The Sun.
London, England, 1862-04-21 00:00:00

THE BATH TI-I.b-147-n-E..

In The Sun of Saturday some particulars were
given of the destruction of this elegant theatre by
fire on the previous day. The cause of the calamity
has not yet been satisfactorily ascertained, but the
police, acting under Mr. Hughes, chief officer, are
making a diligent investigation of the matter, and
hope to be able to unravel the mystery. On Satur-
day and yesterday the ruins were visited by vast
numbers of spectators, among whom were Mr. and
Mrs. Charles Kean and Miss Chapman, and nearly
all the members of the company, who reside princi-
pally in Bristol. Great sympathy is felt for the
lessee, Mr. J, H. Chute, who is deservedly popular
in both Bath and Bristol. In the latter city an
amateur performance for his benefit, by members of
the Histrionic Club, has been already projected,
and, although it is proposed considerably to in-
crease the prices of admission, no doubt is felt
that the house will be crammed in every part.
Among the sufferers by the fire is Miss Quick,
the wardrobe keeper, the back of whose house,
in St. John's-place, was burnt out. The pre-
mises of Mr. Gait (Garrick's Head 'Tavern), Mr.
Robert Hodges, Mr. Walter Star, Mr. Shep•
pard (Theatre Tavern), Mr. White, Mrs. Eyles, Mr.
Matthews, Mr. Broom, Mr. Bussey, Mr. Wyatt
(Prince Frederick Tavern), Mr. T. Galbraith, and.
Messrs. Broadley and Sturmey, in the vicinity of I
the theatre, well all more or less damaged, and the
" greater part are uninsured. There was a large
quantity of MS. music in the house, which was of
course destroyed. The remains presented a remark-
able appearance, being reduced to a kind of tinder,
on which the notes, &c., were still distinctly visible.
The funds for the erection of the Bath Theatre were
raised by a tontine, which has not yet expired, the
principal holder at present being Mr. E. King. The
house was built from a design by the late Mr. G.
Dance, R.A., in which elegance and convenience
were combined. There were three entrances in as
many different directions. The grand front in Beau-
fort-square was about 225 ft. in length and 70ft. high.
The exterior building contained dressing-rooms,
scene-rooms, wardrobes, &c., the anterooms and
saloons to the boxes, rooms of accommodation to the
private boxes, which were 26 in number, enclosed
with gilt lattices, &c. The pillars of cast iron were
placed at a distance of 2ft. from the front, by which
the first row of each circle appeared as a balcony
independent of the main structure, and an inconceiv-
able lightness was thus communicated to the tout
ensemble. The entrance to the private boxes was by a
private house, part of the property connected with
the theatre, and there was a suite of retiring rooms
appropriated with them. The decorations were very
splendid. Formerly the ceiling was richly orna-
mented with some exquisite paintings by Cassali,
which were purchased at the celebrated sale at Font-
; but in 1839 these were removed, and some classi-
cal groups, emblematic of the drama,were substituted.
The theatre was first opened on the 12th October,
1805, the pieces performed being the tragedy of
"Richard III.," and the "Poor Soldier." The Bath
stage long held the reputation of being the nursery
for the metropolis. Mrs. Crawford, Mrs. Abington,
Miss Brunton, Miss Smith, Mrs. Edwin, Mrs. Sid-
dons, Mrs. Egerton, Miss Paton, Miss Ellen Tree,
Mrs. Maria Tree, Mrs. Glover, and many other
ladies, were translated from Bath to London, while
among male actors were King, Henderson, Edwin,
Murray, Incledon, Lovegrove, Gattie, Wrench,
Abbott, C. Taylor, Elliston, Ward, and Macready..
In fact, from the commencement of the last century
till late years there was scarcely an actor of emi-
nence who was not at some time a member of the
Bath company. in later years it may boast of the
training of Miss Marie Wilton, Mr. Clark, Mr.
Stuart, Mr. George Melville, Mr. Rouse, and several
others who now grace the London boards.