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The of Waltham Holy Cross Author(s): Dotted Crotchet Source: The Musical Times, Vol. 47, No. 763 (Sep. 1, 1906), pp. 594-602 Published by: Musical Times Publications Ltd. Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/903479 . Accessed: 08/01/2015 12:50

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This content downloaded from 128.235.251.160 on Thu, 8 Jan 2015 12:50:25 PM All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions 594 THE MUSICAL TIMES.-SEPTEMBER , 190o6.

THE CHURCH FROM THE EAST END. (Photograph by Mr. Vaughan, Acton.) THE ABBEY CHURCH OF WALTHAM close to that riverfrom whose banks Izaak Walton HOLY CROSS. was wont to pursue his favouritepastime. his froman attack of Once morethe behindme Upon recovery paralysis, gate falls, Harold II. visited the manor of Once more King (then Earl) beforemy face Waltham on the site of a church built I see themoulder'd and, by Abbey-walls, he erected the noble which is That stand withinthe chace. Tovi, building now known as Waltham Church. With TENNYSON. Abbey ,the Founder was present In the time of King Canute there lived a at the consecrationof the sacred edifice on Holy smith at who dreamed that he Cross day, May 3, io6o. Six years afterwards, was bidden to take the priest and at the memorable , Harold met some neighbours to dig on the summit of his death; his body was ultimatelyinterred within the adjoining hill. The fruitof their labours the statelyedifice he had caused to be built. The was the discoveryof a flintcross. Earl Tovi place of sepulture is, however, unknown; but at once harnessedtwelve red oxen and twelve there is preserved in the church a piece of white cows to a cart,in order to convey the ironstone which is traditionallybelieved to be relic to a fittinghome. The beasts would part of Harold's tomb. This relic is about sixteen not move, till the priest hit upon the inches long, and ten inches broad at its widest expedient of calling out the names of various part,and upon it is carved a curious representation estates, and, on the mention of Waltham, of a warrior's face, underneath which is the they fortunatelybegan their journey. Earl name 'Harold,' cut in modern letters. Harold's Tovi was stewardof the household, and had foundationwas collegiate, not monastic; but in his weald-ham or in country house the 1177 Henry II. transformedthe minsterinto a woodlands here beside the river Lea; hence , or abbey, with , and the name of Waltham and Holy Cross, its Augustinianmonks, and it had the distinctionof affix. being one of the richest and most powerful So the story goes. Let us look a little furthermonasteries in the kingdom, which is saying a into the origin and history of a fine Norman great deal. Like his grandfather, King church situated thirteenmiles fromLondon and Henry III. showed his love for Waltham. He

