Queen's Hall, Edinburgh
The Queen's Hall | |
---|---|
Former names | Newington & St Leonard's Parish Church (1932–1976) Newington Parish Church (1834–1932) Hope Park Chapel (1824–1834) |
General information | |
Status | Active |
Architectural style | Neoclassical |
Location | Edinburgh, Scotland |
Address | 85-89 Clerk Street Edinburgh EH8 9JG |
Coordinates | 55°56′28.51″N 3°10′53.97″W / 55.9412528°N 3.1816583°W |
Named for | Elizabeth II |
Groundbreaking | 1823 |
Completed | 1824 |
Renovated | 1978–1979 |
Height | 35 metres (115 ft) |
Technical details | |
Floor count | 2 |
Design and construction | |
Architect(s) | Robert Brown |
Renovating team | |
Architect(s) | Larry Rolland |
Renovating firm | Robert Hurd & Partners |
Main contractor | Melville, Dundas & Whitson |
Listed Building – Category A | |
Official name | South Clerk Street, The Queen’s Hall |
Designated | 14 December 1970 |
Reference no. | LB27176 |
The Queen's Hall is a performance venue in the
Hope Park Chapel opened as a
The building was designed in the neoclassical style by Robert Brown and was adapted for use as a performance venue by Larry Rolland of Robert Hurd & Partners. It now has a capacity of up to 900. Notable features include two large, 18th-century boards displaying the Lord's Prayer, Creed, and Ten Commandments. It has been a Category A listed building since 14 December 1970.
Newington and St Leonard's Parish Church
Hope Park Chapel (1822−1834)
The south-eastern portion of the
The session launched an appeal to support a new chapel and, within eleven days, secured £630 in donations and almost £2,000 in loans. Despite initial difficulties in securing a site, a location on South Clerk Street with access to
The foundation stone was laid in 1823 and the church opened in 1824 as a chapel of ease within St Cuthbert's Parish with seats for 1,700.[3][4] When the church's first minister, Robert Gordon, left to become minister of the New North Church in 1825, one candidate to replace him was Edward Irving. Irving rejected the congregation's call but gave a series of morning lectures in the church in 1829.[5]
Newington Parish Church
In 1834, during the ministry of David Runciman, the chapel became the church of a parish
After Runciman's departure as minister of Newington Parish Church in 1844, the congregation was without a regular minister until 1859, when James Elder Cumming became minister and the parish's status was recognised by the
Mission and St Leonard's Parish Church
The parish covered the affluent villas and terraces of the
The church founded a school on Dalkeith Road, opposite Holyrood Park Road and supported a missionary hall in Causewayside until 1866.
The congregation also addressed its parish's growing population by contributing £1,500 towards the construction of a new church in
Reunion (1929–1976)
In 1929, the
In 1941, the Newington Social Union ceased operations and, in 1943, the missionary halls in Causewayside, which the church had let to Edinburgh Coroporation since 1931, were sold. The same year, a former café on Melville Terrace was purchased to serve as a youth centre.[12][25] In 1959, a restoration of the church under Ian Gordon Lindsay was completed.[26]
In the post-war period, the Southside's population continued to decline, as did the congregations of the area's churches. In 1967, the
Ministers
The following ministers served Hope Park Chapel (1824–1834); Newington Parish Church (1834–1932); and Newington and St Leonard's Parish Church (1932–1976):[19][6][29][25][30][28]
1824–1825 Robert Gordon
1826–1828 John Forbes
1829–1844 David Runciman
1859–1871 James Elder Cumming
1871–1898 John Alison
1898–1932 Hugh Cameron
1932–1940 William Liddle
1940–1956 Edwin Sprott Towill
1957–1976 Matthew Shields
The following ministers served St Leonard's Parish Church (1879–1932):[19][20][22]
1879–1903 Lewis Frederick Armitage
1904–1912 John Calder
1913–1932 William Liddle[b]
Queen's Hall
History
At the time of Newington and St Leonard's Parish Church's closure, the Scottish Baroque Ensemble, the Scottish Chamber Orchestra, and the Scottish Philharmonic Singers were in search of a permanent base. The Scottish Philharmonic Society commissioned architects Robert Hurd & Partners to draw up plans to convert the church into a concert hall. These were accepted by the City of Edinburgh Council over a rival proposal to convert the building into offices.[31]
On top of a provisional grant of £35,000 from the
Ahead of the hall's opening, the name The Queen's Hall was chosen to evoke Edinburgh's royal associations and to reference the memory London's Queen's Hall. Suggested names which included "Philharmonic" or which evoked the building's ecclesiastical history were discounted.[32]
