The Sun.
London, England, 1863-02-03 00:00:00

Total Destruction of the Theatre Royal,
Glasgow.

(From the North British Daily Mail.)

The Glasgow Theatre Royal was on Saturday morning
completely destroyed by fire. Shortly after half-past foar
o'clock a constable in Dunlop-street observed a bright glare
of light through one of the windows in that part of the
building (the north-east wing) containing the wardrobe and
other properties. He immediately raised an alarm, and in
a few moments more the flames penetrated the roof, and
soon the whole theatre was enveloped in one mass of flame,
quite illuminating the entire district. Intimation of the
occurrence was without delay transmitted to the Fire Bri-
gade Office, and the engines were turned out with all
speed. On reaching Dunlop-street, Mr. Bryson, superin-
tendent of the fire brigade, saw that any attempt to save the
theatre would be utterly futile. He consequently directed
the efforts of those under him not so much to the theatre
itself as to those buildings contiguous to it. He stationed
men on the tops of the surrounding houses, and whilst
some firemen kept these cool, others poured down torrents
of water upon the burning pile. His efforts were to a very
large extent successful. Till about half-past 6 o'clock the
fire in the Royal raged on, and not till there was almost
nothing more to burn did the flames subside. The walls of

the theatre are still standing, but the back one is conside-
rably off the perpendicular, so that it is thought it will be
necessary to pull it down. The north one is still more in-
secure. The other two (the south and west ones) seem
sound enough at present. As we have stated, the attempts
to save the adjoining houses have been to a large extent
successful—very successful when their proximity to the
theatre is taken into account. Indeed, only in one in-
stance has any damage been done by fire. The premises
of Messrs. John Stewart and Co., iron and steel merchants,
at the back of the burned structure, have suffered slightly.
The hay-loft was at one time ignited, but the fire there
was quickly subdued. One of the young men connected
with the establishment having at an early period of
the fire observed the flames threatening the stable, very
prudently entered and at once removed two valuable horses,
which otherwise might have been suffocated. The back
rooms in the premises of Mr. Hillcoat, wine and spirit mer-
chant, have been damaged by water, but not to a very great
degree.

Theatres in Glasgow seem fated to destruction by fire.
The Queen-street one was burned down : that of Anderson,
the famous " 'Wizard of the North," shared the same fate ;
David Prince Miller's Adelphi Theatre was no exception
to what would seem to be the rule ; and now the Tneatre
Royal, we dare say the most beautiful and best appointed
of the whole, has succumbed to the same element. An
alarm cf fire raised in this building in the winter of 1848-9,
on a Saturday night, ended most tragically in the death of
50 individuals, victims to unnecessary fear, for mlk that oc-
casion the so-called fire was really no fire at all. The ward-
robe, the library, the armoury, and the " properties" gene-
rally of the Theatre Royal were, we believe, the richest, the
most extensive, and the most varied of any theatre out of
London, and even surpassed sows of those in the metropolis.
The wardrobe, in fact, was three in one, comprising, as it
did, besides the one proper to the Royal, that of the late
Mr. Murray, of Edinburgh, and that of the Prince's
Theatre. The library was also very valuable, and those
who have been in the habit of visiting the theatre can well
judge of the value of the general properties. This erection,
which is about 50It. high, 50ft. broad, and 70 yards long
was raised in the latter end of 1839, on the site of the old
theatre, in consequence of the felt insufficiency of the then
existing theatre accommodation. Mr. J. H. Alexander
was the proprietor, and under his management the play-
going portion of the public for nany years were well sup-
plied with theatrical entertainments, The building and
decorations as they stood previous to this catastrophe, in-
cluding the site, which is very valuable, were estimated at
from £20,000 to £30,000. The property in it belonging
to Mrs. Glover is valued at from £B,OOO to £lO,OOO.
The building is insured in the Royal Insurance Com-
pany for £3,000; Commercial Union, £2,000; Liverpool
and London Company, £l,OOO ; Sun, £I,000; and Scottish
Provincial, £l,ooo—in all, CB,QOO. The fixtures and ma-
chinery in the theatre are insured in the Scottish Provincial
for £l,OOO, Mrs. Glover's property is only partially insured.
Her loss, as we have stated, is estimated at about £lO,OOO,
while she is only insured for £3,000 in the Norwich Union.
The proprietor of the refreshment department 'is insured in
the Provincial IVelsh Company for £lOO. But there are
other parties who will be losers more or less. The actors
and actresses have every one of them lost not only their
employment for the present, but their whole professional
accessories. A subsequent examination of the ruins shows
that the whole of the books in the library have not been
totally destroyed. A number of manuscripts, as well as
printed works, have only been partially burned round the
edges ; but it is still doubtful whether any practical use can
ever be made of those which have escaped. A portion of a
room and staircase en the north side of the theatre have
also been saved, but they cannot be turned to any account,
the only reason for mentioning their escape at all;boing the
ygh.the
whole
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Saturday
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during
the scene of the conflagration was visited by thousands of
citizens. Firemen were present throughout Saturday night,
and up till 7 o'clock on Sunday evening, occasionally pour-
ing water on the smouldering debris.