Editing Royal Albert Hall (section)

===1800s===
In 1851, the [[Great Exhibition]], organised by [[Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha|Prince Albert, the Prince Consort]], was held in [[Hyde Park, London|Hyde Park]], London. The Exhibition was a success and led Prince Albert to propose the creation of a group of permanent facilities for the public benefit, which came to be known as [[Albertopolis]]. The [[Royal Commission for the Exhibition of 1851|Exhibition's Royal Commission]] bought [[Gore House]], but it was slow to act, and in 1861 Prince Albert died without having seen his ideas come to fruition. However, a memorial was proposed for Hyde Park, with a Great Hall opposite.<ref name="CL">{{cite news|url=https://secure.countrylife.co.uk/architecture/the-royal-albert-hall-although-it-has-never-really-answered-its-founding-purposes-it-has-been-a-triumphant-success-224834|title=The Royal Albert Hall: A 19th-century marvel that 'has lost none of its power to amaze'|author=John Goodall|work=[[Country Life (magazine)|Country Life]]|date=4 April 2021|access-date=6 April 2021|archive-date=17 April 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210417072712/https://secure.countrylife.co.uk/architecture/the-royal-albert-hall-although-it-has-never-really-answered-its-founding-purposes-it-has-been-a-triumphant-success-224834|url-status=live}}</ref>

The proposal was approved, and the site was purchased with some of the profits from the Exhibition. The Hall was designed by civil engineers [[Captain Francis Fowke]] and [[Henry Young Darracott Scott|Major-General Henry Y. D. Scott]] of the [[Royal Engineers]] and built by [[Lucas Brothers (company)|Lucas Brothers]].<ref name="Lucas">{{cite ODNB| title=Charles Lucas| url=http://www.oxforddnb.com/view/article/49439 | date=January 2008| doi=10.1093/ref:odnb/49439 | access-date=17 June 2011}}</ref> The designers were heavily influenced by ancient [[amphitheatre]]s but had also been exposed to the ideas of [[Gottfried Semper]] while he was working at the [[South Kensington Museum]].<ref name="CL"/> The recently opened ''[[Cirque d'Hiver]]'' in Paris was seen in the contemporary press as the design to outdo.{{citation needed|date=April 2021}} The Hall was constructed mainly of [[Fareham Red]] brick, with [[terra cotta]] block decoration made by [[Gibbs and Canning]] of [[Tamworth, Staffordshire|Tamworth]].<ref>{{cite book|author=Gervase Wheeler|title=The Choice of a Dwelling: A Practical Handbook of Useful Information on All Points Connected with Hiring, Buying, Or Building a House, with Its Stables and Garden-outbuildings|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Hn5mAAAAMAAJ&pg=PA40|year=1871|publisher=J. Murray|pages=40}}</ref><ref name="CL"/>

The dome (designed by [[Rowland Mason Ordish]]) was made of wrought iron and glazed. There was a trial assembly of the dome's iron framework in [[Manchester]]; then it was taken apart again and transported to London by horse and cart. When the time came for the supporting structure to be removed from the dome after reassembly ''in situ'', only volunteers remained on site in case the structure collapsed. It did drop – but only by {{convert|5/16|inch|mm|spell=in|adj=pre|of an}}.<ref>Engineering Timelines: [http://www.engineering-timelines.com/scripts/engineeringItem.asp?id=109 Royal Albert Hall] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130510212848/http://www.engineering-timelines.com/scripts/engineeringItem.asp?id=109 |date=10 May 2013 }}</ref> The Hall was scheduled to be completed by Christmas Day 1870, and the Queen visited a few weeks beforehand to inspect.<ref>Michael Forsyth (1985). "Buildings for Music: The Architect, the Musician, and the Listener from the Seventeenth Century to the Present Day" p. 158.</ref>

[[File:RAH Grand Opening by Queen Victoria 29 March 1871 The Graphic.jpg|thumb|right|The first performance at the Hall. The decorated canvas awning is seen beneath the dome.]]
The official opening ceremony of the Hall was on 29 March 1871. This had originally been scheduled for 1 May, the twentieth anniversary of the opening of the Great Exhibition, but was brought forward at the request of Queen Victoria.<ref name="CL"/> A welcoming speech was given by [[Edward VII of the United Kingdom|Edward, the Prince of Wales]] because the Queen was too overcome to speak; "her only recorded comment on the Hall was that it reminded her of the [[British constitution]]".<ref name="building">{{cite web| title=The Building| url=http://www.royalalberthall.com/uploadedFiles/About_The_Hall/assets/History_of_the_Royal_Albert_Hall.pdf| publisher=Royal Albert Hall| access-date=17 June 2011| url-status=dead| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110626222518/http://www.royalalberthall.com/uploadedFiles/About_The_Hall/assets/History_of_the_Royal_Albert_Hall.pdf| archive-date=26 June 2011| df=dmy-all}}</ref>