The conversion of the hall was completed in time for its official opening by Elizabeth II on 6 July 1979.[32] Work on the building continued subsequent to its opening. Further works included the opening of the Canada Room in 1982, now known as the Tunnell Room; the addition of a mezzanine level to the former hall in 1991; and, in 1996, the installation of a piano lift, new lighting, and carpets along with the refurbishment of the seating.[33]
In August 2003, the hall launched an appeal for funds and announced in November of the same year that
Today
In March 2017, the hall announced it had secured a £650,000 Scottish Government grant towards a £3,000,000 renovation, which it aimed to have completed by the building's 200th anniversary in 2023.[39] In May that year, Mill Architects released plans to increase the flow of natural light to the interior while expanding the foyer and renovating seating.[40] By August 2018, completed works included the improvement of the bar areas and a restoration of the exterior. These works were supported by the Scottish Government and by Historic Environment Scotland.[41]
From 20 March 2020 to 22 August 2021, the hall was closed due to the COVID-19 pandemic: the longest closure in the venue's history.[42] In January 2021, the hall received money from Historic Environment Scotland's COVID-19 Recovery Fund to improve accessibility and to add new toilet facilities.[43]
The hall has hosted artists including
Building
The Queen's Hall was designed in the neoclassical style by Robert Brown. The building was listed as a Category A building on 14 December 1970.[45]
Exterior
The façade centres on an advanced section of three
A
The façade is finished in
George Hay noted similarities between the exterior of the Queen's Hall and those of St Bernard's, Stockbridge by James Milne, completed the same year; and St Mary's, Bellevue by Thomas Brown, completed the following year. These churches all possess similar steeples and pedimented façade.[50] The Buildings of Scotland guide to Edinburgh describes the hall as a "less extravagant" version of St Mary's.[46]
Interior
The auditorium is separated from the street by a round vestibule flanked by stair-halls. The auditorium itself is D-shaped and centers on the flat west wall, which includes two tall round-headed windows.
Alterations
In 1955, a restoration by Ian Gordon Lindsay was completed. This included the painting of the interior in bright pastel colours and the reordering of pews to create chapels beneath the galleries.[26] George Hay found similarity in the design to the "orthodox" rectangular layouts of St Bernard's, Stockbridge, and St Mary's, Bellevue.[50]
The building was significantly altered at its conversion to the Queen's Hall in 1978 and 1979 by Larry Rolland of Robert Hurd & Partners.[31] The Buildings of Scotland guide to Edinburgh describes the hall's secularisation as "particularly successful" relative to other converted churches in Edinburgh.[53]
In the auditorium, some pews were removed and others adapted. The removal of the 1873
Further work on ancillary buildings included the addition of a mezzanine level to the former hall in 1991 and the installation of a piano lift in 1996.[33]
Features
In 1949, the congregation accepted two 14-foot-tall (4.3 m) boards from
Prior to secularisation, the auditorium's focal point had been the original
Beneath the tondo stood a small pipe organ, created in 1809 by William Gray of London for a chapel at Costessey, Norfolk. This was moved to St Mary and St Walstan's Roman Catholic Church in Costessey in the early 20th century before being acquired by the Queen's Hall and rebuilt by Christopher Dickens in 1979. In 1992, the organ was acquired by the English Organ School in Milborne Port, Somerset.[60][61]
The original clock mechanism had failed by 1883 and was replaced. This mechanism was stolen around the time of the building's conversion and replaced by an electric mechanism.[54]
References
Notes
- ^ The Churches of Christ congregation was known as Dalkeith Road Church of Christ, then Dalkeith Road United Reformed Church when, like most other Churches of Christ in Britain, the congregation joined the United Reformed Church in 1981. In 1992, the United Reformed congregation merged with Augustine Congregational Church on George IV Bridge, forming Augustine United Church. Since that year, the former St Leonard's buildings have been used by the Society of Saint Pius X under the name St Margaret's and St Leonard's Catholic Church. The current congregation has also inherited two war memorial vases which, at their departure in 1932, the St Leonard's congregation gifted to the Church of Christ.[23][24]
- ^ Liddle became minister of the united charge of Newington and St Leonard's Parish Church.[19]
Citations
- ^ a b Burnett 1984, p. 1.
