Henry Croswell et al. in St James' Church, Paddington, London - 10 July, 1881, 07:20 PM
from Transcript of the diaries of Henry Croswell, page 264:
We lost our way and so got there very late.
[…]
O[rgan]. – Large, in the extreme top gallery.
H[ymns]. – S.P.C.K., the old Edition.
C[hoir]. – Large, surpliced and irreverent.
[The congregation numbered] 700 – All rather swell but few men. Hardly anyone in the galleries. All were devout and very Low.
S[ermon]. – We didn't stop.
[…]
M[iscellaneous]. – […] We, curiously enough, getting in late sat in the front seat of the congregation next to the Chancel.
Henry Croswell, Transcript of the diaries of Henry Croswell. In British Library, number 000826807, C.194.c.113 , p. 264. https://led.kmi.open.ac.uk/entity/lexp/1551353971766 accessed: 22 December, 2024 (By permission of the British Library.)
Listeners
Listening to
hide composers| hymns selected from 'Church Hymns' | performed by the choir and organist of St James' Church Paddington |
| Anglican church music | performed by the choir and organist of St James' Church Paddington |
Experience Information
| Date/Time | 10 July, 1881, 07:20 PM |
| Duration | 25 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.