A Dictionary of Music and Musicians/Hanover Square Rooms

by William H. Husk

HANOVER SQUARE ROOMS. In 1773 a piece of ground on the east side of Hanover Square at the north-west corner of Hanover Street, formerly part of a field called the Mill Field, alias Kirkham Close, and described as 'containing in breadth from north to south in the front next the Square as well as in the rear 40 feet of assize, more or less, and in depth from west to east on the north side as well as on the south, 135 feet more or less,' was occupied by a house, garden, and office, then in the occupation of Lord Dillon. The freehold belonged to the Earl of Plymouth. On June 28, 1774, Lord Plymouth sold the freehold for £5000^[1] to Viscount Wenman, who on the same day conveyed the whole to Giovanni Andrea ^[2]Gallini, John Christian Bach, and Charles Frederick Abel. Gallini owned one-half, and the others each one fourth. They erected on the site of the garden and office, and joining on to the house, rooms for the purposes of concerts, assemblies, etc., consisting of a principal room, 95 ft. by 35, on the level of the first floor; a small room on the north side, originally used as a tea-room; and one on the ground floor beneath the principal room. The ceiling of the principal room was arched, and decorated with paintings by Cipriani. The orchestra stood at the east end. The rooms were opened on Feb. 1, 1775, with one of Bach and Abel's Subscription Concerts, established by them in 1763: later in the month Subscription 'Festinos' were announced; on May 4, 'Mr. Gallini's Annual Ball,' and on May 22, the first 'Grand Subscription Masquerade. On Nov. 12, 1776, Gallini purchased the shares of Bach and Abel, and became sole proprietor. Bach and Abel's concerts continued to be held there until 1782, when the withdrawal by Lord Abingdon of the pecuniary aid he had theretofore given, led to their discontinuance. Thereupon some professors of music established similar concerts under the name of ' The Professional Concert,' which were given in the room from 1783 to 1793. In 1786 Salomon, the violinist, piqued at being left out of the Professional Concert, established concerts here, at which in 1791 and 1792, and again in 1794 and 1795, Haydn directed the performance of his 12 grand' symphonies. At the 8th concert in 1792, 'Master Hummel' played a concerto on the pianoforte [App. p.666 "for details of the concert see vol. ii. p.396a note 1"], and in 1796 John Braham was introduced to the public as a tenor singer. In 1804 the Concert of Ancient Music was removed to these rooms, the Directors having taken a lease from Gallini at a rental of £1000 per annum, and they continued to be held here until 1848, the last year of their existence. The Directors made considerable alterations; the orchestra was removed to the west end, three boxes were erected across the east end for the royal family and their attendants, and the rooms were newly fitted up in a splendid manner. On the death of Gallini (Jan. 5, 1805), the freehold passed to his two nieces, who leased the rooms to Wallace and Martin, and Martin and Son successively. In December 1832 alterations were made in the great room by the enlargement of the windows so as to render it available for morning concerts; and many mirrors were introduced. The concerts of the Vocal Society were given in these rooms from its foundation in 1832 to its dissolution in 1837. A new Vocal Society gave concerts here in 1838, but its existence was of very brief duration. In 1833 the concerts of the Philharmonic Society were removed here from the Concert Room of the King's Theatre, and continued here until their departure to St. James's Hall in 1866 [App. p.666 "1869"]. Both the Misses Gallini dying in 1845, the freehold was sold by auction to Robert Cocks, the music publisher, under whom the younger Martin held it by lease until December 1861. Extensive alterations and decorations were then made in the rooms, which were re-opened Jan. 8, 1862, by Mr. Henry Leslie's Choir; the concerts of the Royal Academy of Music were also removed there. The annual performance of Handel's 'Messiah' for the benefit of the Royal Society of Musicians was given there from 1785 to 1848, after which it was given first at Exeter Hall, and afterwards at St. James's Hall. In 1874 the premises were let on lease for the purpose of being converted into a club house. The last concert was given in the rooms on Saturday, Dec. 19, 1874, and the building, after undergoing an entire transformation, was opened early in 1876 as 'The Hanover Square Club.' It must not be omitted to be mentioned that the great room was remarkable for its excellent acoustic properties.

[ W. H. H. ]

1. Being at the rate of very nearly 1l. per square foot of ground.
2. Gallini was a Swiss of Italian extraction, who had taught the children of George III to dance, and amassed a fortune, became manager of the Opera-house (1778), was knighted as Sir John Gallini, and married a daughter of the Earl of Abingdon.