University Church of Fordham University - Bronx, N.Y.
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Fordham University

Rose Hill Campus
441 East Fordham Road at East 191st Street
Bronx, N.Y. 10458
web site

University Church – St. John's Church


Organ Specifications:
► II/40 Lehigh Organ Company (1979)
► II/21 William W. Laws (<1950)
► II/9 William W. Laws (<1950) – Crypt
► II/10 Hilborne L. Roosevelt, Op. 48 (1879)
• Henry Erben (1843)


The Fordham University campus in the Bronx occupies land that was once part of the "Rose Hill" estate of Horatio S. Moat, a merchant of Brooklyn. In 1839, the manor was purchased by Bishop John Hughes, who would later become New York's first archbishop. In 1841, St. John's College was established with classes held in Horatio Moat's former country home. The Greek Revival building house is of fieldstone and is noted for its Ionic entrance porch and an octagonal cupola. Wings were added to the Moat House in 1907, and today the building is extant as the Administration Building.

St. John's Church, now known as the University Church, was built from 1841-45 to serve the seminary and Catholics in the area. William Rodrigue, a teacher at St. John's College and the brother-in-law of Bishop Hughes, designed the Gothic Revival stone church with its tall pinnacled tower. The bell in the tower, known since as "Old Edgar Allan", is said to have inspired Poe, a friend and neighbor, to write his celebrated poem, "The Bells". The windows of the nave were presented by Louis Philippe, King of the French, in 1846. The chapel was enlarged in 1928-29 when a large transept, designed by Emile Perrot, was added. A plaque placed on the church exterior by the Alumni Sodality in 1939 gives a background: "The Rev. James Roosevelt Bayley, third president of the college, a nephew of the venerable Elizabeth Seton and cousin of two presidents of the United States [Theodore and Franklin Delano Roosevelt], afterward Bishop of Newark and Archbishop of Baltimore, erected this church in 1845 as a seminary chapel. " The plaque was unveiled by FDR's mother, Mrs. James Roosevelt.

The New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission has designated four buildings on the Rose Hill Campus of Fordham University: Horatio Shepheard Moat House (1970); Alumni House (1981); St. John's Church (1970); and St. John's Hall, Queen's Court (1970).
               
  University Church of Fordham University - Bronx, N.Y.
Lehigh Organ Company
Macungie, Penn. (1979)
Electro-pneumatic action
2 manuals, 33 stops, 40 ranks
               
Grande Orgue (Manual I) – 56 notes (61-note keyboard)
16
   Flûte courte
56
2
   Octavin
56
8
   Montre
56
     Cornet II ranks
112
8
   Bourdon à cheminée
56
     Fourniture V ranks
280
4
   Prestant
56
8
   Trompette
56
4
   Flûte à fuseau
56
        
 
      
 
      
Récit expressif (Manual II) – 56 notes (61-note keyboard), enclosed
16
   Bourdon
56
1 3/5
   Tierce
56
8
   Viole
56
1 1/3
   Larigot
56
4
   Cor de chamois
56
     Cymbale IV ranks
224
2 2/3
   Nasard
56
8
   Chalumeau
56
2
   Doublette
56
     Tremulant  
 
      
 
      
Choral Organ (floating) – 56 notes (61-note keyboard)
8
   Flute de bois
56
2
   Flûte à bec
156
4
   Prestant
56
     Plein jeu III ranks
168
4
   Flûte à cheminée
56
16
   Pedal Bourdon [ext.]
12
               
Pédale Orgue – 32 notes
16
   Principal
32
     Fourniture III ranks
96
16
   Soubasse
32
16
   Bombarde
32
8
   Octave
32
8
   Trompette
G.O.
8
   Flute
32
4
   Chalumeau
Réc.
4
   Basse de Chorale
32
        
               
Couplers
    G.O. – Pédale       Réc – G.O.  
    Récit – Pédale       G.O. – Choral  
    Choral – Pédale       Récit – Choral  
               
William W. Laws
Beverly, Mass. (<195-)
Electro-pneumatic action
2 manuals, 27 stops, 21 ranks


Sometime before 1950, William W. Laws rebuilt the Hilborne Roosevelt Organ, Op. 48 (1879). The following specification was recorded by F.R. Webber (1887-1963), whose "Organ Scrapbooks" are in the possession of The Organ Historical Society Archives in Princeton, N.J. Pipecounts are estimated, although it is unknown if Laws extended the manuals to 61 notes and pedal to 32 notes.
               
