The first musical organs appeared in St Petersburg in 1708. Their owners were Natalia Alexeyevna, Peter the Great’s beloved sister, who had her own theatre with an organ to accompany the performances and Prince Alexander Menshikov who was very fond of music and had a particular liking for organs above other instruments. There was a surprisingly wide range of different types of organ: positive, mechanical, water and the Chinese sheng mouth organ. Standing in the Grand Hall is a unique musical instrument created by the English craftsman William Winrow between 1734/7 and 1745. It incorporates a clock, a mechanical organ driven by wound-up springs and a small bellows organ, a “positive”, for making music at home. This instrument has been in St Petersburg since 1745 and had various owners in its life. In 1909 it was bought by the Hermitage for 1000 roubles at an auction where it was described as “Taurida Clock” (with physharmonica). After an extremely complex restoration in 1985–87, the organ was transferred to the Menshikov Palace where, after an interval of two and a half centuries, organ music can again be heard at concerts.