Group    From 1683 

Sadler's Wells Theatres

Categories: Dance, Theatre

From Sadler's Wells: Sadler’s Wells began with "the discovery of a mineral spring in 1683. Richard Sadler built a music house around the spring to rival the already fashionable Tunbridge and Epsom wells. By the beginning of the 18th century, visitors to Sadler’s Wells could see entertainments that included jugglers, tumblers, ropedancers, ballad singers, wrestlers, fighters, dancing dogs and even a singing duck."  In 1765 Thomas Rosoman had the theatre rebuilt. Over the years it was rebuilt a number of times and British History Online has images of some of its incarnations. 1862, the theatre was converted into a skating rink and then a cinema. It closed in 1915.

In 1925 Lilian Baylis, who had been running the Old Vic began fundraising to rebuild Sadler’s Wells as a sister theatre in North London. The new theatre opened on 6 January 1931. Reported to have been designed by Frank Matcham but he'd died in 1920 so it was his firm that designed the building shown in our image. Ninette de Valois was employed to stage dance productions at both theatres. Out of the Vic-Wells ballet company and school grew the Royal Ballet, and the Royal Ballet School. After 4 years Baylis decided that ballet and opera would be concentrated at Sadler's Wells. 1994 the theatre was reconstructed again, as a purpose-built dance theatre.

This section lists the memorials where the subject on this page is commemorated:
Sadler's Wells Theatres

Commemorated ati

Lilian Baylis - SW9

Lilian Baylis, 1874 - 1937, manager of the Old Vic and Sadler's Wells Theatre...

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New Sadler's Wells Theatre

The Lilian Baylis tree was replanted on the 4th March 1996 in the presence of...

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Other Subjects

Sir Frederick Ashton

Sir Frederick Ashton

Ballet dancer and choreographer. Born Frederick William Mallandaine Ashton in Guayaquil, Ecuador. He studied under Léonide Massine and Marie Rambert, and was chief choreographer to Ninette de Valoi...

Person, Dance, Seriously Famous, Ecuador

1 memorial
Hammersmith Palais

Hammersmith Palais

Former dance venue. It opened as a roller-skating rink, then became an ice rink, before being turned into a popular ballroom and concert hall. During World War II it was used for making tanks and a...

Building, Dance, Music / songs

1 memorial
Stanley Lupino

Stanley Lupino

Actor, dancer and singer. Born as Stanley Richard Lupino Hook, he was the father of actor and director Ida Lupino. He made his first stage appearance at the age of six and subsequently performed in...

Person, Cinema, Dance, Music / songs, Theatre, USA

1 memorial
Sophie Fedorovitch

Sophie Fedorovitch

Russian-born theatrical designer who worked with ballet choreographer Sir Frederick Ashton from his first choreographed ballet in 1926 until her accidental death in 1953. Fedorovitch designed for s...

Person, Art, Craft / Design, Dance, Theatre, Tragedy, Russia

1 memorial