Thomas Dallam

Thomas Dallam (born c. 1570, Lancashire, Eng.—died after 1614) was a prominent English organ builder, whose sons were also known for their organ-building.

Little is known of Dallam’s early life, except that he was apprenticed to a member of the Blacksmiths’ Company, later attaining the status of liveryman. In 1599–1600 he traveled to Constantinople, delivering a mechanical clock-organ to the sultan; his diary of this journey was published in 1893.

In 1605–06 Dallam moved to Cambridge and built an organ for King’s College. In 1613 he constructed a two-manual organ designed by Thomas Tomkins for Worcester Cathedral and a double organ for the Royal Chapel at Holyroodhouse, Edinburgh. While engaged in the construction of an organ for Eton College in 1613–14, Dallam may have been assisted by his son Robert, who, like his father, became a member of the Blacksmiths’ Company. Two other sons, George and Ralph, also were organ builders in England and in Brittany, where the family settled during the period of the English Commonwealth.