Henry Croswell et al. in St Thomas' Church, Elm Road, Camden Town, London - 23 October, 1881, 07:00 PM
from Transcript of the diaries of Henry Croswell, page 275:
O[rgan]. – Ordinarily played.
H[ymns]. – S.P.C.K. - "O worship the King …" Anthem - A Psalm of sixteen verses!
C[hoir]. – Any number of ladies and gentlemen.
[The congregation numbered] 500 – An ordinary congregation - all were decorous. There were many men, a good thing and also a good many swell ladies!
S[ermon]. – We didn't stop. The pew-opener was surprised.
Henry Croswell, Transcript of the diaries of Henry Croswell. In British Library, number 000826807, C.194.c.113 , p. 275. https://led.kmi.open.ac.uk/entity/lexp/1551369149100 accessed: 18 April, 2024 (By permission of the British Library.)
Listeners
Listening to
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| Date/Time | 23 October, 1881, 07:00 PM |
| Duration | 45 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 S.P.C.K. (Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge) published ‘Church Hymns’ (1871) and ‘Church Hymns with Tunes (1874, under the musical editorship of Arthur Sullivan). 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.