St Martin's Hall
| 1847 St Martin's Hall 1850 St Martin's Music Hall 1867 New Queen's Theatre 1868 Queen's Theatre Queen's Theatre of Varieties 1877 National Theatre |
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| Address |
Long Acre, Covent Garden Camden, London |
|---|---|
| Coordinates | 51°30′47″N 0°07′27″W / 51.513028°N 0.12425°W |
| Owner | John Hullah |
| Designation | Demolished |
| Type | Lecture hall, concert rooms, Theatre, Variety theatre |
| Capacity | 1850 3,000 seated 1867 4,000 seated |
| Current use | Block of flats (on site) |
| Construction | |
| Rebuilt | 1862 unknown 1867 C. J. Phipps |
| Years active | 1847–1878 |
| Architect | Richard Westmacott |
The Queen's Theatre in London was established in 1867 as a theatre on the site of St Martin's Hall, a large concert room that had opened in 1850. It stood on the corner of Long Acre (formerly Charles Street) and Endell Street, with entrances in Wilson Street and Long Acre. The site is within the modern Camden, part of Covent Garden.
St Martin's Hall contained a 3,000-seat main hall and a 500-seat lecture hall. It was used for musical recitals, lectures and political meetings. The Queen's Theatre, one of the largest in London, had a capacity of 4,000 seats. The theatre closed after barely more than a decade, in 1878.
The name Queen's Theatre has been used for other theatres in central London, including the Queen's Theatre, Dorset Garden (from 1685 to 1705), Her Majesty's Theatre (from 1705 to 1714), Scala Theatre (during the period 1831–1865) and the modern Queen's Theatre in Shaftesbury Avenue (since 1907).
St Martin's Hall was built for John Hullah, in 1847, by William Cubitt, from a design by Richard Westmacott. The scheme was financed by subscription and it was built on a parallelogram of land, 149 feet (45.4 m) by 61 feet (18.6 m) wide, connected to a plot on Long Acre (44 feet (13.4 m) by 22 feet (6.7 m)); and consisted of a main hall with connected anterooms, galleries and a 500–seat lecture hall. It was built in the Elizabethan style, with a large domed iron roof. The music hall was capable of seating 3,000 persons and was opened in 1850 by Hullah, the founder of a new "school of choral harmony". In addition to his singing classes, Hullah directed oratorios and concerts, both instrumental and vocal, at the hall. The hall was then used for musical recitals, lectures and political meetings.
The German Reed Entertainments were initially presented here in 1855 – known as "Miss P. Horton's Illustrative Gatherings" – before moving to the more intimate Gallery of Illustration and later St George's Hall.Charles Dickens first appeared as a public lecturer in St Martin's Hall, in April, 1858, speaking on behalf of the Hospital for Sick Children, in Great Ormond Street. A week or two later, he spoke on his own account.
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