The South Place Ethical Society, based in London at Conway Hall, is thought to be the oldest surviving freethought organisation in the world, and is the only remaining Ethical society in the United Kingdom. It did not achieve its present name until the late 19th century and it now advocates secular humanism and is a member of the International Humanist and Ethical Union.
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The Society was formed in 1793 by a group of nonconformists known as Philadelphians or Universalists. William Johnson Fox, who had studied theology under Dr Pye Smith, became minister in 1817. In 1824 the congregation built a chapel at South Place, in the district of central London known as Finsbury.[1]
In 1926 they built new premises, Conway Hall, at 37 Red Lion Square, in nearby Bloomsbury, on the site of a tenement, previously a factory belonging to James Perry, a pen and ink maker. The name of the society still reflects the original location.
Conway Hall is named after an American, Moncure Conway, who led the Society from 1864–1885 and 1892–1897, during which time it moved further away from Unitarianism. Conway spent the break in his tenure in the United States, writing a biography of Thomas Paine. In 1888 the name of the Society was changed from South Place Religious Society to South Place Ethical Society under Stanton Coit's leadership. In 1969 another name change was mooted, to The South Place Humanist Society, a discussion that sociologist Colin Campbell suggests symbolized the death of the ethical movement in England.[2]
Conway Hall was designed by Frederick Mandsford, being built on land which the society had acquired between Theobald's Road and Lamb's Conduit Passage. The main auditorium would hold 300 plus 180 in a gallery. Wooden panelling and acoustic plaster was used to give the hall excellent acoustic qualities. This made it very suitable for the performance of music and there have been regular recordings and concerts there. The ceiling of the auditorium was glazed and this made it very light and airy for the time. It opened in 1929 and has continued in use since.[3]
The journal of the society, which records its proceedings, is the Éthical Record. The recent issue shown for November 2011 was volume 116, number 10.
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