This content downloaded from 128.235.251.160 on Thu, 8 Jan 2015 12:50:25 PM All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions THE MUSICAL TIMES.-SEPTEMBER I, 1906. 595 advanced the abbot to the dignityof a Lord of the body of Queen Eleanor rested at Waltham Parliament, and furtherswelled the coffersof the Abbey on its way for intermentin by granting the monks the privilege of, Abbey, and that in 1307, for seventeen weeks, holding in the town two annual fairsand a weekly the Abbey sheltered the body of her husband, market; these commercial institutionsflourish to King Edward I., prior to its removal to this day, thoughnot under ecclesiasticalauspices. Westminster. At Waltham, Bishop Joseph Hall, We may now pass on to the time of the a formerincumbent, preached his famoussermons Reformation, which is said to have had its which gained for him the title of 'The English inception at Waltham, and curiously enough in Chrysostom,'and another 17th centuryincumbent a house in the Romeland ! In the year 1528 was Thomas Fuller, an eminent divine and Henry VIII. visited Waltham, at which time historian. John Foxe, the martyrologist,formerly Cranmer,then a Cambridge Doctor of Divinity, resided at Waltham, where he is said to have was tutor to the sons of a Mr. Cressy who lived partly writtenhis famousbook ; and in addition in the Romeland, now a market square and used to Izaak Walton already mentioned, the literary as the Cattle Market. On that occasion associations of the place are enriched by the fact Mr. Cressy entertained Fox and Gardiner, the that at one time Tennyson resided in the famous statesmen of that reign, and Cranmer. parish,at Beech Hill Park, where,about the year At supper the Cambridge D.D. sounded the I837, he wrote his poem 'The talking oak'-of note of the Reformation under the shadow of which the opening stanza is given at the beginning the venerable Abbey. of thisarticle-' the moulder'dAbbey-walls' being Twelve years later (in March, 1540), by order of those of Waltham. In this connection the poet's Thomas Cromwell, vicar-general,the monastery ' Harold' will be called to mind, and it is said that was dissolved, afterhaving existed for 363 years. the thrillingstanzas in Tennyson's masterpiece The endowments-realizing an annual income of In JMiemoriam,beginning 'Ring out, wild bells, to to to the wild were the sound of the ;/I,000, i.e., I0,000 ?12,00ooo according sky,' inspiredby the present value of money-were diverted to Abbey Church bells as theygreeted the dawn of other uses, whereby the original idea of the the New Year. king to found at Waltham a for From an architectural,no less than from an , and to place Waltham at the head of ecclesiastical point of view, has the proposed new bishoprics,was not carried out. undergone great changes during its existence Within the age-crownedwalls of the -the of 846 years. The sacred edifice was formerly present church - divine worship has been double or treble its present length by reason of uninterruptedlycelebrated for the long period of the forming its east end. At the 846 years. dissolution of the monastery the choir was In addition to the historical incidents already demolished, as was also a central tower which mentioned it should be rememberedthat in 1290 separated the choir fromthe nave. Between 1556

THE OLD ABBEY GATEWAY. by Chester Vaughan, Acton.) (Photograkh Mir.

