Henry Croswell et al. in St Matthew's Church, Bethnal Green, East End of London - 4 May, 1879, 06:40 PM
from Transcript of the diaries of Henry Croswell, page 153:
[Croswell recorded that the service should begin at 6.30pm, but] The service had only just commenced at 6.40 when I arrive
O[rgan]. – Well played in the West gallery.
H[ymns]. – "Church Hymns", a popular selection.
C[hoir]. – Children (were they Charity?) in the gallery. There was choral singi[ng] in which some joined.
[The congregation numbered] 200 – There were a great many "friendly girls" and Charity children besid[e]
[…]
M[iscellaneous]. – Some girls and young men behaved very badly.
Henry Croswell, Transcript of the diaries of Henry Croswell. In British Library, number 000826807, C.194.c.113 , p. 153. https://led.kmi.open.ac.uk/entity/lexp/1547658120045 accessed: 23 April, 2024 (By permission of the British Library.)
Listeners
Listening to
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| Date/Time | 4 May, 1879, 06:40 PM |
| Duration | 1 hours 30 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. ‘Church Hymns’ (1871) and ‘Church Hymns with Tunes’ (1874) were publications of the Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge (S.P.C.K.), under the musical editorship of Arthur Sullivan (1842–1900). This collection was the most successful of the competitors to ‘Hymns Ancient and Modern’ in the late nineteenth century, containing a larger number of hymns overall, and more hymns specifically intended for children and young people.