ST CECILIA's HALL Niddry Street, Edinburgh Conservation Plan
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ST CECILIA’S HALL Niddry Street, Edinburgh Conservation Plan Simpson & Brown Architects December 2009 Front cover: Oval Concert Hall Cupula. University of Edinburgh. ST CECILIA’S HALL: CONSERVATION PLAN DRAFT CONTENTS Contents Page 1.0 Executive Summary 3 2.0 Introduction 8 2.1 Objectives of a Conservation Plan 8 2.2 Study Area 8 2.3 Designations 12 2.3.1 Listed Buildings 2.3.2 Conservation Area 2.3.3 World Heritage Site 2.3.4 Other Designations 2.4 Limitations 14 2.5 Structure of the Report 15 2.6 Project Team 15 2.7 Acknowledgements 15 2.8 Archives and Collections 16 2.9 Definitions 16 3.0 Understanding St Cecilia’s Hall 19 3.1 Introduction 19 3.2 General History 19 3.2.1 The Changing Face of Edinburgh in the 18th Century 3.2.2 18th Century Concert Halls in Europe 3.2.3 Robert Mylne, 1733-1811 3.3 Historical Development of St Cecilia’s Hall 27 3.3.1 Previous Building(s) on the Site 3.3.2 Phase One – 1760 to 1767 3.3.3 Phase Two – 1768 to 1776 3.3.4 Phase Three – 1786 to 1801 3.3.5 Phase Four – 1801 to 1844 3.3.6 Phase Five – 1844 to c.1890 3.3.7 Phase Six – 1890 to 1933 3.3.8 Phase Seven – 1933 to 1959 3.3.9 Phase Eight – 1959 to Today 3.4 Collections Held at St Cecilia’s Hall 49 3.4.1 The Edinburgh University Collection of Historic Musical Instruments 3.4.2 The Raymond Russell Collection 3.4.3 The Rodger Mirrey Collection 3.4.4 The Anne Macauley Collection 3.4.5 Other notable historic keyboard instrument collections in the UK 4.0 Statement of Significance 52 5.0 Conservation Issues 56 5.1 Introduction 56 5.2 Statutory & Non-Statutory Constraints 56 5.2.1 Listed building Consent 5.2.2 Old Town Conservation Area 5.2.3 Edinburgh World Heritage 5.3 Archaeological Issues 56 5.4 Setting Issues 57 5.5 Client Requirements 58 6.0 Conservation Policies 59 6.1 Introduction 59 6.1.1 Definitions 6.2 Setting 59 6.3 Conservation, Restoration and Repair 59 6.4 Alterations 60 6.5 Archaeology 60 6.6 Cleaning and Maintenance 60 6.7 Accessibility 61 6.8 Further Research and Archiving 61 7.0 Strategy Report 62 7.1 Ground Floor 62 7.2 First Floor 62 7.3 The Music Room 62 7.4 Second and Third Floors 63 7.5 Exterior 63 7.6 Summary of Strategic Proposals 64 7.7 Phasing 64 Appendices A I Acoustic Report – Sandy Brown Associates LLP A II Mechanical and Electrical Report – Irons Foulner Consulting Engineers A III St Cecilia’s Hall - Historical Timeline A IV Bibliography A V Listed Building Report A VI Recognising Collections of National Significance - Scottish Government News Release PART ONE INTRODUCTION St Cecilia’s Hall – Conservation Plan 1 Saint Cecilia by Guido Reni, 1606, Web Gallery of Art 2 St Cecilia’s Hall – Conservation Plan 1.0 Executive Summary St Cecilia’s Hall, designed by Robert Mylne and named after the patron saint of musicians, was built for the Edinburgh Musical Society with the first concert in honour of St Cecilia held in the new hall in December 1763. It is thus the oldest purpose-built concert hall in Scotland, and the second-oldest in the UK. Although the Society had been officially founded in 1728, it had existed on an informal basis for most of the 18th century. From 1725 they met in the upper hall of St Mary’s Chapel, then owned by the Incorporation of Wrights and Masons, taking on a lease for an initial period of 19 years, which was renewed in 1738. In 1759 the Society purchased grounds to the south of St Mary’s Chapel in order to build a concert hall. Other sites in the city had been considered, as were the possibilities of sharing premises with other institutions, but a purpose-built hall proved to be the desired option. Figure 1 West elevation of St Mary’s Chapel, Figure 2 Engraving of Robert Mylne, from History of Edinburgh, W Maitland, 1753, ECL a portrait by Richard Brompton, 1783, NPG Robert Mylne (1733 – 1811) designed the building as an oval hall at first floor level, reached by a double staircase from an entrance lobby, which also led to a ground floor room, referred to early on as ‘the rehearsal room’. The entrance façade opened to a small courtyard off Niddry’s Wynd. This façade was of dressed stone, with a symmetrical five-bay, two-storey arrangement, with the central pedimented three- bays breaking forward. A portico was built over the main entrance at some point after 1787. With the completion of the South Bridge in 1787, the situation of St Cecilia’s Hall had been severely compromised: the building lost the entrance court in front of the main entrance, and the new eight-storey tenement (now nine-storeys) abutting