This content downloaded from 128.235.251.160 on Thu, 8 Jan 2015 12:50:25 PM All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions 596 THE MUSICAL TIMES.-SEPTEMBER I, 1906. and I558 a new tower, the present erection,was Abbey. In regard to otherchanges then made at built at the west end of the nave-that portion the east end, furtherquotation may be made from of the building which has always been used as Mr. Stamp : a church--withthe resultthat the parish original The roughstonework and small windowwhich had west front was deprived of its architectural been placed underthe grand tower arch at the east end features. Two years ago this massive west tower were displaced by the presentmagnificent structure. was restored, its The rosewindow depicting the work of Creation, and the successfully whereby uppermost windowwith three stage has been strengthenedand greatlyimproved Jesse lights,representing patriarchs, in kingsand prophets,were inserted under the arch. The in appearance. The , erected cartoonsfor the windowswere designedby the famous the I3th or 14th century-the exact date is not artistthe late Sir Edward Burne-Jones. known-is on the south side of the church, not It is of to mention at the at the east end, where it is usually found. special interest that, same time the flat was Afterhaving served the purposes of a schoolroom (i86o), ceiling painted, after the manner of for many years, the lady chapel was restored in PeterboroughCathedral, by Sir Edward then a 1876. On removingthe bricksfrom the windows J. Poynter,Bart., P.R.A., rising artistof fragmentsof the formerelegant tracerywere found, young twenty-four. Of the not referred and on taking down the plasterfrom the east wall, antiquities previously to, mentionshould made of the old carved remains of an ancient fresco representingthe be post, dated which served the double of Last Judgmentwere discovered. 1598, purpose and and also the The interiorof the buildingmay be judged from whipping-post stocks, pillory. These have found a on the photographon the opposite page. Should the punishmentrelics place the wall of the after for visitorremark that the magnificentpillars are like tower, having many years done their in the Market Place. The those of , the genial vicar will duty date back to in the reply, 'Yes, but Durham copied fromus'! The registers 1563; churchyard is a old and a venerable elm tree easternmostpillars on the north and south sides quaint lych-gate feet round its of the church show the spiral ornament,while two measuring twenty-two base, which, other are enriched with the chevron or despite its great age of five or six hundred years, piers fromthe heat' to those who embellishment,as in the northerncathedral. stillprovides 'a shadow zig-zag sit under its branches. And then we must not The Rev. J. H. Stamp, in his interestingand to draw attentionto the old lectureson the Abbey, says: forget Abbey gateway informing on The nave consistsof seven on each the (photograph p. 595), temp.1370, whichformerly bays side, led to the conventual the armorial mysticnumber signifying completeness. The clearspace buildings: of the bays measuresIo feet3 inches. There are three bearingsof Edward III. may still be discerned on tiersof arches-nave or arcade,, and clerestory, the label of the spring of the great arch on the the threeforming one composition-anevident allusion south side. Inside the on the south of the church, to the doctrineof Holy Trinityproclaimed by the the is the monumentto Sir Edward Apostles, for ancient architects,who were frequently altar, Denny monks,worked out theirtheological tenets even in the (died 6oo), who was attachedto thecourt of Queen materialswhich theyhandled, thus preachingsermons Elizabeth, one of whose maids of honour he in stones. married. His remainswere interred in the chancel and his widow erected the fine marble monument Fourteenarches exist in thissecond stage [triforium], shown in the photographon p. 6oo00. The valiant nine being Norman and five Gothic or pointed. The knight-he foughtQueen Elizabeth's battles with fivearches were altered by the architectfirst engaged by and the as his Abbot at the end of the who Sir Philip Sidney poet Spenser Reginald 13thcentury, armour also mostfoolishly cut away fourof the nave arches,so comrades in arms-is represented, clad, thatthere are now onlyten in thelower stage (called the lyingon his leftside, while the recumbenteffigy of arcade) instead of fourteen. In the upper stage or who survivedher spouse for nearly sixteen smaller arches rest on Lady Denny, clerestory, twenty-four half a century,is seen below. The six boys and pillars,nine being Norman and seven pointed. fourgirls, on the lowerpart of the monument,are ten little their In the church underwenta complete the Dennys saying prayers. 1859-60 The reader be to ask: Are there restoration cost of Zi5,000, under the may disposed at:?:a musical interestsassociated with the architectural supervision of the late William any Abbey The floorof the church was reduced to Church of Waltham Holy Cross ? To this natural Burges. the is an and its level; the pillarsand walls denuded of interrogation reply emphatic 'Yes,' original one that needs no not that the their plaster; the Norman windows restored and apology; Abbey can in this claim rank withcathedrals and filled with stained glass; two hideous galleries respect were removed; and the high-backedpews were other'quires and places where they sing,' but by of a former But firsta fewwords replaced by low oak seats. On each side of reason organist. the Communion Table, and painted on a ground- about the organs. In the 'Inventory of Church work of blue, were two curious effigiesof Moses Goods, A.D. 1540 '--that is at the dissolution of and Aaron. Moses was representedas holding a the monastery-we findthe followingitems: staff,and Aaron in theact ofswinging a censerwhich OUR LADY CHAPPELL.-A Table of ymagery of a close resemblance to a These the xij apostells ...... xs. had pepper-box. A xxs. escutcheon of Charles lytellpayre of organes. p...... two patriarchsand an II.- IN THE QUYRE.--A greate large payre of Organes painted on a large square board at a cost of ?24 above, on the northeof the Quyre,a lesser in I662-disappeared at the restorationof the payrebeneath.

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This content downloaded from 128.235.251.160 on Thu, 8 Jan 2015 12:50:25 PM All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions 598 THE MUSICAL TIMES.-SEPTEMBER I, 19o6.

