Methodist Central Hall, London

Westminster Central Hall, Westminster Methodist Hall or Methodist Central Hall Westminster is a building in London, England. It is situated on Victoria Street, just off Parliament Square, next to the Elizabeth II Conference Centre and facing Westminster Abbey. Image File history File linksMetadata Download high resolution version (1656x1413, 618 KB) Methodist Central Hall, London, England. ... Image File history File linksMetadata Download high resolution version (1656x1413, 618 KB) Methodist Central Hall, London, England. ... Part of the London skyline viewed from the South Bank London is the most populous city in the European Union, with an estimated population on 1 January 2005 of 7. ... Wikimedia Commons has media related to: England Travel guide to England from Wikitravel English language English law English (people) List of monarchs of England – Kings of England family tree List of English people Angeln (region in northern Germany, presumably the origin of the Angles for whom England is named) UK... This article needs to be wikified. ... Anti-war protesters gather at Parliament Square on the afternoon of March 20, 2003. ... The Abbeys western facade The Collegiate Church of St John, Westminster, which is almost always referred to as Westminster Abbey, is a mainly Gothic church, on the scale of a cathedral, in Westminster, London, just to the west of the Palace of Westminster. ...

It is a multi-purpose building - a Methodist church, a conference and exhibition centre, an art gallery, an office building, and a tourist attraction. The Great Hall seats up to 2352 people.

History

Methodist Central Hall was erected to mark the centenary of John Wesley's death. It was eventually built in 1912 on the site of the Royal Aquarium, Music Hall and Imperial Theatre, an entertainment complex which operated with varying success from 1876-1903. For entries on other people named John Wesley, see John Wesley (disambiguation). ... 1912 (MCMXII) was a leap year starting on Monday. ...

Central Hall was funded by 1,025,000 contributors between 1898 and 1908 to the 'Wesleyan Methodist Twentieth Century Fund' (or the 'Million Guinea Fund' as it became more commonly known), whose aim was to raise one million guineas from one million Methodists. 1898 was a common year starting on Saturday (see link for calendar). ... 1908 (MCMVIII) is a leap year starting on Wednesday (link will take you to calendar). ... The Methodist movement is a group of denominations of Protestant Christianity. ...

Central Hall hosted the first meeting of the United Nations in 1946. It has been regularly used for political rallies - famous speakers have been Mahatma Gandhi and Winston Churchill. Main articles: League of Nations & History of the United Nations The term United Nations was coined by Franklin D. Roosevelt during World War II, to refer to the Allies. ... 1946 (MCMXLVI) was a common year starting on Tuesday. ... Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi (October 2, 1869–January 30, 1948) (Devanagari, Hindi: मोहनदास करमचन्द गांधी,Gujarati:મોહનદાસ કરમચંદ ગાંધી) was the spiritual and political leader of India who led the struggle for Indias independence from the British Empire, empowered by tens of millions of Indians. ... The Right Honourable Sir Winston Leonard Spencer-Churchill, KG, OM, CH, TD, FRS (30 November 1874 – 24 January 1965) was a British statesman, best known as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom during the Second World War. ...

It is frequently used for public enquiries, including those into the Ladbroke Grove rail crash, the sinking of the Marchioness pleasure boat, and the Bloody Sunday incident in Northern Ireland. The Ladbroke Grove rail crash (also known as the Paddington train crash) was a British rail accident on October 5, 1999 in which thirty-one people died. ... A Marquess is a nobleman of hereditary rank in Europe and Japan. ... For other incidents referred to by this name, see Bloody Sunday. ... official_languages = Englishde facto5| Dieu et mon droit (Royal motto) (French for God and my right)3 Northern Irelands location within the UK Official languages English, Irish, Ulster Scots Capital and largest city Belfast First Minister Office suspended Area  - Total Ranked 4th 13,843 km² Population  - Total (2001)  - Density Ranked...

From 1932-2000 Methodist Central Hall Westminster also served as the main headquarters of the Methodist Church. The United Methodist Church is the largest Methodist denomination, and the second-largest Protestant one, in the United States. ...

Architecture

Central Hall was designed by Edwin Alfred Rickards later of the firm Lanchester and Rickards. Although outwardly clad in a renaissance French style, it is an early example of the use of a reinforced concrete frame for a building in Britain (in some ways similar to the "Kahn system" developed by Julius Kahn in Michigan, USA, in the 1910s). By region Italian Renaissance Spanish Renaissance Northern Renaissance French Renaissance German Renaissance English Renaissance The Renaissance, also known as Il Rinascimento (in Italian), was an influential cultural movement which brought about a period of scientific revolution and artistic transformation, at the dawn of modern European history. ...

The original 1904 design included two small towers on the main (east) facade facing Westminster Abbey. These were never built, supposedly because of outcry that they would reduce the dominance of Nicholas Hawksmoor's west towers at Westminster Abbey in views from St. James's Park. The Abbeys western facade The Collegiate Church of St John, Westminster, which is almost always referred to as Westminster Abbey, is a mainly Gothic church, on the scale of a cathedral, in Westminster, London, just to the west of the Palace of Westminster. ... The career of Nicholas Hawksmoor (probably 1661 - 25 March 1736) formed the brilliant middle link in Britains trio of great baroque architects. ... The Abbeys western facade The Collegiate Church of St John, Westminster, which is almost always referred to as Westminster Abbey, is a mainly Gothic church, on the scale of a cathedral, in Westminster, London, just to the west of the Palace of Westminster. ... St. ...

The interior was similarly planned on a Piranesian scale, although the final execution was rather more economical. Giovanni Battista (also Giambattista) Piranesi (4th October 1720 in Mogliano Veneto (near Treviso) - 9th November 1778 in Rome) was an Italian artist famous for his etchings of Rome and of fictitious prisons. Etching of the Pyramid of Cestius Piranesi studied his art at Rome, where the remains of that city...

The domed ceiling of the Great Hall is reputed to be the second largest of its type in the world. The vast scale of the self-supporting ferro-concrete structure reflects the original intention that Central Hall was intended to be 'an open air meeting place with a roof on'.

The angels in the exterior spandrels were designed by Henry Poole RA. A spandrel is originally a term from Architecture, but has more recently been given an analogous meaning in Evolutionary biology. ...

External link

• Conference Centre Website
• Methodist Central Hall Westminster

This is not to be confused with: Westminster Hall (part of the Parliamentary Estate) or Westminster City Hall (the offices of the City of Westminster's authority) Clock Tower and New Palace Yard from the west The Palace of Westminster, on the banks of the River Thames in Westminster, London, is the home of the House of Commons and the House of Lords, which form the Parliament of the United Kingdom. ... The Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the supreme legislative institution in the United Kingdom and British overseas territories (it alone has parliamentary sovereignty). ... The City of Westminster is a London borough and a city in its own right, situated to the west of the City of London and north of the River Thames. ... The City of Westminster is a London borough and a city in its own right, situated to the west of the City of London and north of the River Thames. ...