Half a Cathedral

Last night I played at the Landmark Arts Centre in Teddington – what an amazing building! It appears that two wealthy Victorian ladies wanted to make a statement with a bigger church than the one across the road, so they set out to build a cathedral! But, sadly, they ran out of money half way through, so the gorgeous stone vaulted roof (it’s all done in perfect French Gothic Cathedral style), ends about a quarter of the way down what would have been the full length, and the building itself only makes it half way – there is a brick wall that cuts it off in its prime. It was a place of worship for around 100 years, but de-consecrated in the 1970s and is now an arts centre with a really wonderful acoustic – especially for solo cello – just close to the Thames in one if its most pleasant urban stretches. Very good audience who really listened (or were asleep) quietly and attentively. Go check it out.