Albertopolis Walking Tour: transcript - Royal Institute of British ...

around the union, again to a design by Webb, however these have since been considerably
added to, including an additional storey on top.
Continue along Prince Consort Road, pausing at the bottom of the steps which lead up to
the Albert Hall. In the centre of the steps you’ll see the Memorial to the Great Exhibition
of 1851, designed by Joseph Durham, and appropriately topped with a statue of Prince
Albert. Now turn around to face the grand red brick building on the other side of the road,
the Royal College of Music.
Pause the recording
13. Royal College of Music
28.57mins
The Royal College of Music began its days in
1873 as the National Training School for Music.
Initially it was housed in the building known as
the Royal College of Organists, which we have
already visited on this walk.
By 1887 the school had changed its name to the
Royal College of Music and it had outgrown its
premises. The 1851 Commissioners offered
them a new site, first of all on the west side of
Exhibition Road, and later a second site, the one
before you.
This new location was on the south side of a
new street, Prince Consort Road, and was
offered with a lease for 999 years. The college
commissioned the experienced architect Sir
Arthur Blomfield to design their new premises,
and he produced a grand, red brick French
baronial style building which was formally
opened by the Prince of Wales on 2 May 1894.
Royal College of Music, 2010
Photographer: Wilson Yau
Blomfield had faced quite a challenge. The site
was north facing, overlooked by the majestic Albert Hall, and at the time two large blocks of
flats were planned to be built either side. The architect therefore needed to produce
something tall and grand, to compete with its neighbours.
He insisted his design for the main façade must wait until the plan had been completely
decided upon. However, in the end he had to provide a façade for a tall building consisting
mainly of small rooms in storeys of nearly equal and modest height. The result was a façade
with small-scale subdivisions, and as such it was criticised for its lack of monumentality and
interest.
Blomfield faced further disappointment in that he had intended to further develop the
building behind with two quadrangles, but this was put off until later, and ultimately was not
built by Blomfield. The college underwent several extensions in the 1960s, including one to
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