Forest Gate School of Music

The Forest Gate School of Music (later the Metropolitan Academy of Music) was established in 1885 by Harding Bonner (1853-1907). It was situated in premises on what is now Earlham Grove in Forest Gate, London. The building dates from 1879 and was previously the premises of the Tonic Sol-Fa College, established there by the pioneering music educator John Curwen. In 1897 the Earlham Hall was added to the front of the property as a public performance space seating around 500 people. The buildings of the school still stand, although somewhat altered as the Cherubim and Seraphim Church.