St Cecilia's Hall
Established | 1763 |
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Location | Edinburgh, Scotland |
Coordinates | 55°56′57″N 3°11′11″W / 55.94903°N 3.18649°W |
Type | Music museum, concert hall |
Collections |
|
Architect | Robert Mylne |
Owner | University of Edinburgh |
Website | www |
Listed Building – Category A | |
Designated | 14 December 1970 |
Reference no. | LB27760 |
St Cecilia's Hall is a small
The hall belongs to the University of Edinburgh, and houses part of the university's collection of musical instruments, including the Russell Collection and the collections of Rodger Mirrey and Anne Macaulay. It is used for a classical chamber music concerts and, during summer, as a venue of the Edinburgh International Festival.[2]
History
St Cecilia's Hall was originally commissioned by the Edinburgh Musical Society (EMS) and designed by the Scottish architect Robert Mylne, who also designed Blackfriars Bridge in London. The EMS was founded in 1728, and for its first 35 years its members met in the upper hall of St Mary's Chapel, a small church that formerly stood to the north of the present hall. In December 1763, after completion of Mylne's new hall, the EMS held an inaugural concert in honour of Saint Cecilia, patron saint of musicians.[3]
St Cecilia's was the first purpose-built concert hall in Scotland when it was completed in 1763, not far behind the first in Europe, the Holywell Music Room in Oxford, built in 1748. Mylne designed the building with an oval concert hall on the first floor level with a rehearsal room on the ground floor. Originally, the main entrance opened out to a small courtyard off Niddry's Wynd, and a portico was added to the entrance around 1787.[3]
In 1785 the City of Edinburgh commenced a major civil engineering project — the construction of
On 16 October 1821, St. Cecilia's Hall became the site of the Edinburgh School of Arts, now Heriot-Watt University, first lecture in chemistry. It was then home to classes between 1821 and 1837 when the institution moved to Adam Square.[5]
The building was later used as a
Architecture
The exterior is in plain
In 2016, St Cecilia's Hall underwent a £6.5m restoration and renovation in order to improve the concert hall and museum facilities. The project was partly funded by the
Music museum
As well as a concert venue, St Cecilia's Hall houses a musical instrument museum which is open to visitors from Tuesday to Saturday. It is one of two branches of the university's collection of
The museum holds more than 500 instruments and has an active programme of conservation and restoration. The collections include
In 1967, a
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The Russell Collection
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Wind and string instruments
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Brass instruments
See also
References
- ^ a b "University of Edinburgh, St Cecilia's Hall, Niddry Street and Cowgate, Edinburgh". Historic Environment Scotland. Archived from the original on 8 March 2018. Retrieved 8 March 2018.
- ^ "International Festival venues: St Cecilia's Hall". Edinburgh International Festival. 7 March 2018. Archived from the original on 8 March 2018. Retrieved 8 March 2018.
- ^ a b c "ST CECILIA'S HALL Niddry Street, Edinburgh Conservation Plan" (PDF). Simpson & Brown Architects. December 2009. Archived (PDF) from the original on 16 March 2018. Retrieved 16 March 2018.
- ^ a b "A Brief History of St Cecilia's Hall". University of Edinburgh.
- ^ "The Edinburgh School of Arts". Heriot-Watt University. Retrieved 3 March 2021.
- ^ Edinburgh, Niddry Street, St Cecilia's Hall. Canmore: National Record of the Historic Environment. Historic Environment Scotland. Accessed March 2018.
- ^ "Sypert Concert Room". St Cecilia's Hall. University of Edinburgh. Retrieved 8 March 2018.
- ^ "St. Cecilia's Hall: Invitation to Opening, Unpaginated". images.is.ed.ac.uk. Retrieved 16 August 2023.
- ^ "St Cecilia's Hall Redevelopment Project". University of Edinburgh. 2016. Archived from the original on 17 May 2017. Retrieved 8 March 2018.
- ^ "St. Cecilia's Hall". Edinburgh Guide. Archived from the original on 8 March 2018. Retrieved 8 March 2018.
- ^ "St Cecelia's Hall Musical Instruments Collection". collections.ed.ac.uk. University of Edinburgh. Archived from the original on 8 March 2018. Retrieved 8 March 2018.
- ^ "Edinburgh University Musical Instrument Museum, Restoration of the St Cecilia's Hall Chamber Organ". Goetze & Gwynn. Archived from the original on 8 March 2018. Retrieved 8 March 2018.