15 Facts About Thomas Britton

Thomas Britton was an English charcoal merchant best known as a concert promoter.

Thomas Britton learnt the trade and returned to his home village, but soon returned to London in search of better opportunities.

Thomas Britton's business proved successful, and he spent much of his spare income on building up a library.

Thomas Britton studied chemistry under the tutelage of his neighbour Theophilus Garencieres.

Thomas Britton constructed a moving laboratory for Garencieres, and a Welsh friend of the scientist paid Britton to construct a similar building for him.

Garencieres and Thomas Britton became friends, and shared a love of esoteric ideas, Thomas Britton having an interest in Rosicrucianism.

In 1678, Thomas Britton fitted the loft of his Clerkenwell house out as a tiny concert hall, fitting a harpsichord and an organ with only five stops.

Thomas Britton's concerts became regarded as the premier venue for chamber music in London, with an audience drawn from a wide social strata.

At first, concerts were free, but Thomas Britton later requested an annual subscription of ten shillings, considered exceptionally low even at the time.

However, their accessibility and the popularity of Thomas Britton gradually put paid to these rumours.

Thomas Britton himself played the viol de gamba and the recorder, and began to compose short pieces.

Thomas Britton amassed a large music collection and selection of musical instruments for the gatherings, and designed his own programmes.

In 1694, Thomas Britton auctioned a substantial part of his library.

Thomas Britton employed a ventriloquist named Honeyman to project his voice and tell Britton that his end was near and that he should fall to his knees and repeat the Lord's Prayer.

The elderly Thomas Britton did so, and was so affected that he died within a couple of days.