The earliest mention of an instrument at the Tower is in the will of Joan Perryman, who in 1446 left money for "mending a pair of organs." The Harris organ already mentioned had, after much patching, virtually reached the end of its musical life by the middle of the 19th Century.

At that time the fashion for gallery music had give way to one for chancel choirs and accordingly the north chancel aisle, built by Philpson a dozen years earlier, was given over to becoming an organ chamber with choir vestry beyond. This was in 1863-4 when an entirely new instrument was built here by Henry (Father) Willis.

In 1930-1, pneumatic action and three extra stops were added by Spurdon Rutt, who also revoiced the organ in a more "orchestral" manner. The tuning and maintenance of the instrument returned to the original builders when in 1964 it was rebuilt with electric action, a new console, and tonal alterations to restore it to its original and livelier tone.

In 1984 the reeds and mixtures were revoiced, together with the addition of a mounted cornet and quint mixture on the Great division, an octavin 1 foot on the Choir division, and Pedal upperwork. The organ is now a versatile instrument, consisting of three manuals and pedal, 66 registers and 2649 pipes. It is well able to cope with the varied series of recitals and weekly cathedral-style choral services which are a noted feature of St Mary-le-Tower.

The organ is currently maintained by Bower & Company of Norwich.

Spring 2008 saw the completion of the restoration of the Willis organ. The following improvements were made by our organ builder -
Installation of new 32 note RCO pedalboard
Installation of new curved oak pedal "sweep" supporting toe pistons
Restoration of the keyboards
New winding system
Cleaning inside of the organ
Repair of collapsing swell and choir boxes
Improvement of access to organ
Installation of new console lighting
Revoicing of the great and swell mixtures
Tonal regulation of entire organ
Repair of collapsing pedal pipe
Renovation of organ blower
Overhaul of pedal pipe work

The Tower welcomes any organists who would like to have a go on our newly restored organ. Please contact the Assistant Director of Music for more information.