Samuel Renn was an English organ

Pipe organ

The pipe organ is a musical instrument that produces sound by driving pressurized air through pipes selected via a keyboard. Because each organ pipe produces a single pitch, the pipes are provided in sets called ranks, each of which has a common timbre and volume throughout the keyboard compass...

 builder who ran a business in Stockport

Stockport

Stockport is a town in Greater Manchester, England. It lies on elevated ground southeast of Manchester city centre, at the point where the rivers Goyt and Tame join and create the River Mersey. Stockport is the largest settlement in the metropolitan borough of the same name...

, and later he traded in Manchester

Manchester

Manchester is a city and metropolitan borough in Greater Manchester, England. According to the Office for National Statistics, the 2010 mid-year population estimate for Manchester was 498,800. Manchester lies within one of the UK's largest metropolitan areas, the metropolitan county of Greater...

.

Renn was born in Kedleston

Kedleston

Kedleston is a village and civil parish in the Amber Valley district of Derbyshire. It lies to the north-west of Derby, and nearby places include Quarndon, Weston Underwood, Mugginton, and Kirk Langley.-History:...

, Derbyshire

Derbyshire

Derbyshire is a county in the East Midlands of England. A substantial portion of the Peak District National Park lies within Derbyshire. The northern part of Derbyshire overlaps with the Pennines, a famous chain of hills and mountains. The county contains within its boundary of approx...

 and in 1799 was apprenticed to his uncle, James Davis, an organ builder in London. Renn became his foreman and supervised organ installations and maintenance in London and in Lancashire

Lancashire

Lancashire is a non-metropolitan county of historic origin in the North West of England. It takes its name from the city of Lancaster, and is sometimes known as the County of Lancaster. Although Lancaster is still considered to be the county town, Lancashire County Council is based in Preston...

. When Davis retired Renn went into partnership with John Boston and traded as Renn & Boston in Stockport from 1822 to 1825 and then in Manchester. He died in Manchester in 1845.

Renn developed a factory system

Factory system

The factory system was a method of manufacturing first adopted in England at the beginning of the Industrial Revolution in the 1750s and later spread abroad. Fundamentally, each worker created a separate part of the total assembly of a product, thus increasing the efficiency of factories. Workers,...

 for building organs, using standardised dimensions, thereby reducing the costs, while continuing to produce artistic designs. Between 1822 and 1845 over 100 organs were produced by Renn. Their musical properties have been praised by critics and material from the organs has frequently been re-used in their restorations. Many of the organs have been lost due to closure of churches. The best surviving Renn organ is in St Philip's Church, Salford.

Surviving Renn organs and cases

• St John the Baptist's Church, Bollington (some stops)
• St Mary's Church, Disley
  St Mary's Church, Disley
  St Mary's Church, Disley is a Church of England parish church in the diocese of Chester, the archdeaconry of Macclesfield and the deanery of Chadkirk. It is on a hill overlooking the village of Disley, Cheshire, England. It has been designated by English Heritage as a Grade II* listed building...
  
   (organ case and some stops)
• St Mary and All Saints Church, Great Budworth
  St Mary and All Saints Church, Great Budworth
  St Mary and All Saints Church, Great Budworth, is in the centre of the village of Great Budworth, Cheshire, England. It has been designated by English Heritage as a Grade I listed building. It is an active Anglican parish church in the diocese of Chester, the archdeaconry of Chester and the...
  
  
• Macclesfield Heritage Centre (formerly a Sunday School)
• St George's Church, New Mills (case)
• St Philip's Church, Salford

Further reading