Henry Croswell et al. in Christ Church, Spa Road, Bermondsey, London - 1 August, 1880, 06:30 PM
from Transcript of the diaries of Henry Croswell, page 216:
O[rgan]. – Medium, in the West Gallery. It was well played.
H[ymns]. – Mercer - "Jesu, Lover …" etc.
C[hoir]. – Unsurpliced and ill behaved, consisting of ten lads and four young men.
[The congregation numbered] 250 – There were many swell young women but few men and hardly any old people.
[…]
M[iscellaneous]. – We sat in the front of the gallery. There was an … more >>
Henry Croswell, Transcript of the diaries of Henry Croswell. In British Library, number 000826807, C.194.c.113 , p. 216. https://led.kmi.open.ac.uk/entity/lexp/1551097398418 accessed: 20 April, 2024 (By permission of the British Library.)
Listeners
Listening to
hide composers| 'Jesu, Lover of my soul' | performed by the choir and organist of Christ Church Spa Road |
| Anglican church music | performed by the choir and organist of Christ Church Spa Road |
Experience Information
| Date/Time | 1 August, 1880, 06:30 PM |
| 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. Croswell recorded that the service began at 6.30pm and ended at 10.50, which seems very unlikely. William Mercer’s ‘The Church Psalter and Hymn Book’ (1854, enlarged, 1856; new edition, 1864; reprinted with Appendix, 1872) was one of the principal Church of England hymnals before the publication of ‘Hymns Ancient and Modern’. The music editor was John Goss.