The composer, organist, and choir conductor [[William Carter (composer)|William Carter]] founded and directed a choir specifically for the opening of Royal Albert Hall.<ref>{{cite encyclopedia|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=WSLUAwAAQBAJ&dq=%22William+Carter%22+1838+composer&pg=PA59|title=Carter, William (1838 – ?)|encyclopedia=Dictionary of composers for the Church in Great Britain and Ireland|author=Maggie Humphreys, Robert C. Evans|page=59|year=1997|publisher=[[Bloomsbury Academic]]|isbn=9780720123302|access-date=12 November 2023|archive-date=12 November 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231112144416/https://books.google.com/books?id=WSLUAwAAQBAJ&dq=%22William+Carter%22+1838+composer&pg=PA59|url-status=live}}</ref> In the concert that followed, the Hall's acoustic problems immediately became apparent. Engineers first tried to remove the strong echo by suspending a canvas awning below the dome. This helped and also sheltered concert-goers from the sun, but the problem was not solved: it used to be jokingly said the Hall was "the only place where a British composer could be sure of hearing his work twice".<ref>{{cite book |last1=Gascoigne |first1=Bamber |title=Encyclopedia of Britain |date=1993 |publisher=Macmillan |location=New York |isbn=0028971426 |page=17 |ol=1394629M |edition=2 |url=https://openlibrary.org/books/OL1394629M/Encyclopedia_of_Britain |access-date=17 January 2023 |archive-date=17 January 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230117183042/https://openlibrary.org/books/OL1394629M/Encyclopedia_of_Britain |url-status=live }}</ref>

In July 1871, French organist [[Camille Saint-Saëns]] performed ''Church Scene'' from ''[[Faust (opera)|Faust]]'' by [[Charles Gounod]]; ''The Orchestra'' described his performance as "an exceptional and distinguished performer ... the effect was most marvellous."<ref>{{cite book |last1=Smith |first1=Rollin |title=Saint-Saëns and the Organ |date=1992 |publisher=Pendragon Press |location=Stuyvesant, New York |isbn=9780945193142 |page=101 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=9rZzGPqNcXcC |access-date=17 January 2023}}</ref>

Initially [[Gas lighting|lit by gas]], the Hall contained a special system by which thousands of gas jets were lit within ten seconds. Though it was demonstrated as early as 1873 in the Hall,<ref name="timeline">{{cite web| title=Timeline| url=http://www.royalalberthall.com/about/history-and-archives/timeline-detail.aspx| publisher=Royal Albert Hall| access-date=17 June 2011| archive-date=15 July 2011| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110715205608/http://www.royalalberthall.com/about/history-and-archives/timeline-detail.aspx| url-status=live}}</ref> full [[electric lighting]] was not installed until 1888.<ref name="building"/> During an early trial when a partial installation was made, one disgruntled patron wrote to ''[[The Times]]'', declaring it to be "a very ghastly and unpleasant innovation".<ref>{{cite news |last1=Seat-Holder |first1=A |title=Electric Lighting At The Royal Albert-Hall |work=The Times |issue=29523 |date=24 March 1879}}</ref>

In May 1877, [[Richard Wagner]] himself conducted the first half of each of the eight concerts which made up the Grand Wagner Festival. After his turn with the baton, he handed it over to conductor [[Hans Richter (conductor)|Hans Richter]] and sat in a large armchair on the corner of the stage for the rest of each concert. Wagner's wife [[Cosima Wagner|Cosima]], the daughter of Hungarian virtuoso pianist and composer [[Franz Liszt]], was among the audience.{{citation needed|date=March 2021}}

The [[Wine Society]] was founded at the Hall on 4 August 1874,<ref>Edmund Penning-Rowsell, ''A Short History of The Wine Society'', 1989.{{where|date=September 2010}}</ref> after large quantities of cask wine were found in the cellars. A series of lunches were held to publicise the wines, and General Henry Scott proposed a co-operative company to buy and sell wines.<ref name="Wine Society">{{cite web| title=History of the Society| url=http://www.thewinesociety.com/history-of-the-society| publisher=The Wine Society| access-date=17 November 2015| archive-date=18 November 2015| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151118210153/http://www.thewinesociety.com/history-of-the-society| url-status=live}}</ref>