| Main Performers | HRH the Duke of Edinburgh,
Major-General F Eardley-Wilmot (Chairman of the Council fo the Society of Arts),
Lieutenant H H Cole RE,
Rev. Canon Brookfield (Her Majesty's Chaplain in Ordinary) - speakers
Madame Lemmens Sherrington,
Miss Antionette Sterling - vocals |
| Set List | 12:30 Assembly of Guests and arrival of HRH the Duke of Edinburgh,
12:35 Ceremony to Lay the Foundation Stone and time capsule (HRH the Duke of Edinburgh, Major-General F Eardley-Wilmot) followed by showing models and plans of the building (Lieutenant H H Cole RE), and prayer (Rev. Canon Brookfield)
Society of Arts Conversazione:
20:30 Procession to Stage (HRH the Duke of Edinburgh, Council of the Society of Arts and Council of the Royal Albert Hall),
'God Save the Queen' (The National Anthem),
Speech and Vote of Thanks to the Society of Arts (HRH the Duke of Edinburgh) |
| Royal Presence | HRH the Duke of Edinburgh |
| Performance Notes | "The stone was suspended in the usual manner in a marquee floored with red cloth, and connected by a covered way with the west portico of the Albert Hall. Before half past 12 the ante-chamber of the portico was filled with members of the Councils of the Society of Arts, of the Commission of the Great Exhibition of 1851, and of the Albert Hall. There were also present, as will be seen from the list we give, many of the leading members of the musical world...
The Royal Albert Hall, agreed to provide a small theatre and some rooms for a library. It is therefore contemplated to connect the building with the Albert Hall by means of a bridge and to have an arcade from the Kensington Road, giving a passage under cover to the school."
(The Times, 19 December 1873)
Before the stone was lowered a bible, coins, The Times newspaper of the days etc. were deposited under the stone before it was lowered by HRH the Duke of Edinburgh and Mr James Waller, the builder. The laying of the foundation stone by HRH Duke of Edinburgh, was followed by a 'conversazione' (at which the prospects and purposes of the new school were explained) and a concert in the Royal Albert Hall. |