Museum Tavern, 49 Great Russell Street - geograph

William Finch Hill was a British theatre and music hall architect of the

Victorian era In the history of the United Kingdom and the British Empire, the Victorian era was the period of Queen Victoria's reign, from 20 June 1837 until her death on 22 January 1901. The era followed the Georgian period and preceded the Edwardia ...

. Little is known of Finch Hill's early life; he possibly obtained his early architectural experience in church building. He set himself up as 'surveyor and architect', predominantly building

public house A pub (short for public house) is a kind of drinking establishment which is licensed to serve alcoholic drinks for consumption on the premises. The term ''public house'' first appeared in the United Kingdom in late 17th century, and was ...

s. In 1856, he exhibited his designs for

Evans Music-and-Supper Rooms Evans Music-and-Supper Rooms was an entertainment venue for music and singing in the early nineteenth century, located at 43 King Street, Covent Garden, London. The venue provided the type of entertainment which later evolved into music hall. ...

, at the

Royal Academy The Royal Academy of Arts (RA) is an art institution based in Burlington House on Piccadilly in London. Founded in 1768, it has a unique position as an independent, privately funded institution led by eminent artists and architects. Its pur ...

. Between 1856–70, he worked with his partner Edward Lewis Paraire (1826–1882). Together they worked on many music halls and theatres, including

Weston's Music Hall Weston's Music Hall was a music hall and theatre that opened on 16 November 1857 at 242-245 High Holborn in London, England. In 1906, the theatre became known as the Holborn Empire. History Early years The theatre was constructed on the site of ...

(1857), the Islington Philharmonic (1860), the

Oxford Music Hall Oxford Music Hall was a music hall located in Westminster, London at the corner of Oxford Street and Tottenham Court Road. It was established on the site of a former public house, the Boar and Castle, by Charles Morton, in 1861. In 1917 the music ...

(1861), the Royal Cambridge (1856, in Shoreditch), and the

Britannia Theatre The Britannia Theatre (1841–1900) was located at 115/117 High Street, Hoxton, London.''Britanni ...

(1841,

Hoxton Hoxton is an area in the London Borough of Hackney, England. As a part of Shoreditch, it is often considered to be part of the East End – the historic core of wider East London. It was historically in the county of Middlesex until 1889. It li ...

) – the last of whose designs was exhibited by Paraire in 1859. The designs showed "Finch Hill was a master of the opulent but never licentious classicism of the 1850s. Audiences knocked back their beers in sumptuous settings designed by an architect who knew the churches of Gibbs, Archer and Hawksmoor".Earl and Sell (2000) pp. 273 The partnership was based in separate houses in the same street, and on its dissolution Paraire returned to designing banks, churches and public houses. Hill's remaining works can be seen around Museum Street, in Bloomsbury. A row of houses (with shops beneath) together with the Museum Tavern, a public house, are

Grade II listed buildings In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Irel ...

References

*Earl, John and Michael Sell. ''Guide to British Theatres 1750-1950'', pp. 273 (Theatres Trust, 2000) {{DEFAULTSORT:Hill, Finch Year of death missing English theatre architects Year of birth missing 19th-century English architects