Henry Croswell et al. in St Mark's Church, Tollington Park, Islington, London - 16 October, 1881, 06:30 PM
from Transcript of the diaries of Henry Croswell, page 274:
O[rgan]. – Ordinary by Dean of City Road.
H[ymns]. – Bickers, but the hymns were in Hymns A. & M. "O happy band …" and "Praise, O praise …"
C[hoir]. – Six young ladies and eight young men, the usual sort and kind.
[The congregation numbered] 700 – There were many elderly people. The pews are all let. There was much waiting in the aisles. We were in the free seats in the gallery!
S[ermon]. – Christ as a shepherd by the Vicar with the usual plattitudes [sic]. We soon left
Henry Croswell, Transcript of the diaries of Henry Croswell. In British Library, number 000826807, C.194.c.113 , p. 274. https://led.kmi.open.ac.uk/entity/lexp/1551367983082 accessed: 19 April, 2024 (By permission of the British Library.)
Listeners
Listening to
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| Date/Time | 16 October, 1881, 06:30 PM |
| Duration | 50 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. ‘Bickers’ refers to ‘The Hymnal Companion to the Book of Common Prayer’ (1870, rev. 1877; and in a revised edition with tunes, 1890) compiled by Edward Henry Bickersteth (1825–1906). ‘Hymns Ancient and Modern for use in the Services of the Church’ (1861; Appendix, 1868; Second edition, 1875; Supplement, 1889) was envisaged as an anthology of the best hymns available and became the most widely-used hymnbook in the Church of England during the late nineteenth century. William Henry Monk (1823–89) was musical editor.