It would be veryinteresting to possess the specifica- and the pedal organ adding the requisitedignity to tions of these three instruments,especially the the instrument. 'greate large payre of Organes in the Quyre.' GREAT (8 stops). The above entries referto the Feet. Feet. only organs belong- Open diapason (large, forming Harmonic flute .... 4 ing to the monastic choir-of the church chancel front) .. 8 Fifteenth 2 part-the ; Open diapason (small) .. 8 Mixture (3 ranks). but it is interestingto know that early in the Wald flute .. . 8 Trumpet ...... 8 I7th centurythe parishionersof Waltham Abbey Principal ...... 4 sold to the churchwardensof Cheshunt an old SWELL (i4 stops). This said to have been Double diapason .... 6 Fifteenth ...... 2 organ. instrument, Open diapason .. 8 Mixture (3 and 4 ranks). constructed by the monks of Waltham, is still Gamba (lieblich bass) 8 Contra fagotto ..6 Vox angelica (tenor C) 8 Horn ...... 8 preserved at Cheshunt Great House in the Stopped diapason 8 Oboe ...... 8 neighbouringparish. For a hundred Principal ...... 4 Orchestral oboe .. 8 nearly years Flute ...... 4 Vox humana ...... 8 the church appears to have been without an which time the services were CHOIR (6 stops). organ, during Salcional (tenor C, grooved Flute 4...... 4 doubtless accompanied by divers instruments-- bass) .. 8 Piccolo.. bass Dulciana ..(lieblich .. bass) . 8 Clarinet...... 8 violin, flute,hautboy, clarinet, viol, &c.-- Lieblich gedact .. 8 the players of which,in consort withenthusiastic made 'a noise unto the Lord.' PEDAL (4 stops). singers, joyful Open diapason ...... i6 Quint ...... io1 In the year I8 I9, one Thomas Leverton Bourdon ...... 16 Principal (formingwest front) 8 presented an to the Church. This Manual compass, CC to A 58 notes: Pedal compass, CCC to F = organ Abbey 30 notes. - instrument,built by Messrs. Flight & Robson and COUPLERS, &tC. Swell to great. Swell to pedal. Swell to choir. Great to pedal. Choir to great, unison. Choir to pedal. Choir sub-octave to great. Tremulant to swell. Three composition pedals to great organ. Three composition pedals to swell organ. The organistship of Waltham Abbey was formerlyheld by a no less eminentmusician than , or Tallys, as he signed his name. This interestingfact, unknown to Burney and Hawkins, was discovered about thirtyyears ago by the late Mr. W. Winters, the historian and antiquary of Waltham, in a document preserved at the Public Record Office. This document,one of those connected with the dissolution of the monastery in 1540, is headed 'Wages and Rewards,' and contains a list of payments to those who were then and there displaced. The fourthname on the list is: - THOMAS TALYS - xxs. ; XXS. The paymentof xxs. forwages was more than the other gifted men connected with the Abbey the and the 'reward' THOMAS TALLIS received, except priest, (15IO?-1585). (compensation for loss of office) was equally ORGANIST OF WALTHAM ABBEY. liberal. In what year Tallis became organistof Mr. B. Waltham is not but he (From Myles aoster's 'Anthems and Anthem Coafiosers.') Abbey known, certainly held the post in I540. It may well be surmised that Henry VIII., a frequentvisitor to Waltham, placed in a high gallery at the west end of the became acquainted with the skilled musicianship building, contained seven stops: open diapason, of Tallis, and that when his services were no stopped diapason, principal,fifteenth, sesquialtera longerrequired at the Abbey the King appointed and cornet. The absence of pedals may or him a Gentleman of the Chapel Royal. This may not have been compensated in a barrel office Tallis worthilyheld for forty-fiveyears, attachment-' one of the finest of barrels,' serving under four sovereigns- Henry VIII., according to a local enthusiast-which could play Edward VI., Mary,and Elizabeth, the last named eight tunes. Enlarged and reconstructed by queen having bestowed upon him the additional J. W. Walker in I86o, the instrumentwas removed appointmentof organistto Her Majesty's Chapel in 1879 to its present position at the north-eastRoyal. corner of the chancel. During his organistshipat Waltham, or at the In 1893,the organ,which had been leftunfinished, dissolution of the monastery,Tallis became the was completed by Messrs. J. W. Walker & Sons, possessor of a valuable manuscriptvolume, now according to the original specificationas given preservedin the BritishMuseum (Lansdowne MS., below. And here mention must be made of the No. 763). The last folio of this interestingtome fine churchlike tone of this organ, the diapasons contains the only known autograph of its former being of the right quality, rich and devotional, owner, 'Thomas Tallys,' writtenin the ordinary

