The St John’s Chantry is occupied by the choir stalls. It was used for many years as a chapel for the boys of Berkhamsted School and until 1870 it was separated from the nave by a screen. The association with the school is reflected in stained glass windows here, two of which commemorate people associated with the school. The tradition of musical education continues today as generations of children develop musical skills by singing in the St Peter’s church choir.
The organ dates from 1986 and is the work of Peter Collins of Redbourne. Its brightly coloured casing is in English oak with decorations in sycamore wood, and is an exemplary piece of late 20th-century casing. It replaces an earlier instrument built by J. W. Walker which used to sit in a loft in the north transept. Some of the Walker pipework was incorporated into the modern instrument. Unusually for a British organ, this instrument now features a Zimbelstern, which was added in 2013 – this is a type of mechanical rotating bell that is more often found on German organs of the Baroque era.
A full specification of the Collins organ is available here.
