Henry Croswell et al. in Holy Trinity Church, Great Portland Street, Marylebone, London - 27 November, 1881, 06:50 PM
from Transcript of the diaries of Henry Croswell, page 280:
O[rgan]. – Large, middling, new and showy.
H[ymns]. – Being Advent - "Hark a thrilling …" They were Church Hymns. The congregation did not join in at all.
C[hoir]. – Some boys and men, unsurpliced, in the Chancel; some young ladies arranged next to the Chancel. It was a curious, dull and poor effect in all.
[The congregation numbered] 1100 – There might have been many more if it had been a fine evening and if there had been more … more >>
Henry Croswell, Transcript of the diaries of Henry Croswell. In British Library, number 000826807, C.194.c.113 , p. 280. https://led.kmi.open.ac.uk/entity/lexp/1551439976711 accessed: 8 November, 2024 (By permission of the British Library.)
Listeners
Listening to
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| Date/Time | 27 November, 1881, 06:50 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. Croswell names the location as Portland Road, but there is no record of a church of that name in that road. However, his mention of the Rector, the Rev. Cadman, identifies the church as Holy Trinity, Great Portland Street in ‘Mackeson’s Guide to the Churches of London and Its Suburbs’ (1875 edition). ‘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.