In the 1780s a marine villa was built on the east side of the south end of High Street. Bought and enlarged by George Greville, 2nd Earl of Warwick, it became known as Warwick House. In the summer of 1802, Thomas Trotter held theatrical performances for three months in a barn at the north end of High Street. The performances were successful and led to residents signing a petition the following year advocating the construction of a permanent theatre in Worthing, the first of which was built in nearby Ann Street in 1807. An army barracks was built on High Street in 1805 where a garrison was stationed in preparation for a possible invasion from Napoleon. The building was closed in 1812 when it became the first free school for boys in Worthing. When Chapel Road was created in 1817 it replaced High Street as the main entrance to the town from the north. This position was further strengthened in 1835 when Worthing's first Town Hall was built at the junction of Chapel Road with South Street and Warwick Street. In 1832, the leader of Worthing's last smuggling gang was shot dead at point blank range whilst escaping across a narrow footbridge across the Teville Stream after customs officials chased around 200 smugglers from the seafront and up High Street. An inquest into the incident was held at the Golden Anchor public house (today's Corner House) where the killing was found to be justified.