the bridge towered above the Hall. The completion of South Bridge also contributed to the general demise of the Cowgate, rendering the situation even less desirable. St Cecilia’s Hall – Conservation Plan 3 The popularity of the concert hall wained towards the end of the 18th century, with increasing competition from public concerts in the New Town, and in particular with the opening of the Assembly Rooms in 1787. The financial circumstances of the Society were not helped by the continued exclusivity in both membership and commercial use of the hall, and Society held their last concert in 1798. After attempts to let the building, the Society’s director announced a meeting “to take measures for disposing of their property and winding up the affairs of the Society”1 in February 1801. The Edinburgh Baptist Congregation were to be the occupiers of the hall for the next decade, purchasing the hall in March 1802. Nevertheless they quickly outgrew the building and subsequently moved to a purpose built church at Dumbiedykes. Although they sold the building to the Grand Lodge of Scotland in 1809, they remained as tenants until their new church was completed in 1811. Although taking longer than the Baptist Congregation, the Grand Lodge was also to outgrow St Cecilia’s Hall. From 1838 history repeated itself, and the Freemasons started using the Assembly Rooms in the New Town, amongst other locations, before building their own premises in George Street in 1859. Although they continued to use St Cecilia’s Hall occasionally, they finally sold the building to the Town Council in 1844. It was after the building was sold on yet again, this time to George Cooper and Co in 1890, that the Hall began to go through the biggest changes to its historic fabric. The building was sub-divided to allow for a variety of uses, before finally coming under the control of the daughter of the surviving partner of George Cooper and Co in 1933. Magdalen Cairns quickly took advantage of the burgeoning dance hall phenomenon, and clearly the first floor hall lent itself to this purpose well. As the proprietor of the then Excelsior Ballroom, Miss Cairns proposed a variety of changes to the building to accommodate the new use, most of which were relatively minor. Her interest in the building’s original use was awakened with the decreasing popularity of dance halls after the Second World War and the respective growth of the Edinburgh International Festival. She subsequently embarked on a ‘restoration’ project, removing insensitive 1930s alterations, and returning the Hall into a Concert Hall, holding just one concert before deciding to sell the building to the University of Edinburgh in 1959. It was the proposed gift of an excellent collection of early keyboard instruments from the renowned collection Raymond Russell, that convinced the University to purchase the building: it was an ideal home for the collection. The building subsequently went through radical alteration, addition, and reinstatement of 18th century interiors before re-opening in 1968, resplendent in its new role. 1 J Blackie, A New Music Room: A History of St Cecilia’s Hall, 2002 4 St Cecilia’s Hall – Conservation Plan Overview Chronology: § 1505: St Mary’s Chapel founded by Elizabeth, Countess of Ross. § c1700s: Edinburgh Musical Society formed § 1725: Tack of £13 yearly for use of hall at the by then deconsecrated Mary’s Chapel for 19 years, with option to quite after 13 years. § 1728: Members constitution drawn up, formalising the Edinburgh Musical Society § 1733: Robert Mylne born to Thomas Mylne and Elizabeth Duncan. § 1738: Tack of £16 yearly for use of hall at Mary’s Chapel for 19 years. § 1748: Holywell Music Room opens in Oxford – the earliest example of a purpose-built concert hall in Europe. § 1752: EMS begins to collect funds for a new hall. § 1759: Purchase of land, and application to Dean of Guild Court for a warrant to build. § 1760: Plan for new hall by Robert Mylne approved by EMS. Advertisements placed for undertakers to give in estimates. § 1761: Phase one of construction of Hall begins after consideration of estimates and contracts issued. § 1761: Royal Exchange, designed by John Adam and John Fergus opens on the High Street § 1763: First concert held in St Cecilia’s Hall. Building works continue, however. § 1772: North Bridge opens. § 1773: 20 ionic pilasters added to aide better acoustics. § 1787: Assembly Rooms in George Street open § 1788: South Bridge opens to pedestrian traffic § 1790s: After land adjacent to the South Bridge is sold, tenements are built on either side of the bridge.