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Programmes (1878-1887)

Collection Summary

Collection Title

Programmes (1878-1887)

Description

A collection of miscellaneous programmes from 1878 to 1887. A sizeable amount of programmes in the collection relate to performances by the Wandering Minstrels – who claimed to be the only purely amateur orchestral performing society of the time – which were largely concerts which contained a mixture of orchestral items and songs. Concerts given by the Wandering Minstrels were frequently “Smoking concerts”. The collection also includes details of the accounts of the Wandering Minstrels from various years. Aside from the Wandering Minstrels, the collection contains programmes from concerts organised and performed by a wide variety of other groups: organisations represented include the Civil Service Musical Society, the Handel Society, the People’s Entertainment Society and the People’s Concert society. In addition, the collection as a whole contains a number of programmes entitled “Amateur Concert”. The collection contains programmes from a wide variety of venues within England - a list of venues is given below - of which the majority are within London or close-by. In particular, there are a number or programmes from Wandering Minstrel Concerts at 47 Sloane Square and Grosvenor Hall.

The collection also includes a programme from an amateur performance of HMS Pinafore (Gilbert and Sullivan) on 20/4/1879 at the Drill Hall, Kingston-upon-Thames: this performance is often cited – though there are extant reviews from other non-professional performances given elsewhere earlier in the year – as the earliest amateur performance of a Gilbert and Sullivan work.

The collection includes programmes from the following venues:
47 Sloane Street; Public Hall, Reigate; Oaklands Park Hotel; Freemasons’ Hall [London]; Vauxhall Club and Institute; Kew Instructional Institute; St. Peter’s School Room , Ebury Street; The Horns, Kennington Park; Totteridge Park Hotel; Town Hall, Bournmouth; Whitgift School; Boy’s school, 178 Ebury Street; St. James’s Norlands; Royal Academy of Music; Drill Hall, Kingston-upon-Thames; Addington School; Horns’ Assembly Rooms, Kennington; St. Peter’s, Eaton Square; St. Peter’s Schools, Lower Belgrave Street; Holy Trinity School-room, Sloane Street; Exeter House, Roehampton; Preston Hall [Aylesford]; Vestry Hall, Kensington; Westminster Abbey; Corn Exchange, Hertford; Infant school-room, Sloane Street; Grosvenor House; 77 Pavilion Road; Banqueting Room, Royal Pavilion, Brighton; Young Men’s Institute, Sloane Square; Grosvenor Hall, Buckingham Palace Road; Star and Garter Hotel, Richmond; St. Mary’s National Schools, Lewisham; Lammas hall, Old Battersea; Corn Exchange, Kettering; Public Baths and Washhouses, Rotherhithe; Bolingbroke Hall, Battersea Rise; Albert Institute, Windsor; Charterhouse;
Castle Hotel [Richmond]; Bow and Bromley Institute, Bow; Borough Hall, Guildford; Cannon Street Hotel; St. James’s Hall; Weybridge Village Hall, Weybridge Green; St. James-the-less, Westminster; Farnham Castle; Masonic Hall, Camberwell New Road; Soho Club for Working Girls, Soho; Eton Mission Room, Mallard Street; St. Andrew’s Hall, Newman Street, Oxford Street; National school rooms, Lewisham Town hall, Poplar; Royal Consumptive Hospital, City Road; Normansfield, Hampton Wick; Town hall, Bermondsey; St. Pancras Vestry Hall, St. Pancras Road; St. Augustine’s Church Room, Queen’s Gate; Prince’s Hall, Piccadilly; 66 Queen’s Gate; 22 Portman Square; Barham House, St. Leonards [Sussex]; Corn Exchange, Dorchester; Westminster Town Hall; Burdett-Coutts Hall, Vincent Square, Westminster; Board School-Room, Tingewick; Holy Trinity Higher Grade School, Upper Chelsea; St. Peter’s Schools, Eaton Square; Parish hall, Upper Chelsea; Town Hall, Chelsea; New Town Hall, Teddington [Richmond-upon-Thames?]; Great Assembly Hall, Mile End Road; Parish Room [Teddington]; People’s Palace; Shalford Village Hall.

In addition, the collection contains programmes from the following venues, where the name of the venue is known but the geographic location is unknown:

Cromwell House; Mission Hall; St. Andrew’s home and club; Downshire House; Parish hall, Pavilion Road; Fern Bank, East Sheen; Town Hall; Claremont Rooms; Goldings; Trinity Church Room; Tile House.

There are also programmes from unknown venues, where either the organising body or overall concert series is known:

St. Peter’s Festival; St. Peter’s Temperance Guild; Ecchinswell Concerts.

There are also a number or programmes where no venue information is given.

Arrangement:
The programmes are arranged chronologically.

Format

Date range of collection

1878 - 1887

Accumulation Dates

Suggested Audience

Not Specific

Associated People or Organisations

Associated Places

Associated Times

19th century - late Victorian 1876-1899

This collection is about

Location Details

Royal College Of Music, Centre for Performance History

College Hall 220-238 Goldhawk Road London W12 9PL

Open Map

Website

http://www.cph.rcm.ac.uk

portraits@rcm.ac.uk

Telephone

020 7591 4340

Fax

020 7589 7740

Visiting Information

Mon-Fri by appointment

Research access by appointment only. Researchers will be provided with Collection Regulations, and will be asked to complete a Researcher Registration Form (copies are available on the CPH website)

Building Information

The Portraits and Performance History Collection and its associated reading room is housed in a recently adapted space within the RCM's College Hall, its hall of residence for students. There is step-free access for visitors.

Collections Overview

The Centre for Performance History (CPH) is a research centre and is also responsible for the stewardship of two well-established RCM research collections, the Museum of Instruments and the Portraits and Performance History Collection (PPHC). The latter houses a diverse collection relating to the history of performance including the RCM’s internationally famous collection of images, comprising 340 original portraits and sculptures and 25,000 prints and photographs, forming the most comprehensive archive of likenesses of musicians in the UK. The collection of 600,000 concert programmes from 1720 to the present day is of major importance for research into the history of music, society and culture.

For details of other collections held at the same location: See the location record

Additional Collection Information

Accrual Status

Open

Related Publications

Management Information (Type)

Collection Owner(s)

Collection Creator(s)

Collection Collector(s)

Collection Custodians(s)

Associated Collection(s)