The Royal Albert Hall
A Grade I listed building, it is a concert hall on the northern edge of South Kensington in London. It has a capacity of up to 5,272 seats. It is a registered charity held in trust for the nation and receives no public or government funding.
Since its opening by Queen Victoria in 1871, the world's leading artists from many performance genres have appeared on its stage and it has become one of the UK's most treasured and distinctive buildings. The location of some of the most notable events in British culture, each year it hosts more than 390 shows in the main auditorium, including classical, rock and pop concerts, ballet, opera, film screenings with live orchestra, sports, award ceremonies, school and community events, charity performances and banquets. A further 400 events are held each year in the non-auditorium spaces.
The Hall was originally supposed to have been called the Central Hall of Arts and Sciences, but the name was changed to the Royal Albert Hall of Arts and Sciences by Queen Victoria upon laying the Hall's foundation stone in 1867, in memory of her husband consort, Prince Albert who had died six years earlier. It forms the practical part of a memorial to the Prince Consort - the decorative part is the Albert Memorial directly to the north in Kensington Gardens, from in front of which I took this photograph.
The Hall is an ellipse in plan, with major and minor axes of 83m and 72m. The great glass and wrought-iron dome roofing the Hall is 41m high. The Hall was constructed mainly of Fareham Red brick, with terra cotta block decoration made by Gibbs and Canning Ltd of Tamworth. The great glass and wrought-iron dome (designed by Rowland Mason Ordish) on top is 41m high. The Hall was originally designed with a capacity for 8,000 people and has accommodated as many as 12,000 (although modern safety restrictions mean that the maximum permitted capacity is now 5,544 including standing in the Gallery).
Around the outside of the building is a great mosaic frieze, part of which can be seen above, depicting "The Triumph of Arts and Sciences", in reference to the Hall's dedication.
The Royal Albert Hall
A Grade I listed building, it is a concert hall on the northern edge of South Kensington in London. It has a capacity of up to 5,272 seats. It is a registered charity held in trust for the nation and receives no public or government funding.
Since its opening by Queen Victoria in 1871, the world's leading artists from many performance genres have appeared on its stage and it has become one of the UK's most treasured and distinctive buildings. The location of some of the most notable events in British culture, each year it hosts more than 390 shows in the main auditorium, including classical, rock and pop concerts, ballet, opera, film screenings with live orchestra, sports, award ceremonies, school and community events, charity performances and banquets. A further 400 events are held each year in the non-auditorium spaces.
The Hall was originally supposed to have been called the Central Hall of Arts and Sciences, but the name was changed to the Royal Albert Hall of Arts and Sciences by Queen Victoria upon laying the Hall's foundation stone in 1867, in memory of her husband consort, Prince Albert who had died six years earlier. It forms the practical part of a memorial to the Prince Consort - the decorative part is the Albert Memorial directly to the north in Kensington Gardens, from in front of which I took this photograph.
The Hall is an ellipse in plan, with major and minor axes of 83m and 72m. The great glass and wrought-iron dome roofing the Hall is 41m high. The Hall was constructed mainly of Fareham Red brick, with terra cotta block decoration made by Gibbs and Canning Ltd of Tamworth. The great glass and wrought-iron dome (designed by Rowland Mason Ordish) on top is 41m high. The Hall was originally designed with a capacity for 8,000 people and has accommodated as many as 12,000 (although modern safety restrictions mean that the maximum permitted capacity is now 5,544 including standing in the Gallery).
Around the outside of the building is a great mosaic frieze, part of which can be seen above, depicting "The Triumph of Arts and Sciences", in reference to the Hall's dedication.