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.

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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

Trinity Laban

Trinity Laban

Music and dance conservatoire based in Greenwich. It was formed with the amalgamation of the Trinity College of Music and the Laban Dance Centre.

Place, Dance, Music / songs

1 memorial
Ballet Rambert

Ballet Rambert

Britain's oldest dance company. Founded by Dame Marie Rambert initially as Rambert Dancers, and then, at the Mercury Theatre, in 1931, as the Ballet Club and then, until the 1980s, as Ballet Ramber...

Group, Dance

2 memorials
David Norman

David Norman

Businessman and management consultant. He has held posts at many companies, and has been chairman of the Royal Ballet School and the Royal Botanical Gardens at Kew. This photo comes from the Kew A...

Person, Commerce, Dance, Gardens / Agriculture, Politics & Administration

1 memorial
Fred Astaire

Fred Astaire

Dancer, singer, actor. Born and died America. Brother and sister, Frederick and Adele Austerlitz, started as children as vaudeville performers. Between 1917 and 1932 they appeared in musical shows ...

Person, Cinema, Dance, Music / songs, Seriously Famous, USA

1 memorial
Tamara Karsavina

Tamara Karsavina

Ballerina. Born in St Petersburg, Russia. Leading ballerina with Sergey Diaghilev's Ballets Russes from its beginning in 1909 until 1922, often paired with Nijinsky. Married British diplomat  Henry...

Person, Dance, Russia

1 memorial

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Festival of Britain

Festival of Britain

'A tonic for the Nation', The Festival was intended to cheer us all up after WW2, and incidentally to celebrate the centenary of the 1851 Great Exhibition. The symbol for the Festival was designed ...

Event, Art, Cinema, Science, Tourism / Traditions

20 memorials
Charles Robert Cockerell

Charles Robert Cockerell

Architect and antiquary, Born London. Educated at Westminster. Harrow Old Schools was his first building.

Person, Architecture, History

2 memorials