Holywell Music Room

The Holywell Music Room, which is part of Wadham College, Oxford, was one of the earliest purpose built concert venues in the world and the first in Europe.{{Cite book |url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/1314382566 |title=Music : the definitive visual history. |date=2022 |isbn=978-0-241-55902-4 |location=London |oclc=1314382566 |last1=(Corp) |first1=Dorling Kindersley }} Prior to the advent of concert halls, recitals would happen at private aristocratic venues, royal courts, or in churches.{{cite news |last1=Moore |first1=Gillian |title=A tale of two cités: can the Philharmonie de Paris bridge the social divide? |url=https://www.theguardian.com/music/2014/dec/12/tale-of-two-cites-philharmonie-de-paris-social-divide |accessdate=22 March 2020 |work=The Guardian |date=12 December 2014}}

It was built in 1748, probably under the direction of William Hayes{{cite news |title=Exploring Wadham's Holywell Music Room |url=https://www.wadham.ox.ac.uk/news/2017/february/holywell-music-room |accessdate=22 March 2020 |work=Wadham College University of Oxford |date=21 February 2017 |archive-date=13 January 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190113055309/https://www.wadham.ox.ac.uk/news/2017/february/holywell-music-room |url-status=dead }} and it was designed by Dr Thomas Camplin, the vice-principal of St Edmund Hall.{{cite book | title=Oxford: An architectural guide|author=Tyack, Geoffrey |year=1998| publisher=Oxford University Press | pages=187–188 | isbn=978-0-14-071045-8}} The venue was important for popularizing the music of Haydn in 18th century England. He was the most frequently performed composer during 1788–1791; at short notice he was unable to attend a planned visit to the venue while in Oxford in 1791.{{cite journal|title=HAYDN AT OXFORD: 1773—1791 |last1=HUGHES|first1=ROSEMARY S|journal=Music and Letters|date=1939|volume=XX (3)|issue=3|pages=242–249|doi=10.1093/ml/XX.3.242}}{{cite book|last1=Mee|first1=John H.|title=The oldest music room in Europe : a record of eighteenth-century enterprise at Oxford|url=https://archive.org/details/cu31924022156768|date=1911|publisher=John Lane|location=London|pages=[https://archive.org/details/cu31924022156768/page/n194 133]–135}}

By 1836, the building was being used for purposes beyond concerts, including auctions and exhibitions. During the 1870s, the Oxford Philharmonic Society would give weekly concerts. In 1910, the building was leased by the Oxford University Musical Union, and John Henry Mee wrote his essay The Oldest Music Room in Europe the following year. The building was Grade II* listed in 1954,{{NHLE |num=1047232 |accessdate=9 October 2009}}{{cite web |title=Holywell Music Room A Grade II* Listed Building in Oxford, Oxfordshire |url=https://britishlistedbuildings.co.uk/101047232-holywell-music-room-oxford#.XneQa6j7TIU |website=British Listed Buildings |accessdate=22 March 2020}} and in 1959 it was restored.{{cite web |title=Holywell Music Room |url=https://www.oxfordplayhouse.com/venues/holywell-music-room/ |website=Oxford Play House |accessdate=22 March 2020 |archive-date=22 March 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200322161820/https://www.oxfordplayhouse.com/venues/holywell-music-room/ |url-status=dead }}

The building cost £1,263 and 10s, equivalent to approximately £2.5 million in 2018,Comparing labour costs between 1748 and 2018, £1,263 and 10s is valued at approximately £2,425,000.00 by [http://www.measuringworth.com/ukcompare/ MeasuringWorth.com] and included chandeliers that had previously been hung in Westminster Hall for the Coronation of George IV and were subsequently donated to Wadham College.{{cite web |last1=Jenkins |first1=Stephanie |title=Holywell Music Room, 34 Holywell Street |url=http://www.oxfordhistory.org.uk/holywell/north/034_music_room.html |website=Oxford History |accessdate=22 March 2020}} The building was funded by public subscription. The auditorium seats 200, includes an organ, which likely dates from the 1800s and originated in Holland. The room is the venue for a wide variety of music performances.

File:Holywell Music Room YSC.jpg|A singer and her accompanist competing in the final round of Bampton Classical Opera's Young Singers' Competition in December 2021 in the Holywell Music Room

File:KillMurray play Oxford's Holywell Music Room.jpg|A youth band playing in the Room

File:Holywell Room string quartet.jpg|A string quartet playing chamber music in the Room

• Sheldonian Theatre
• Jacqueline Du Pré Music Building
• Bodleian Library
• Oxford Chamber Music Society

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• {{cite book |last1=Mee |first1=John Henry |title=The oldest music room in Europe : a record of eighteenth-century enterprise at Oxford |date=1911 |publisher=John Lane Company |location=London |url=https://archive.org/details/cu31924022156768/page/n177/mode/2up |accessdate=22 March 2020 |language=English}}
• [https://www.music.ox.ac.uk/about/facilities/holywell-music-room/ University of Oxford Faculty of Music] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210316145407/http://www.music.ox.ac.uk/about/facilities/holywell-music-room/ |date=2021-03-16 }}
• [http://www.myspace.com/pindropperformances Pindrop Performances]
• [https://oxfordchambermusic.org Oxford Chamber Music Society]
• [https://web.archive.org/web/20100221193525/http://www.coffeeconcerts.com/holywellmusicroom.php Oxford Coffee Concerts]
• [http://www.jackgibbons.com/oxfordconcerts.htm Jack Gibbons concerts in Oxford]
• [http://www.dailyinfo.co.uk/guide/visit/holywellmusicroom.html Information] from Daily Information
• [https://web.archive.org/web/20090202073649/http://holywellfund.org/ Appeal for the extension and renovation of the Holywell Music Room]

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Category:Music venues completed in 1748

Category:Music venues in Oxfordshire

Category:Concert halls in England