This content downloaded from 128.235.251.160 on Thu, 8 Jan 2015 12:50:25 PM All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions THE MUSICAL TIMES.-SEPTEMBER I, 1906. 599 runninghand of the period: beneath it the name found in Sir John Hawkins's 'History of Music' is re-writtenin large Roman-shaped characters,to (p. 240. et seq., Novello's Edition), but a few which succeeds the followingnote: extractsof a more or less quaint nature may be A discourse on the of descant xxity.gilt bookes in quarto and octavo. given. practice x. bookes in folio. concludes thus: iii. fayresets gilt bookes. But who wil ken his gamme [gamut]well, and the 'This note, which may or may not be in the imaginacionsthereof, and of hys acordis,and settehis of refers to other perfyteacordis wythhis imperfyteaccordis, as I have handwriting Tallis, possibly tretise he not faile of his which his or that of rehersedin thys afore, may books came into possession conterpoyntin shorttyme. :someone else at the dissolutionof the monastery. And now fora few words about the book itself. In another essay it is stated that 'the tone and The volume bears the followingtitle in rubric: semitone may be very aptly compared to Leah and Rachael': librum O otntis, 2tunc bocitatumtiusiaitnm i Foras Jacobwas first joined in marriageto Leah,and ,stuipoitDominuo o*jannro i plte,qtuortbamll afterwards to Rachael, thus sound, the element of music, b firstproduces a tone,and afterwardsa semitone, and is xerllptiJeonaHsterii fanctE tuvu E in somesense married to them, The semitone,from Eialt)am Vre~eltor. whichthe symphony ofall nmusic principally isgenerated,

THE ORGAN. (Photograph by Mr. G. F. S. Chalk, Waltham Abbey.) of the This is followed by the usual anathema found in as it tempersthe rigourand asperity tones,may most MSS. to aptlybe assignedto Rachael, who chieflycaptivated the early belonging religious houses, had a beautifulface and should heartof Jacob,as she graceful and imparts no less a curse on any who aspect. steal or injure the book : Some verses of St. Bernard century) are velhunc maliciose (I2th Quemquidem librum, titulum,qui these referenceto the disgraceful abstuleritvel deleverit, anathema sit. quoted, having manner in which the Psalms were sung. The The volume, consistingof i31 folios,is beautifullyold monk calls the chanters'janglers cum jappers,' writtenon vellum, probably eitherlate in the 14th (probably those who sing too quickly and or early in the I5th century. It seems to have irreverently),'nappers and galpers' (sleepers been the workof the said John Wylde,an old-time and yawners), 'drawers' (drawlers), 'skippers, precentor of Waltham Abbey, the bearer of a overennersand overhippers'(those who skip over name unknownin the musical world except as the the words). Are not some of these terms of author, compiler,or transcriberof this book. It St. Bernard applicable to psalm chanters of the contains a curious olla podrida of learning-I presentday? Beforeleaving this old MS. volume scientific, religious, heraldic, astronomical and we must not forgetto mention that at one time it musical. Copious quotations therefromwill be was in the possession,either as his own book or as

This content downloaded from 128.235.251.160 on Thu, 8 Jan 2015 12:50:25 PM All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions 600 THE MUSICAL TIMES.-SEPTEMBER I, 1906. a loan, of Thomas Morley, who largely availed Waltham and the bearer of a name"that achieved himselfof a portionof its contentsin his 'Plaine fame terpsichorean rather than in ecclesiastical and Easie Introduction to Practicall Musicke,' music. Mr. Coote's tenure of officelasted only firstpublished in 1597. one year, when a competitiontook place and a To return to the organists of Waltham. It Miss Thompson was elected to the office. This appears that there was a second organist at the lady sufferedso much from ill-healththat she time ofthe dissolutionin the personof JohnBoston, was unable to officiatefor some years. Several a Waltham man. He died sometime before the organists were engaged to discharge the duties year I564, as his wife, who died 'a wedow,' was that Miss Thompson could not perform. In buried January 30, 1564, and there are several this connection we may quote from a very other entriesin the parish registersof the Boston interesting pamphlet containing a letter from family. At the dissolution of the monasterythe then vicar (the Rev. James Francis) to his

