Methodist Central Hall, Westminster

History

Methodist Central Hall was erected by Wesleyan Methodists as one of their mixed-purpose 'central halls'. Central Hall was to act not only as a church, but to be of "great service for conferences on religious, educational, scientific, philanthropic and social questions". The hall was built in 1905–1911 on the site of the Royal Aquarium, Music Hall and Imperial Theatre, an entertainment complex that operated with varying success from 1876 to 1903. Construction was funded between 1898 and 1908 by the "Wesleyan Methodist Twentieth Century Fund" (or the "Million Guinea Fund", as it became more commonly known), whose aim was to raise one million guineas from one million Methodists. The fund closed in 1904 having raised 1,024,501 guineas (£1,075,727). The project to establish the Million Guinea Fund, and build the Central Hall was the brainchild of Sir Robert William Perks (1849-1934).

The building played host to several important events; meetings of the suffragette movement took place at Methodist Central Hall in 1914. Scenes were re-enacted in the 2015 film Suffragette, some of which was shot in the hall.

Methodist Central Hall hosted the first session of the United Nations General Assembly in 1946. In return for the use of the hall, the assembly voted to fund the repainting of the walls of the church in a light blue. While it was being used by the UN General Assembly, the congregation relocated to the Coliseum Theatre.

It has been regularly used for political rallies—famous speakers have included Winnie Mandela, Mahatma Gandhi and Mikhail Gorbachev. In September 1972 the Conservative Monday Club held a much publicised "Halt Immigration Now!" public meeting in the main hall, addressed by several prominent speakers including members of parliament Ronald Bell, John Biggs-Davison, Harold Soref, and John Stokes. The Monday Club continued its use of the building until 1991 when it held two seminars there.

In 1968, Central Hall hosted the first public performance of Andrew Lloyd Webber's Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat in a concert that also included his father (organist William Lloyd Webber who was musical director at Central Hall), his brother the cellist Julian Lloyd Webber and pianist John Lill.

In early 1966 the FIFA World Cup Jules Rimet Trophy was on display at Central Hall in preparation for the football tournament being held in England that summer. It was stolen from the hall on 20 March 1966 and was recovered seven days later in south London, but the thief was never caught. England won the trophy four months later. The Jules Rimet Trophy was stolen again in Brazil and never recovered, and so had to be replaced.

In 2017, Central Hall was host to the first FIFA Interactive (a football-based computer game) World Cup Final, in which Spencer Ealing (known as Gorilla) beat Kai Wollin (known as DETO).

In 2005, Central Hall controversially applied for a licence to sell alcohol in its café and conference venues. As the Methodist Church has traditionally promoted abstinence and usually forbids consumption of alcohol on church premises, many Methodists argued that the application was in defiance of church rules and a written objection was compiled.

It is frequently used for public enquiries, including those into the Ladbroke Grove rail crash, the sinking of the Marchioness pleasure boat, and the Bloody Sunday incident in Northern Ireland.

Architecture

The Methodist Central Hall is a Grade II* listed building. It was designed by Edwin Alfred Rickards, of the firm Lanchester, Stewart and Rickards. This company also designed the City Hall building in Cathays Park, Cardiff, with which it shares many similarities. Although clad in an elaborate baroque style, to contrast with Westminster Abbey, it is an early example of the use of a reinforced concrete frame for a building in Britain. The interior was similarly planned on a Piranesian scale, although the execution was rather more economical.

The original 1904 design included two small towers on the main (east) façade, facing Westminster Abbey. These were never built, supposedly because of an outcry that they would reduce the dominance of Nicholas Hawksmoor's west towers at Westminster Abbey in views from St James's Park. The hall was eventually finished in 1911.

The domed ceiling of the Great Hall is reputed to be the second largest of its type in the world. The vast scale of the self-supporting ferro-concrete structure reflects the original intention that Central Hall was intended to be a meeting place for "open-air preaching with the roof on".

The angels in the exterior spandrels were designed by Henry Poole.

File:Methodist Central Hall Westminster - Great Hall Dome.jpg|Interior of the Great Hall, looking up into the dome File:Methodist Central Hall, Londres, Inglaterra, 2022-11-23, DD 61-63 HDR.jpg|Central Hall at night time File:Methodist Central Hall View from Roof.jpg|A view of London from the roof of Central Hall, looking to the east

Organ

The organ was built in 1912 by William Hill & Sons and rebuilt and revised in 1970 by Rushworth and Dreaper. In 2011, Harrison & Harrison revised the layout, provided new slider soundboards and actions and painted the front pipes. The organ has 57 stops/68 ranks and 3,789 speaking pipes on four manuals and pedal. The stoplist since 2011:

|}

• Couplers: III-I, IV-I, I-II, III-II, IV-II, IV-III, Sub and Super III, Sub and Super III, Unison off III, Unison off IV, I-P, II-P, III-P, IV-P.
• 8 General Combinations, 8 Divisional Combinations for each Manual and the Pedal (on 256 Memory Levels); Continental Stepper (General Piston Sequencer + and -).

References

References

1. (January 1876). "Our Timeline".
2. "Team".
3. "Organiser". Central Hall Westminster.
4. Wittich, John. (1988). "Churches, Cathedrals and Chapels". Gracewing Publishing.
5. "Background to the building". Central Hall Westminster.
6. See Chapter Seven of Denis Crane, The Life-Story of Sir R.W. Perks, Baronet, C.H. Kelly, London, 1909.
7. (2018-02-05). "#Votes100 – Suffragette Movement and Methodist Central Hall – Methodist Central Hall, Westminster". Methodist Central Hall, Westminster.
8. (January 1876). "Our Timeline".
9. (1996). "A Global Affair: An Inside Look at the United Nations". I.B.Tauris.
10. (2016-10-24). "United Nations Day 2016 – #UN71 – Methodist Central Hall, Westminster". Methodist Central Hall, Westminster.
11. ''Monday News'', Oct.1972 (Monday Club publication).
12. ''Sunday Times'', 14 January 1973
13. ''Monday Club News'', January 1992.
14. "Methodist Central Hall Westminster, Songs of Praise".
15. (January 1876). "Our Timeline".
16. "1966: Football's World Cup stolen". BBC.
17. (2017-11-07). "Central Hall Westminster provides backdrop for thrilling FIFA Interactive World Cup Final".
18. Eunice K. Y. Or. (23 May 2005). "Methodist HQ Alcohol License Application Sparks Abstinence Debate". [[Christianity Today]].
19. [http://www.c-h-w.com/visiting/ Group Travel] – Methodist Church Conference Cente Central Hall Westminster London UK
20. {{NHLE
21. Rob Humphreys. (2010). "The Rough Guide to London". Rough Guides UK.
22. "Historic Weddings Venue Central Hall Westminster London UK".
23. (2010). "Methodist Central Halls as Public Sacred Space". University of Manchester.
24. "Henry Poole RA – Mapping the Practice and Profession of Sculpture in Britain and Ireland 1851–1951".
25. [http://www.harrisonorgans.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/11/Westminster-Central-Hall.pdf Great Organ at Westminster Central Hall ]. www.harrisonorgans.com. Retrieved May 9, 2018.