| London Town Guide |
Royal Albert Hall
Kensington Gore, SW7
Nearest Tube: Knightsbridge
Tel: Box office 020 7589 8212
In 1851 Queen Victoria's beloved husband Prince Albert proposed that the profits of the Great Exhibition should be used to purchase a site that would then be used for a museum, school, library and exhibition rooms.
However the plans never came to fruition in Albert's lifetime. Then, after his death in 1861, it was decided that a memorial and a hall dedicated to the arts and sciences should be built in his name. But there was only enough money for the memorial, named the Albert Memorial, and so the building of the hall was postponed.
It wasn't until 1867 that Queen Victoria laid the foundation stone, and named the hall the Royal Albert Hall of Arts and Sciences. It was completed in 1871.
Captain Fowke designed the hall in an oval shape and with a dome that reached 135ft. Inside the hall can seat over 8000 people, but current fire regulations only allow 7000. One unintentional result of Fowke's design was the hall's infamous echo, which meant that at first the hall was rejected as a music venue.
Nevertheless, although the hall is also host to numerous exhibitions, festivals and sports events, it is music that the Royal Albert Hall is now best known for. It is home to the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra who hold regular concerts, and lots of other music events take place each year.
The biggest and most famous of these has to be the 'Proms' - the BBC Promenade Concerts that have been held in the Royal Albert Hall since 1941. This is an annual event that takes place here from July until September each year. Tickets for the standing area of the Proms costs as little as £3.
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