THE TOMB OF SIR EDWARD DENNY (DIED 16oo). (Phot/ografk/zedspecially for this article by Mr. G. F. S. Chalk.) John Boston received the sum of 6s.-as against parishioners,which preludes some particularsof the the sum of 40s. paid to Tallis-for his 'wages and various parochial institutions. It is dated Easter, reward'; and he had previouslybeen paid the sum 1849, and contains the followingreference to the of 2od. 'for mendingthe organs.' Mr. Boston may have played the 'lytell payre of organes' in the ORGAN FUND. lady chapel, while Tallis officiatedat the 'greate In May, 1848, at the instanceof manypersons who large payre of Organes' in the choir. felt a great and proper interestin the subject, the The first organist who officiated at the followingcircular was addressedto membersof the con- & gregation. As it is highlydesirable that the Praisesof Flight Robson organ, erected in i819, was in the a God theChurch should be sungin mostappropriate Mr. Coote, one of a musical family,natives of and devotionalmanner, and thatthe whole congregation

This content downloaded from 128.235.251.160 on Thu, 8 Jan 2015 12:50:25 PM All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions THE MUSICAL TIMES.-SEPTEMBER I, 1906. 6o0

should have the opportunity.of joining in them, an a few men, who, with the school childrenformed the endeavourhas been made to furtherthis object. In choir. The music was in a bad state and the accordance,therefore, with the wishes of a largepropor- congregationalsinging was of the poorest kind. tion of our congregation,the servicesof a gentleman I came here on the recommendationof John Hullah connectedwith the Temple Church, and havingexcellent to formsinging classes in the parish. I also played testimonials,have been engaged,whose assistancemay at the children's and other special services, and be retainedthrough the liberalityof membersof the superintendedthe music in all of the schools at congregation.' that period, so that I have been connectedwith the WalthamAbbey, May, 1848. musical life of the Abbey for more than forty-eight Parsonage, I had to on the and soon years. permission practise organ, This suggestionwas so well received,that very whenthe post fell vacant at the end of 1858,I discharged a sufficientsum of moneywas contributedto retainfor a theduties and have playedregularly since January, 1859, year the servicesof the gentlemanabove referredto. and at the Eastervestry of that year I was appointed It was felt by all, and especiallyby those who first organist. Soon' after,the work of restorationof the moved in the matter,that no arrangementwhatever Abbeybegan, and with it, in theautumn of 1859, the oughtto be allowed to interferewith the interestsof the demolitionof the galleries and pews. Although the organistwho had fulfilledthe dutiesof herstation for so had beenscoured for funds for the churchI made and parish many years. At the discretionof the minister an effortto improvethe organ. My vicar(the Rev. churchwardens,and with the permissionof the vestry, JamesFrancis) gave me assistance,and a good friend,one she has been assisted in her duties, an arrangement Colonel Edenborough-towhose memory the reredos was has been a reliefto her under which undoubtedly great erected-set me going with a donationof /0Ioo. I her severebodily suffering. managedto raise withthe help of friends?280, whereby the organ was greatlyimproved, a new CC swell, an The ' gentleman connected with the Temple Churchand having