Holborn Theatre Royal

The first wholly new theatre to be built in London in the 23 years after the passing of the 1843 Theatres Act, Holborn Theatre Royal was designed by Finch, Hill & Paraire, authors of a number of the earliest music halls. Their theatres included the rebuilding of the Britannia in Hoxton.

Built on the site of the old post office and stable yard, the area was excavated to make entrances to pit and boxes from Brownlow Street more convenient. There was only a narrow, one plot wide, façade to Holborn. The auditorium was horseshoe-shaped, with pit, stalls, dress circle and side boxes, and gallery with slip boxes; there were no proscenium boxes, the space being given to staircases and additional exits for extra safety. At the rear of the dress circle were refreshment areas. A feature of the theatre was the attention given to ventilation and to heating. One night in July 1880 a fire, thought to have started on stage near the green room, quickly spread to the rest of the theatre, and despite brave attempts by the fire brigade, the building was destroyed.