- ^ Sime 1829, pp. 172-173.
- ^ a b Grant 1880, ii p. 51.
- ^ a b c d Pinkerton 2012, p. 170.
- ^ Bell in Gray 1961, pp. 63-64.
- ^ a b Scott 1915, p. 86.
- ^ Ewing 1914, ii p. 7.
- ^ a b c Dunlop 1988, p. 480.
- ^ Pinkerton 2012, p. 129.
- ^ a b Burnett 1984, p. 5.
- ^ Smith 1979, ii p. 448.
- ^ a b Gray in Gray 1961, p. 82.
- ^ Towill 1953, p. 32.
- ^ Burnett 1984, p. 4.
- ^ Balfour 1900, p. 19.
- ^ Balfour 1900, p. 20.
- ^ Balfour 1900, p. 22.
- ^ Balfour 1900, pp. 23, 27-29.
- ^ a b c d Dunlop 1988, p. 481.
- ^ a b Scott 1915, p. 110.
- ^ a b Burnett 1984, p. 6.
- ^ a b Scott 1950, p. 21.
- ^ Pinkerton 2012, p. 172.
- ^ "History". latinmassedinburgh.com. Retrieved 21 December 2021.
- ^ a b Lamb 1961, p. 29.
- ^ a b Burnett 1984, p. 7.
- ^ Pinkerton 2012, p. 149.
- ^ a b MacDonald 2000, p. 15.
- ^ Scott 1950, p. 14.
- ^ MacDonald 1981, p. 18.
- ^ a b c Burnett 1984, p. 8.
- ^ a b c Burnett 1984, p. 10.
- ^ a b Stephen, Phyllis (6 July 2016). "Happy Birthday to The Queen's Hall – 37 years old today!". The Edinburgh Reporter. Retrieved 21 December 2021.
- ^ Halstead, Sam (4 November 2003). "Multi-million Queen's Hall revamp plan". Edinburgh Evening News. Edinburgh.
- ^ "Queen's Hall, Edinburgh: Feasibility Study". richardmurphyarchitects.com. Retrieved 9 July 2022.
- ^ Halstead, Sam (5 January 2004). "Queen's Hall plan attacked by critic". Edinburgh Evening News. Edinburgh.
- ^ Halstead, Sam (14 May 2004). "Queen's Hall at risk after plan ditched". Edinburgh Evening News. Edinburgh.
- ^ Cornwell, Tim (1 June 2006). "Queen's Hall faces closure in five years, council told". The Scotsman. Edinburgh.
- ^ a b "Future of Queen's Hall concert venue secured". The Scotsman. 9 March 2017. Retrieved 21 December 2021.
- ^ "Edinburgh's Queen's Hall unveils plans for £3m glass-fronted makeover". Scottish Construction Now. 19 May 2017. Retrieved 21 December 2021.
- ^ a b "SCAFFOLDING COMES DOWN AT LANDMARK MUSIC VENUE" (PDF). thequeenshall.net. 31 August 2018. Retrieved 21 December 2021.
- ^ "Our Story". thequeenshall.net. Retrieved 21 December 2021.
- ^ "The Queen's Hall receives Historic Environment Recovery funding". thequeenshall.net. 26 January 2021. Retrieved 21 December 2021.
- ^ "The Queen's Hall: Hall Specifications" (PDF). thqueenshall.net. January 2020. Retrieved 28 June 2022.
- ^ a b c d "SOUTH CLERK STREET, THE QUEEN'S HALL: LB27176". historicenvironment.scot. Retrieved 29 June 2022.
- ^ a b c d e f Gifford, McWilliam, Walker 1984, p. 243.
- ^ a b c d Lindsay 1948, p. 30.
- ^ Hay 1957, pp. 138, 176.
- ^ Thain 2019, p. 34.
- ^ a b c Hay in Gray 1962, p. 59.
- ^ McKean 1992, p. 75.
- ^ Stark 1825, p. 25.
- ^ Gifford, McWilliam, Walker 1984, p. 45.
- ^ a b Burnett 1984, p. 9.
- ^ Pinkerton 2012, p. 44.
- ^ Burnett 1984, pp. 6-7.
- ^ Hay 1957, p. 220.
- ^ Hay 1957, p. 188.
- ^ Burnett 1984, pp. 3, 9.
