Strictly the chest, towers, chamber, etc., given to the pipes of the pedal department, as distinct from the pedal-keys or Pedal-board which play them or which, in instruments without a Pedal organ, play the stops of the manual(s). Since the late 14th century the largest organs had some kind of Pedal organ, though this may not have included the largest pipes or have been more than an extension of the manual, itself playing a Blockwerk. By 1600 in central Germany, the Pedal organ often contained three distinct chests, themselves often divided, and including as well as the biggest bass pipes some of the highest flute and reed solo stops. In other regions (e.g. France) the Pedal might be in a separate enclosure behind the main case and have no registers below 8' pitch. The preponderance and eventual monopoly of bass stops in the 18th- and 19th-century Pedal organ meant that the department became less versatile than it had traditionally been.
PETER WILLIAMS/NICHOLAS THISTLETHWAITE