A historical venue
Salomons, or Broomhill as it was then known, was originally the country home of Sir David Salomons, the first Jewish Lord Mayor of London, and later became the home of his nephew, Sir David Lionel Salomons, a Victorian scientist and engineer.
The last surviving child of Sir David Lionel Salomons, Vera, gave the estate to Kent County Council in 1936 for use as a public institution. It is now part of Canterbury Christ Church University and is known as Salomons in memory of the remarkable family who lived here. To find out more about the history visit the online museum|.
Welte organ
The Science Theatre at Salomons is the home of the Welte Philharmonic pipe organ, the only one of its type left in the world.Built in 1914 for Sir David Lionel Salomons, the organ fell into disuse after his death in 1925 but has since been restored over a three year period using Heritage Lottery funds.
The organ is capable not only of being played in the conventional manner, but also of faithfully reproducing the live performances of famous organists of the day using a sophisticated paper roll pneumatic mechanism similar to that used on player pianos. Read more about the history and the restoration|