London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Thursday, Dec 18, 2025

'Eccentric' Bristol house with built-in pipe organ is sold

'Eccentric' Bristol house with built-in pipe organ is sold

A four-bedroom "charismatic and eccentric" terraced house has been sold - with a full organ built into the fabric of the building.

The house in Cliftonwood, Bristol, was put on the market after the previous owner died last year.

Joan Baker, 98, was an organist at the local church. Her husband made the organ, which has pipes going through the landing into one of the bedrooms.

Organist Anna Lapwood said it was "so unusual" to find a house like this.

The price of the sale will not be confirmed until contracts have been exchanged.

From the outside the house in Cliftonwood looks like any other

Mrs Baker, who played the organ at Holy Trinity Church, moved into the house in the 1940s. Her husband, Ronald, and his brother, built the instrument so she could practise at home.

Her neighbour, Dick Willis, said: "She would sit there on the half-landing and play the organ and her husband Ronald would stand on the half-landing below and play the trumpet.

"She was just the most extraordinary person. She died at the age of 98 and had been desperate to make it to 100.

"She had lived in that house since she was 21. She was very much the street granny. She had a great sense of humour. She was just lovely, very sociable."

The organ, which has not been played in several years, is on top of the stairs, but the pipes go all the way around the landing.

"The base pipe and the pump are in the top bedroom and Ronald knocked through the two cupboards in the two top rooms and made a seating area across the stairwell which is where the keyboard, the foot pedals and the treble pipes are," he said.

"So if you go up the house it dominates the place."

Mr Baker built the organ so his wife could practice playing it at home

Ms Lapwood, who is also a conductor and BBC presenter, said she was stunned when she saw the property online.

"Immediately I thought 'Oh my gosh - this is amazing'," she said.

"It is pretty unusual to find an actual pipe organ built into the house in the way it is in this case.

"I sort of thought it's just the dream house. It makes a massive difference to be able to practise whenever you want in the middle of the day instead of trekking to the church where it is also very cold.

"It has to be in the top 10 houses I've ever seen... and I just think it's such a lovely story."

Mrs Baker used to play the organ while her husband played the trumpet

But it is likely the organ has played its last tune, with property experts expecting it to be removed to create more space.

Estate agent James Bailey from Allen and Harris, who sold the house, said: "It is the first time in my 20-year property career that I have brought to market and agreed a home with a full-scale church organ."

He said Cliftonwood and neighbouring Clifton had lots of houses "steeped in history".

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
UK Issues Final Ultimatum to Roman Abramovich Over £2.5bn Chelsea Sale Funds for Ukraine
Rare Pink Fog Sweeps Across Parts of the UK as Met Office Warns of Poor Visibility
UK Police Pledge ‘More Assertive’ Enforcement to Tackle Antisemitism at Protests
UK Police Warn They Will Arrest Protesters Chanting ‘Globalise the Intifada’
Trump Files $10 Billion Defamation Lawsuit Against BBC as Broadcaster Pledges Legal Defence
UK Says U.S. Tech Deal Talks Still Active Despite Washington’s Suspension of Prosperity Pact
UK Mortgage Rules to Give Greater Flexibility to Borrowers With Irregular Incomes
UK Treasury Moves to Position Britain as Leading Global Hub for Crypto Firms
U.S. Freezes £31 Billion Tech Prosperity Deal With Britain Amid Trade Dispute
Prince Harry and Meghan’s Potential UK Return Gains New Momentum Amid Security Review and Royal Dialogue
Zelensky Opens High-Stakes Peace Talks in Berlin with Trump Envoy and European Leaders
Historical Reflections on Press Freedom Emerge Amid Debate Over Trump’s Media Policies
UK Boosts Protection for Jewish Communities After Sydney Hanukkah Attack
UK Government Declines to Comment After ICC Prosecutor Alleges Britain Threatened to Defund Court Over Israel Arrest Warrant
Apple Shutters All Retail Stores in the United Kingdom Under New National COVID-19 Lockdown
US–UK Technology Partnership Strains as Key Trade Disagreements Emerge
UK Police Confirm No Further Action Over Allegation That Andrew Asked Bodyguard to Investigate Virginia Giuffre
Giuffre Family Expresses Deep Disappointment as UK Police Decline New Inquiry Into Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor Claims
Transatlantic Trade Ambitions Hit a Snag as UK–US Deal Faces Emerging Challenges
Ex-ICC Prosecutor Alleges UK Threatened to Withdraw Funding Over Netanyahu Arrest Warrant Bid
UK Disciplinary Tribunal Clears Carter-Ruck Lawyer of Misconduct in OneCoin Case
‘Pink Ladies’ Emerge as Prominent Face of UK Anti-Immigration Protests
Nigel Farage Says Reform UK Has Become Britain’s Largest Party as Labour Membership Falls Sharply
Google DeepMind and UK Government Launch First Automated AI Lab to Accelerate Scientific Discovery
UK Economy Falters Ahead of Budget as Growth Contracts and Confidence Wanes
Australia Approves Increased Foreign Stake in Strategic Defence Shipbuilder
Former UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson proclaims, “For Ukraine, surrendering their land would be a nightmare.”
Microsoft Challenges £2.1 Billion UK Cloud Licensing Lawsuit at Competition Tribunal
Fake Doctor in Uttar Pradesh Accused of Killing Woman After Performing YouTube-Based Surgery
Hackers Are Hiding Malware in Open-Source Tools and IDE Extensions
Traveling to USA? Homeland Security moving toward requiring foreign travelers to share social media history
UK Officials Push Back at Trump Saying European Leaders ‘Talk Too Much’ About Ukraine
UK Warns of Escalating Cyber Assault Linked to Putin’s State-Backed Operations
UK Consumer Spending Falters in November as Households Hold Back Ahead of Budget
UK Orders Fresh Review of Prince Harry’s Security Status After Formal Request
U.S. Authorises Nvidia to Sell H200 AI Chips to China Under Security Controls
Trump in Direct Assault: European Leaders Are Weak, Immigration a Disaster. Russia Is Strong and Big — and Will Win
"App recommendation" or disguised advertisement? ChatGPT Premium users are furious
"The Great Filtering": Australia Blocks Hundreds of Thousands of Minors From Social Networks
Mark Zuckerberg Pulls Back From Metaverse After $70 Billion Loss as Meta Shifts Priorities to AI
Nvidia CEO Says U.S. Data-Center Builds Take Years while China ‘Builds a Hospital in a Weekend’
Indian Airports in Turmoil as IndiGo Cancels Over a Thousand Flights, Stranding Thousands
Hollywood Industry on Edge as Netflix Secures Near-$60 Bln Loan for Warner Bros Takeover
Drugs and Assassinations: The Connection Between the Italian Mafia and Football Ultras
Hollywood megadeal: Netflix acquires Warner Bros. Discovery for 83 billion dollars
The Disregard for a Europe ‘in Danger of Erasure,’ the Shift Toward Russia: Trump’s Strategic Policy Document
Two and a Half Weeks After the Major Outage: A Cloudflare Malfunction Brings Down Multiple Sites
UK data-regulator demands urgent clarity on racial bias in police facial-recognition systems
Labour Uses Biscuits to Explain UK Debt — MPs Lean Into Social Media to Reach New Audiences
German President Lays Wreath at Coventry as UK-Germany Reaffirm Unity Against Russia’s Threat
×