THE survey of instruments constructed in the firm's workshops between 1772 and 1840 (above, pp. 135–220) included pianofortes, combination organs, chamber organs and barrel organs, as well as church organs. By the end of the period, a reconfiguration had taken place; the manufacture of pianos and combination organs was a distant memory, and the production of barrel organs would enter a rapid decline after the 1840s (above, pp. 162–3). The chamber organ, too, was of diminishing importance to Gray & Davison's output; the market for domestic instruments had been transformed by the expansion of the middle class and developments in the manufacture of pianos, and this trend would accelerate during the Victorian years. By contrast, demand for ecclesiastical organs increased considerably as a result of the explosion in church-building at home and overseas; the design of church organs was also affected by changes in the use of music in worship introduced by the evangelical and tractarian movements. In a typical year, between 70% and 80% of the firm's organs went to ecclesiastical clients (above, pp. 313–15). The important exception to this particular trend was the concert organ; though few in number, concert organs were conceived on such a scale that their construction absorbed the entire energy of the workforce for extended periods, and provided the stimulus for musical and technological innovations which were then applied selectively to the firm's other organs.

As a result of this changing work pattern, the firm's output during the Victorian years will be considered under three headings: domestic organs, concert organs and church organs.

❧ Domestic organs

The reasons for the eclipse of the chamber organ are not far to seek. As Michael Wilson put it,