Created 26-Feb-16
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William Webster
Blackheath Concert Hall was the inspiration of a small group of local mostly amateur artists and musicians who founded the Conservatoire in 1881, the Blackheath Art Club and The School of Art. Led by William Webster, a scientist and talented amateur painter/musician, the Group obtained the corner site of Lee Road and Blackheath Park. It was originally a row of cottages - Park Place - and owned by the Cator Family, with leases due to expire. Residents not keen on moving were compensated. The site provided enough space for a new Conservatoire of Music and a School of Art.
To pay for the new hall Webster floated a new company - The Blackheath Concert Hall Company Ltd - in 1893 with an initial share capital of £11,500 in £5 shares.
Many leading Blackheath families subscribed immediately and designs by architects James Edmeston and Edward Gabriel achieved the necessary licences from the London County Council. Clearance of the site started in 1894. The Hall was built by J. O. Richardson, of Peckham, with final costs (including furniture and pictures) of £11,500.
The Blackheath Concert hall was opened officially by Lord Hugh Cecil (the MP for Greenwich) on 26th October 1895 and the first public performance was of Gilbert and Sullivan's HMS Pinafore by the Blackheath Amateur Operatic Society conducted by George Mackern on 29th October 1895.
From the outset the Concert Hall was a success and after some minor alterations was blessed with an outstanding acoustic. It became the performing base for the Blackheath Dramatic Club and the Blackheath Amateur Operatic Society. Until 1914 there were many large-scale concerts, performed by distinguished musicians of international reputation.
Blackheath Concert Hall was the inspiration of a small group of local mostly amateur artists and musicians who founded the Conservatoire in 1881, the Blackheath Art Club and The School of Art. Led by William Webster, a scientist and talented amateur painter/musician, the Group obtained the corner site of Lee Road and Blackheath Park. It was originally a row of cottages - Park Place - and owned by the Cator Family, with leases due to expire. Residents not keen on moving were compensated. The site provided enough space for a new Conservatoire of Music and a School of Art.
To pay for the new hall Webster floated a new company - The Blackheath Concert Hall Company Ltd - in 1893 with an initial share capital of £11,500 in £5 shares.
Many leading Blackheath families subscribed immediately and designs by architects James Edmeston and Edward Gabriel achieved the necessary licences from the London County Council. Clearance of the site started in 1894. The Hall was built by J. O. Richardson, of Peckham, with final costs (including furniture and pictures) of £11,500.
The Blackheath Concert hall was opened officially by Lord Hugh Cecil (the MP for Greenwich) on 26th October 1895 and the first public performance was of Gilbert and Sullivan's HMS Pinafore by the Blackheath Amateur Operatic Society conducted by George Mackern on 29th October 1895.
From the outset the Concert Hall was a success and after some minor alterations was blessed with an outstanding acoustic. It became the performing base for the Blackheath Dramatic Club and the Blackheath Amateur Operatic Society. Until 1914 there were many large-scale concerts, performed by distinguished musicians of international reputation.
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© The Blackheath Society
The Old Bakehouse
11 Blackheath Village
Blackheath
London
SE3 9LA
United Kingdom
11 Blackheath Village
Blackheath
London
SE3 9LA
United Kingdom
+4420 8297 1937
+44 7982727676