Fredrick Henry Browne was born in Canterbury in 1849. He was apprenticed to William Hobday, Organ Builder, who had workshop premises in Jewry Lane.

In 1871, he set up his own business working from an old chapel in Nelson Street, Deal. It was a period of intense church building, not least the non-conformist Churches. His business grew and so did his family. An 1891 census shows him to have six children and two servants. Two of his sons, Willie and Arthur joined the family business.

During the first 35 years of his business, a great number of organs were built and many still survive. It has been noted that T.C. Lewis may have influenced some of his earlier work. However, this style was not to last and by the end of the century he had succumbed to fashionable trends in tonal design.


An unfortunate experience with an instrument built for export led to the financial collapse of the business and in 1906 the premises in Deal was sold and the business was moved to Canterbury. Arthur Browne ultimately left the business to take up a career in cabinet making but under the direction of Fredrick and his son Willie the business began to grow steadily again.

Fredrick Browne continued to work right up until the time of his death in 1933. Unfortunately his son, Willie, died unexpectedly later the same year. Despite all of this, the company continued to be administered by members of the family and with the technical assistance of senior employees, organs were still produced. It was during this period that the fashion changed from tubular pneumatic to electric action.

Following the war, the company was reformed as a limited company, with Mr Alfred Willey and Mr Harry Fagg as directors. Members of the Browne family were shareholders and still took an active part in the business. Under the direction of Mr Willey, many new organs were built and the company became known for its application of the extension principle in tonal design. Much of the success of these instruments was due to the work of Reg Cobb, the voicer.


In 1982, Mr Fagg died unexpectedly following a routine operation. Later in the same month Mr Willey and his wife were involved in a serious road accident, whilst returning from a days tuning. Sadly, at the age of 85, he did not recover from his injuries. In 1983, the company moved from Canterbury to Ash, under the new direction of Mr Gordon Chapman and Mr Roger Greensted. Gordon retired in 1992, leaving the company to Mr and Mrs Greensted. On the 1st January 2002, the company became a limited company, in 2005 the company acquired the long established business of Morgan and Smith Ltd in Sussex