Great Organ(Manual I)
16
   Bourdon
61
2 2/3
   Twelfth
61
8
   Open Diapason
61
2
   Fifteenth
61
8
   Major Flute
61
     Mixture III ranks
183
8
   Dulciana
61
16
   Tuba
85
8
   Melodia
61
8
   Tuba [ext.]
—
4
   Octave
61
4
   Tuba [ext.]
—
4
   Harmonic Flute
61
        
 
      
 
      
Swell Organ (Manual II) – enclosed
8
   Violin Diapason
61
4
   Flute
61
8
   Gedeckt
61
4
   Violina
61
8
   Salicional
61
8
   Oboe
61
 
      
 
      
Pedal Organ
32
   Resultant
—
8
   Gedeckt [ext.]
—
16
   Open Diapason
44
16
   Tuba
GT
16
   Bourdon
44
8
   Tuba
GT
8
   Major Flute [ext. Open. Diap.]
—
4
   Tuba
GT
                
Organ in the Crypt:

William W. Laws
Beverly, Mass. (<195-)
Mechanical? action
2 manuals, 9 stops, 9 ranks


The following specification was recorded by F.R. Webber (1887-1963), whose "Organ Scrapbooks" are in the possession of The Organ Historical Society Archives in Princeton, N.J. Webber noted: "This organ was rebuilt by W.W. Laws some years ago. The original builder is unknown. It is 9' 8" wide, 6' 6" deep and 10' high in its present state. St. John's Chapel is about a century old."
               
Great Organ (Manual I)
8
   Open Diapason  
8
   Dolcissimo  
8
   Melodia  
4
   Principal  
 
      
 
      
Swell Organ (Manual II) – enclosed
8
   Violin Diapason  
4
   Flute Harmonique  
8
   Stopped Diapason          
               
Pedal Organ
16
   Bourdon          
8
   Flute          
               
Hilborne L. Roosevelt
New York City – Opus 48 (1879)
Mechanical action
2 manuals, 10 stops, 10 ranks


The second organ in St. John's Church was built in 1879 by Hilborne L. Roosevelt of New York City. As described in Roosevelt's 1888 catalog, this instrument was a "Style Twenty-Three" with ten stops and 525 pipes.
               
Great Organ(Manual I) – 58 notes
8
   Open Diapason
58
4
   Gemshorn
58
8
   Dulciana *
46
2
   Piccolo Harmonique
58
8
   Doppel Flöte
58
    
* lowest octave grooved to Doppel Flöte
 
      
 
      
Swell Organ (Manual II) – 58 notes, enclosed
8
   Violin Diapason
58
4
   Flute Harmonique
58
8
   Stopped Diapason
58
8
   Oboe [TC]
46
               
Pedal Organ– 27 notes
16
   Bourdon
27
        
               
Couplers
    Swell to Great       Swell to Pedal  
    Swell to Great Octaves       Great to Pedal  
               
Mechanical Accessories
    Swell Tremulant   Bellows Signal
        Eclipse Wind Indicator
               
Pedal Movements
    Great Organ Forte   Balanced Swell Pedal
    Great Organ Piano    
               
Henry Erben
New York City (1843)
Mechanical action


The first known organ for St. John's Church was built in 1843 by Henry Erben of New York. Specifications for this organ have not yet been located.
               
Sources:
     Dolkart, Andrew S. and Matthew A. Postal. Guide to New York City Landmarks (Third Edition). New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission. Hoboken: John Wiley & Sons, Inc. 2004.
     Fordham University Rose Hill Campus web site.
     Hermalyn, Gary, Robert Kornfeld. Landmarks of The Bronx. Bronx, N.Y.: Bronx Historical Society, 1989.
     "Hilborne L. Roosevelt, Manufacturer of Church, Chapel, Concert and Chamber Organs," catalog pub. by Roosevelt Organ Works (Dec. 1888); republished by The Organ Literature Foundation, Braintree, Mass., 1978.
     Minotti, Robert. Specifications of Lehigh Organ (1979).
     Nelson, George. Organs in the United States and Canada Database. Seattle, Wash.
     Webber, F.R. "Organ scrapbook" at Organ Historical Society Archives, Princeton, N.J. Specifications of Crypt Organ, rebuilt by W.W. Laws; and of the Roosevelt Organ, Op. 48, rebuilt by W.W. Laws. Courtesy Jonathan Bowen.

Illustrations:
     Fordham University Rose Hill Campus web site. Undated postcard of University Church.
     Minotti, Robert. Chapel interior.