The Organ

Rugwerk
Prestant 4'
Holpijp 8'
Quintadeen 8'
Roerfluit 4'
Octaaf 2'
Nasard 1 1/3'
Scherp 4 st.
Dulciaan 8' Tremulant

Pedaal
Prestant 8'
Subbas 16'
Bourdon 8'
Octaaf 4'
Vlakfluit 2'
Ruispijp 5 st.
Bazuin 16'
Trompet 8'
 

The compass of the keyboard is C – a3 and that of the pedal C – f1. The key action is entirely mechanical whilst the stop action is electro-pneumatic. The instrument has one electric free-combination. There are couplings from the Rugwerk to Hoofdwerk together with Rugwerk and Hoofdwerk to Pedal. The Tremulant is activated by a footpedal.

The Van Leeuwen organ is characteristic of the period in which it was built. As a result of a revival in organ building, starting with the so-called "Organ reform movement" in Germany during the 1920s, some organ builders in the Netherlands began, after the Second World War, to orientate themselves towards classical organ building. The most important firms were Flentrop, Van Leeuwen and Van Vulpen.

Inspired by the results in Scandinavian organ building where, already before the war, the classical instrument was more or less taken as a basis, it was attempted to follow these ideals in the Netherlands. The floods in 1953 in the southwest of the Netherlands gave an important impulse to this process as scores of organs had been irreparably damaged. In order to provide churches with new organs rather quickly a number of Scandinavian organs were installed, partly paid for by the Emergency Fund to which the Scandinavians had contributed. The above-mentioned Dutch firms also supplied many organs.

The organ in Austin Friars is in fact the result of this revival in organ building and the increase in knowledge about the classical organ in this reconstruction period, as seen by Van Leeuwen. Characteristic for this period is that, to a certain extent, the sound ideal of the Baroque was pursued but inside the instruments are examples of a very much "improved" twentieth century spirit. Some of the "improvements" have not led to a lasting success, as can be demonstrated by the fact that in the organ in Austin Friars, several of these had to be replaced by a more classical solution, in order to enable it to function more reliably in the long term. In 1995, the organ was completely restored and revoiced by Flentrop Orgelbouw of Zaandam.