Henry Croswell et al. in St Mark's Church, Victoria Park, Old Ford, East End of London
from Transcript of the diaries of Henry Croswell, page 198:
O[rgan]. – A poor-toned harmonium.
H[ymns]. – Windle - a dreadful "Sabbath" collection.
C[hoir]. – Eight young women and four men all in correctly arranged choir stalls!
[The congregation numbered] 180 We got there late and sat behind all. There were few men and many old women.
[…]
M[iscellaneous]. – An old woman pew-opener, most influential, acted also as Beadle and churchwarden. She kept unruly boys and a drunken women [sic] in good order.
Henry Croswell, Transcript of the diaries of Henry Croswell. In British Library, number 000826807, C.194.c.113 , p. 198. https://led.kmi.open.ac.uk/entity/lexp/1550146620045 accessed: 25 November, 2024 (By permission of the British Library.)
Listeners
Listening to
hide composers| hymns selected from Windle's hymnal | performed by the choir and organist of St Mark's Church Victoria Park |
| Anglican church music | performed by the choir and organist of St Mark's Church Victoria Park |
Experience Information
| 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. The record is undated in the transcript, but its position within the whole suggests that the date should be 4 April 1880. William Windle’s ‘The Church and Home Metrical Psalter and Hymn Book’ was published in a music edition revised by George Cooper in 1862.