THEATRE ROYAL

Identity Statement

Reference code(s)	: GB 0074 CLC/B/227-178
Held at	: London Metropolitan Archives   Click here to find out how to view this collection at https://www.cityoflondon.gov.uk/lma ›
Full title	: THEATRE ROYAL
Date(s)	: 1799-1800
Level of description	: Collection
Extent	: One production unit.
Name of creator(s)	: Theatre Royal | Covent Garden | London

Context

Administrative/Biographical history:

The Theatre Royal in Drury Lane, designed by Christopher Wren, opened on 26 March 1674. In 1747 the theatre and a patent renewal were purchased by renowned actor David Garrick and partner James Lacy. Garrick served as manager and lead actor of the theatre until roughly 1766, and continued on in the management role for another ten years after.

Garrick commissioned Robert Adam and his brother James to renovate the theatre's interior, which they did in 1775. Their additions included an ornate ceiling and a stucco facade facing Bridges Street. Garrick left the stage in 1776 and sold his shares in the theatre to the Irish playwright Richard Brinsley Sheridan.

Sheridan owned the theatre until 1809 and used it to premiere some of his own work, including School for Scandal. The day-to-day management of the theatre was usually carried out by Sheridan's father Thomas, and the actor John Philip Kemble.

Source: http://www.theatre-royal.com

Content

Scope and content/abstract:

Copies of correspondence and memoranda relating to a dispute between the proprietors of the Theatre Royal at Covent Garden and performers.

Access & Use

Language/scripts of material:
English

System of arrangement:

One item.

Conditions governing access:

Available for general access.

Conditions governing reproduction:

Copyright to this collection rests with the City of London.

Finding aids:

Please see online catalogues at: http://search.lma.gov.uk/opac_lma/index.htm

Archival Information

Archival history:

Immediate source of acquisition:

Deposited in the Guildhall Library Manuscripts Section, which merged with the London Metropolitan Archives in 2009.

Allied Materials

Related material:

For other records relating to the Theatre Royal see ACC/0720.

Publication note:

Description Notes

Archivist's note:

Rules or conventions:
Compiled in compliance with General International Standard Archival Description, ISAD(G), second edition, 2000; National Council on Archives Rules for the Construction of Personal, Place and Corporate Names, 1997.

Date(s) of descriptions:
January to May 2011.