- ^ "Midlothian (Lothian) Edinburgh (NT262726), Queen's Hall, (-1976 Newington & St. Leonard (CoS); -1932 Newington), 87-89 Clerk Street, EH8 9JG (Public Hall)". npor.org.uk. Retrieved 29 June 2022.
- ^ Thistlethwaite 2020, p. xiii.
Bibliography
- Balfour, George D. (1900). St. Leonards and its Parish Church. John Wilson.
- Burnett, Rosemary (1984). The Story of the Queen's Hall. The Queen's Hall.
- Gifford, John; McWilliam, Colin; Walker, David (1984). Buildings of Scotland: Edinburgh. Penguin. ISBN 0300096720.
- Goodfellow, James (1906). The Print of his Shoe: Forty Years' Missionary Experience in the Southside of Edinburgh. Oliphant, Anderson & Ferrier.
- Gray, John G. (1961). The South Side Story. W.F. Knox & Co.
- Bell, Richard. "Edward Irving and Hope Park Chapel"
- Gray, John G.. "Causewayside"
- Hay, George. "Newington and other Neo-Classic Kirks"
- Hay, George (1957). The Architecture of Scottish Post-Reformation Churches: 1560 to 1843. Oxford University Press.
- Lamb, John Alexander (1961). Fasti Ecclesiae Scoticanae: The Succession of Ministers in the Church of Scotland from the Reformation: Volume IX: Ministers of the Church from the Union of the Churches, 2 October 1929, to 31 December 1954. Oliver and Boyd.
- Lindsay, Ian Gordon (1948). Georgian Edinburgh. Oliver and Boyd.
- MacDonald, Finlay Angus John (2000). Fasti Ecclesiae Scoticanae: The Succession of Ministers in the Church of Scotland from the Reformation: Volume XI: Ministers of the Church from 1 January 1976 to 30 September 1999. T&T Clark. ISBN 0567087506.
- MacDonald, Donald Farquhar MacLeod (1981). Fasti Ecclesiae Scoticanae: The Succession of Ministers in the Church of Scotland from the Reformation: Volume X: Ministers of the Church from 1 January 1955 to 31 December 1975. The Saint Andrew Press. ISBN 0715204955.
- McKean, Charles (1992). Edinburgh: An Illustrated Architectural Guide. Royal Incorporation of Architects in Scotland. ISBN 0950146242.
- Pinkerton, Roy M. (2012). Kirk o’ Field and the Churches of Edinburgh’s South Side. J Thomson Colour Printers.
- Scott, Hew
- Fasti Ecclesiae Scoticanae: The Succession of Ministers in the Church of Scotland from the Reformation (New Edition): Volume I: Synod of Lothian and Tweeddale. Oliver and Boyd. 1915.
- Fasti Ecclesiae Scoticanae: The Succession of Ministers in the Church of Scotland from the Reformation: Volume VIII: Ministers of the Church from the Date of Publication of Volumes I-VII, 1914-1928, to the Union of the Churches, 2 October 1929, and Addenda and Corrigenda 1960-1949. Oliver and Boyd. 1950.
- Sime, William (1829). History of the Church and Parish of St Cuthbert, or West Kirk of Edinburgh. Andrew Jack & Co.
- Smith, Charles J. (1979). Historic South Edinburgh. Charles Skilton.
- Stark, John (1825). Picture of Edinburgh: Containing a Description of the City and its Environs (4th ed.). John Fairbairn.
- Thain, Michael (2019). "South Side Conservation Area Character Appraisal". edinburgh.gov.uk. City of Edinburgh Council. Retrieved 5 December 2021.
- Thistlethwaite, Nicholas (2020). "Online Supplement: Work Lists and Supporting Documentation for Organ-Building in Georgian and Victorian England" (PDF). boydellandbrewer.com. Retrieved 5 December 2021.
- Towill, Edwin S. "The Minutes of the Trades Maiden Hospital". The Book of the Old Edinburgh Club. XXVIII: 1–44.
External links
- Queen's Hall
- Scottish Chamber Orchestra: The Queen's Hall
- Historic Environment Scotland: SOUTH CLERK STREET, THE QUEEN'S HALL: LB27176
- Canmore: Edinburgh, South Clerk Street, The Queen's Hall
- National Pipe Organ Register: Midlothian (Lothian) Edinburgh (NT262726), Queen's Hall, (-1976 Newington & St. Leonard (CoS); -1932 Newington), 87-89 Clerk Street, EH8 9JG (Public Hall)