The 764-pipe organ in the historic Capel Rhondda came under threat when the church was put up for sale last year.
But villagers pulled out all the stops to buy the property after raising £47,500 in just two weeks – and the price tag included the organ.
Composer John Hughes wrote the well-known hymn ‘Cwm Rhondda’ for an anniversary service at the chapel in Hopkinstown, South Wales, in1907.
It is better known as “Bread of Heaven” sung at rugby matches, pubs and funeral services for generations.
The organ fell into disrepair after not being played for the last 20 years but is set to be fully restored for the hymn’s 120-year anniversary next year.
Campaigner Rhian Hopkins, who grew up in the village, said a team of volunteers will now replace all of the Blackett & Howden organ pipes.
She said: “The organ had been completely unplayable, we think, for nearly two decades.
“We have been told that repairs were carried out on the organ nearly 20 years ago and it hasn’t worked properly since.”
The charity Pipe Up for Pipe Organs is carrying out the restoration at the Grade II listed church.
Charity co-founder Martin Renshaw said: “It’s not been cleaned for 60 or 70 years there’s a lot of stuff in the pipes.
“There’s coal dust, there’s brick dust, there’s white wash off the walls but that’s normal for an organ of this age and we have started in the cleanest bit which has been in a box and the pipe work isn’t too bad but the rest is pretty bad.
“I work on historic organs from 18th Century in historic places but they’re not that many historic 20th Century organs, so its wonderful to work on.”
Organ builder Kingsley Robinson said the work has been “tricky” – but he has fixed the faulty mechanics to play Cwm Rhondda.
He said: “It’s because it’s very compact because it’s fitted into the back wall of the chapel and there’s no organ chamber behind it so everything is quite tight to work on and hard to get to on this organ.
“The blower on this organ, which basically provides the wind to make the pipes sound, was spinning in the wrong direction.
“But now that has been resolved and its back to spinning in the right direction the majority of the keys work too but we will need to replace some switches which can be challenging.”
The final service at the chapel was held in December 2024 before it was put up for sale by the Baptist Union of Wales.
Villagers wanted the property to remain a community space and went on to raise the cash to buy it.
The BUW said it was “deeply moved by the extraordinary response to the campaign”.
