Henry Croswell et al. in St Philip's Church, Bethnal Green, East End of London - 23 March, 1879, 06:30 PM
from Transcript of the diaries of Henry Croswell, page 149:
The long sermon and Litany made the service half an hour late.
[…]
O[rgan]. – Moderately well played.
C[hoir]. – Twenty young men and women in the Organ loft. Many of the congregation sung lustily.
[The congregation numbered] 250 – The galleries were not used.
[…]
M[iscellaneous]. – All is extreme Low Church. There was one hymn before the service; the others were dissenting. I think it is the dirtiest church I have ever been in but the congregation seemed to like it.
Henry Croswell, Transcript of the diaries of Henry Croswell. In British Library, number 000826807, C.194.c.113 , p. 149. https://led.kmi.open.ac.uk/entity/lexp/1547656186369 accessed: 18 January, 2025 (By permission of the British Library.)
Listeners
Listening to
hide composers| Anglican church music and hymns | performed by the congregation choir and organist of St Philip's Church, Bethnal Green |
Experience Information
| Date/Time | 23 March, 1879, 06:30 PM |
| Duration | 1 hours 55 minutes |
| Medium | live |
| Listening Environment | in the company of others, indoors, in public |
Notes
Henry Croswell (1840–93) kept a record of his visits to churches in London over a period of more than twelve years (1872–85). He made methodical notes about the number of clergy, the churchmanship, the congregation, the sermon and the church architecture, as well as commenting on the music that he heard (the organ, the hymns and the choir). The above listening experience has been extracted from one of these records.