John Bacchus Dykes was born in Hull, England, the fifth child and third son of William Hey Dikes (sic), a ship builder, later banker,[REF] and Elizabeth, daughter of Bacchus Huntington, a Leeds surgeon, and granddaughter of the Rev. William Huntington, Vicar of Kirk Ella [REF].
By the age of 10, he was de facto assistant organist - there is no record of any formal appointment - at St John's Church in Myton, Hull, where his paternal grandfather (who had built the church) [REF] was vicar and his uncle (also Thomas) was organist.