Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and Dance - History of Trinity College of Music

History of Trinity College of Music

Trinity College of Music was founded in central London in 1872 by The Rev'd. Henry George Bonavia Hunt to improve the teaching of church music. The College began as the Church Choral Society, whose diverse activities included choral singing classes and teaching instruction in church music. Gladstone was an early supporter during these years. A year later, in 1873, the college became the College of Church Music, London. In 1876 the college was incorporated as the Trinity College London. Initially, only male students could attend and they had to be members of the Church of England.

In 1881, the College moved to Mandeville Place off Wigmore Street in Central London, which remained its home for over a hundred years. The college took over various neighbouring buildings in Mandeville Place. These were finally united in 1922 with the addition of a Grecian portico, and substantial internal reconstruction to create a first floor concert hall and an impressive staircase. However, other parts of the college retained a complicated layout reflecting its history as three separate buildings. The building is now occupied by the School of Economic Science.

Trinity moved to its present home in Greenwich in 2001. King Charles Court was constructed by John Webb as part of Greenwich Palace, subsequently absorbed into the Royal Naval Hospital complex, designed in part by Sir Christopher Wren, which had later become part of the Royal Naval College. To make the buildings suitable for Trinity's use and remove the accretions of a century of RNC occupation required a substantial refurbishment progamme. Work to provide new recital rooms revealed that the building's core incorporates masonry from the Tudor palace. The overall cost of the move to Greenwich was £17 million.

Many of the college's staff also teach at the Junior Trinity, a Saturday music school for talented young musicians who are keen on pursuing a musical career. Trinity was the first music college to create such a department, and many conservatoires have now followed in Trinity's steps.