Page:VCH London 1.djvu/447

 ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY there were but twenty-seven in London churches ; they were chiefly given by members of the congregation "° or erected by subscription, as at St. Mar- garet's Westminster, where, in 1675,'" several ' persons of honour ' and others contributed £17 4- 3J. That the result of unassisted congregational singing was not altogether successful "^^ may well be assumed, but it must be remem- bered that hymns in the modern sense of the word were not used except on special occasions, such as the dedication of an organ or the annual meeting of the charity school children. The singing was confined to the metrical versions of the Psalms by Sternhold and Hopkins, or the rival Tait and Brady,^^' which were the most popular in spite of attempts at the introduction of other versions, such as that used at St. Laurence Jewry in 1684.'^* A psalm was generally sung between the Litany and the ' second ' or Commu- nion service, and between Morning Prayer and the sermon. The choice was generally left to the parish clerk, a practice deprecated by Bishop Gibson, who, in 1727, requested his clergy to fix once for all a course of psalms to be sung in their order, and directed the clerks to read out the psalm sung line by line for the benefit of those who could not read."^ The cause of congregational singing was not furthered by Dr. Burney, whose influence caused ' cathedral ' music to be introduced into many churches and chapels in London towards the end of the i8th century."" Bishop Porteus tried to remedy this by advocating the training of a few charity children in each parish to lead the singing,"^ and this seems to have led to the request at St. Benet Paul's Wharf for four children to attend the Sunday service."' The Evangelical revival resulted in more musical services ; the Lock Chapel was especially noted for the singing,"' and by 1820 even the greatest opponents of the Methodists recognized that the choice of Psalms was too limited, and that it was not desirable that the singing should be confined to a few while the rest of the congregation sat down to listen.'*^" The conduct of services in the i8th and early 19th centuries differed considerably from the practice of the present day. In 1703 the Lower House of Convocation complained that the prayers were often read irreverently,'^^ and Bishop Gibson in 1727 reminded his clergy that the mumbling of prayers rendered them quite as unintelligible as would the use of an unknown tongue.'"^ Omissions and additions were also sometimes made ; '"' at St. Alphage the society of Edward Stevens used an entirely unauthorized litany for two years.'" The abuse of reading the ante-communion service at the reading desk was firmly established in the i8th century ; ^ in 1800 it was usual for the celebrant to administer the elements to two communicants at once,* and the prayer for the Church militant was disused until restored by Bishop Blomfield's efforts.'" The bidding prayer was considered a mark '■» Gent. Mag. Lib. 'Topog.' xvi, 21. '" M. C. E. Walcott, Hist, of Par. Ch. of St. Margaret Westm. jj. '" Towerson, A Sermon concerning vocal and instrumental musick, 26. '" Overton, Life in Engl. Ch. 1 660-1 7 14, pp. 184-8. "* Christie, op. cit. 194. '" Gibson, Charge, 1727. "* Hodgson, Life of Porteus, 108. '" Porteus, Charge, 1790, p. 17. "' St. Benet Paul's Wharf Vestry Minutes. ^" Williamson, John Russell, R.A. 20. '-" Polwhele, Lavington's Enthusiasm of Methodists and Papists, Introd. p. ccvi. Section vi. '" Calamy, Abridgement, &c. i, 635. '" Gibson, Charge, 1727. '" Calamy, loc. cit. '^* St. PauPs Ecclesiological Soc. Trans, vi, I o n. "^ Calamy, op..cit. i, 530-5 ; Parish Churches turned into Conventicles ; Parish Churches no Conventicles. '-« J. A. Park, Mem. of William Stevens, 54. '" Blomfield, Charge, 1846. 359