excellenttestimonials,' referred to by the worthyvicar, was a youthnamed William Hayman Cummings,now Principal of the Guild- hall School of Music, who at the age of seventeenbecame one of the successorsof Thomas Tallis in the organistship of Waltham Abbey. Moreover,it was at this old churchthat the young organist,more than half a centuryago, adapted Mendelssohn's music to Charles Wesley's hymn 'Hark! the herald angels sing.' The young organist eagerly procured everything that Mendelssohncomposed directly it was published. While playing over the Festgesang chorus (in G), he was at once struck by its adaptabilityto the familiarChristmas hymn. He copied out the parts,and the tune was sung with great enthusiasm by the congregationof Waltham Abbey before it had found its way into any other churches,not to say hymnals.* Mr. Joseph Chalk, the present organist, was appointed in 1859. At that time the organ was in an upper galleryat the west end of the church. He gave his firstrecitals there, on the enlarged and reconstructedorgan by Walker,on June5 and 8, MR. CHALK. i86o0, and as the organ had been opened only a JOSEPH CHURCH. month previously,he did not lose much time in ORGANIST OF WALTHAM ABBEY gettingused to the C pedal board. (Photograpkby Mr. G. F. S. Chalk.) Mr. Chalk has kindly supplied the following open diapason on pedal, &c., being added. The notes on the music of the churchat which he has reopeningservices were held on May 3, 1870, the 8ooth officiatedfor anniversaryof the consecrationof Harold's church. On nearlyhalf-a-century: that occasion themusic was under the directionof Dr. Going back to the timeof Mr. (now Dr.) Cummings, (thenMr.) W. H. Cummings,with myself at the organ, none of the organistswho came afterhim stayed any and the anthemsincluded Boyce's 'I have surelybuilt length of time. The lady organist (Miss Thompson) Thee an house,' and Purcell's' O singunto the Lord.' receivedher salaryuntil a littlemore than a yearbefore Later on the choirwas placed in the chancel,but as her death,and I foundit recordedat a meetingof the the Levertonschool childrenstill occupied the gallery, vestrythat on a propositionthat she should continueto greatdifficulties arose in securingunanimity. To remedy receive it for another year, only two votes were recorded thisunsatisfactory state of affairsmy then vicar decided in favour of the recommendation. to place an additionalsmall organ in the chancel. This In 1850 Mr. J. W. Walker added to the organ a excellentone-manual instrument, built by Walker at tenor C swell of four viz.: a cost of /200, had eightstops, all-except the open stops, open diapason, stopped a swell diapason, principal, and hautboy, and an octave and a diapason and the pedal bourdon-enclosed in half of pedals which pulled down the keys. This was the box: open diapason, stopped diapason, dulciana, organ, reopened by Hopkins, of the Temple, I found principal,flute, oboe (to tenorC), mixtureand bourdon here in January, 1858. On either side of the instrument (pedal). This organwas dispensedwith when the large were seated the and of the Leverton School, (gallery)organ was placed in the chancelin 1879. boys girls not and behind the organ seat was a pew large enough for When I came here in 1858 the Psalms were chanted. The firsttime they were sung was at an * ordinationservice on 3, 1864. As we had no psalters, See THE MUSICAL TIMES, December, 1897, p. 8io; and February, July t898, p. 81. I pointed an ordinaryPrayer Book for the occasion.

