In 1837, he formed a partnership with Frederick Davison, who left in the following year to form a partnership with John Gray, Gray and Davison.
From 1832, William Hill's elder son William joined him in the firm. From 1855, William Hill's younger son Thomas joined the company and took control after his father's death in 1870.
When Thomas died in 1893, the firm continued under his son, Arthur George Hill, until 1916[2] when it was amalgamated with Norman & Beard into a huge organ-building concern as William Hill & Son & Norman & Beard Ltd. later shortened to Hill, Norman & Beard.
Trinity Methodist Church in Burton-upon-Trent, 1869. After the closing of the church in 2011, the organ was transferred to the Catholic St. Afra church in Berlin, and inaugurated on 22 November 2015. It is regarded as the most significant English organ in Germany.[4]
St Mary's Church, Tottenham, 1889. Received Grade 1 listing in 2004 due to it being in its original state with Barker lever Action intact, manual air pump working and many stops, given its relatively small size.[7]
