Group    From 1806 

Adelphi Theatre

Categories: Theatre

Founded as the Sans Parail by John Scott, and his daughter Jane, who was an early playwright-actor-manager. 1819 it re-opened as the Adelphi Theatre, named for the Adelphi development opposite. 1858 the theatre was rebuilt. In 1879 the Gatti brothers took it over and also, 1887, created the Adelphi Theatre Restaurant next door, to the west. 1897 one of the regular performers, William Terriss, was murdered as he entered the theatre by the Maiden Lane entrance. 1901 the theatre was rebuilt to designs of Ernest Runtz and for three years known as the Century Theatre. The theatre was rebuilt again in the 1930s and in this design the theatre, the facade at least, took over one bay of the restaurant. This is the building we see today, although the facade is now even flatter than it was in the 30s. Our picture, from the the magnificent Arthur Lloyd, shows the 1858 building.

The Gatti's set up a electricity suppy for another nearby restaurant and also used it in 1885 to provide lighting to this theatre, making the Adelphi the first London theatre to be lit with electric light, according to the ODNB.  But the Savoy Theatre, claims this crown in 1881.

The Theatres Trust have a detailed description of the various changes the theatre has been through.

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This section lists the memorials created by the subject on this page:
Adelphi Theatre

Creations i

Terriss

City of Westminster William Terriss, 1847 - 1897, hero of the Adelphi melodr...

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Other Subjects

Nina Boucicault

Nina Boucicault

English actor. Born into a theatrical family, she began acting as a child. She was the first to play the title role in J. M. Barrie's Peter Pan, beginning in 1904. Died Hamilton Road, Ealing.

Person, Cinema, Theatre

1 memorial
Fortune Theatre - EC1

Fortune Theatre - EC1

Knowledge of London says: "One of the earliest theatres, the Fortune Theatre . . . was first opened in 1600 by Philip Henslowe and Edward Allen {Alleyn}. It burnt down in 1621 and was rebuilt soon ...

Building, Theatre

2 memorials
Gaiety Theatre

Gaiety Theatre

 Before the Aldwych development in 1906 the street pattern was very different.  The site between the current Lyceum Theatre and the current corner, Silken Hotel, was occupied by the Lyceum Theatre,...

Place, Theatre

2 memorials
Patrick Hamilton

Patrick Hamilton

Novelist and playwright. Born Anthony Walter Patrick Hamilton at Dale House, Hassocks, Sussex. He suffered multiple injuries when hit by a drunken driver in 1932. This may well have had a bearing o...

Person, Literature, Theatre

1 memorial
Croydon Grand Theatre and Opera House

Croydon Grand Theatre and Opera House

The theatre was opened by Herbert Beerbohm Tree and it originally produced plays and melodrama. By the 1920s it had become a venue for touring companies. Sarah Bernhardt and Sir Henry Irving were g...

Building, Theatre

1 memorial

Previously viewed

Menna Elfyn

Menna Elfyn

Poet and writer in Welsh.

Person, Poetry, Wales

1 memorial
Gwilym Jones

Gwilym Jones

A player at the London Welsh Rugby Football Club who was killed in WW1.

Person, Sport / Games

War dead, WW1
1 memorial
Noor Inayat Khan

Noor Inayat Khan

WW2 spy and member of the French resistance.  A descendant of the 18th century south Indian ruler Tipu Sultan, Khan was a follower of the Sufi faith and believed in non-violence. Born Moscow to pa...

Person, Espionage, France, Russia

War dead, WW2
4 memorials
Martha Gellhorn

Martha Gellhorn

American novelist, travel writer, and journalist, considered one of the great war correspondents of the 20th century. Gellhorn reported on virtually every major world conflict that took place durin...

Person, Journalism / Publishing, USA

1 memorial
Wimbledon Village Improvement 1964

Wimbledon Village Improvement 1964

SW19, Wimbledon High Street, Fire Station

This is Local London news item is useful. The LEB is mentioned on the plaque because at the time they owned the building, the former fire...

6 subjects commemorated, 1 creator