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Novello's ' Psalter' wasissued we When Cathedral used throwfrom Regent Street,stand threeold Georgian that,and I was thensaved the troubleof pointingany houses side side. built of red more prayer-books. For some time the Psalms were by Plainly brick, chantedonly on special occasions,and later on at the theyhave no architecturalpretensions. All three eveningservices only, but since 1885-when the Rev. are worthyof respect for the sake of theirformer F. B. Johnston,the present vicar, was appointed-- inhabitants; but the easternmostis of more than Let me theyhave been sungat everyservice. conclude common interest, to for it by sayingthat our congregationalservice is one which especially musicians, manyparishes might envy, most gratifyingto listen to contains an ancient concert-roomthat alone of all and pleasantto accompany. such places of entertainmenthas been left to us fromthe I8th Carlisle the Great For kindhelp in thepreparation of thisarticle the century. House, Room in Street,Soho, and the Music Room writeris indebtedto the Rev. F. B. Johnston,M.A., vicar of Waltham to the Rev. in Spring Gardens, exist no longer,and the same Abbey Church; fate has whose on attended Almack's and the Pantheon, J. Henry Stamp, (to writings the wherethe concertsand referencehas been and to assemblies wereso exclusive subject already made); that ladies to Mr. and also great intrigued gain admission to Joseph Chalk, organist choirmaster; them. But the to the whose names under long-forgottenold concert-room photographers appear Brewer Street their in has fortunatelyescaped demoli- respectivephotographs. and it recalls a of DOTTED CROTCHET. tion, 's musical historylittle noticed by the general reader. The building now forms part of the premises of the Club Frangais, but for A FORGOTTEN CONCERT ROOM. thirty-fiveyears during the middle of the I8th centuryit was a much- Modern London is becominga new Americanised frequentedand fashionable resort,and was known city,and all its old and peculiarlyEnglish charac- by the name of Hickford'sRoom. teristicsare fast being improved out of existence. John Hickford, the proprietor,began life as a If any one who left it during the sixties of the dancing-masterin the latterpart of Queen Anne's last century return to visit it to-day, he will reign,and originallyhad a dancingschool in James imagine himselfto be in some foreigntown, and Street,Haymarket. There was at that time only for the most part fail to recognise the London one otherroom in the West-end large enough for he knew so intimatelyof old. The compara- concerts of any pretensions, and as that was tivelynarrow streets with theirrespectable if ugly sometimesdifficult to secure and its proprietorwas houses have become broad thoroughfareslined not a particularlyagreeable man, certainwell-known withenormous blocks of buildingsfive or six stories artistsbegan to make use of Mr. Hickford'sgreat high, and the whole of many well-remembereddancing-room wherein to give theirconcerts. The districtshave been completelyswept away. He situationwas so convenientthat the worthydancing- will look in vain for his old landmarks. In the masterfound himselfbesieged withapplications for Strand and Fleet Street he will miss Temple-Bar the use of his room,and, being a man of accommo- and Holywell Street, and if he turn westwardto dating disposition,his dancing-schoolsoon became Piccadilly Circus he will be no betteroff. Other the' recognized concert-roomof the day. Mr. streetsand blocks of houses have disappeared,and Hickfordmust also have had a talentfor organiza- in the middle of the greatopen space remaining,the tion, for he quickly acquired a reputationas a wingedfigure over the fountainmay stand forthe concertagent. So successfulwas he in thiscapacity mockingspirit of Modern Progressshooting arrows thatafter some yearshe decided to moveinto a still of scorn at the memoriesof the past. more fashionablequarter, and accordinglytook up The wanderer may be a lover of music and his abode in a finenew house in Brewer Street,or desire to revisit the concert-roomswhere in his as it was then called, Brewer's Street. Here he young days he spent so many happy hours. He was in the best of company, for his next door will not findthem. Exeter Hall still stands,but it neighbours were my Lord Mansfield and the is now occupied by the Young Men's Christian Spanish Ambassador. Association. On the site of the Hanover Square It may be presumedthat the house was designed Rooms is a great block of flatswith shops beneath and built specially for Mr. Hickford,as it is still them; and as thetraveller walks down Regent Street easy to see how convenientlyit was arrangedfor the he sees a hideous gap in the statelycurve of the use he made of it. The frontdoor opened into a quadrant,and realises withdismay that St. James's square hall, throughwhich the companyproceeded Hall, formerlythe most perfectconcert room in to the concertroom built out at the back, and a Europe, has utterlyvanished after an existenceof staircasegave access to a small gallery. Though more than half a centuryto make room for a dignifiedby the title'Great,' in common withother new hotel. music-roomsof the period, Hickford's room is not It is a long while since fashion began its actuallyof large size, being only about fiftyfeet in pompous westwardmarch from London City to length and some thirtyfeet in width. But its its present resting- places in Mayfair and proportionsare excellent; the ceilingis coved, and Kensington, through Gray's Inn, Bloomsbury, the mouldings,cornices, and other decorationsare and Soho, and in the melancholyremains of these in the simple,elegant stylethat the brothersAdam old neighbourhoodstraces of theirformer grandeur improved upon and made their own many years may still be found. In a narrow,dingy street, later. This beautiful room appears to have once of considerable repute, barely a stone's remainedso unchanged since it was firstbuilt that

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