W Christian Everett ARCO ARCM

Sketching the history of the various musicians who have served as Borough Organist has proved remarkably difficult. Below I present the merest outline of the characters who are thought to have held this position.

W Christian Everett ARCO ARCM
Borough Organist 1904–1940

Christian was the first Borough Organist, appointed in 1904, at the age of 44, having played the organ on a number of occasions since it was installed. He had passed his Associateship of the Royal College of Organists (ARCO) in July 1894, and was one of 44 candidates who passed, out of a total of 140 candidates. He served as organist for 36 years until his death on 6 February, 1940. ‘Billie’, as he was known, joined Lion Walk Congregational Church as organist in 1877 following two years at St. Leonard-at-the-Hythe and remained in post until his death. He composed some pieces of music including a setting of The Lord’s Prayer that was played at his funeral. It is recorded that he felt he owed a great deal to his master, Sir William Parry, whom he described as ‘one of the finest exponents of organ playing in the country’.