Jacobs Well Theatre

The Jacobs Well Theatre stood in Cliftonwood, a district of Bristol. It opened in 1729 and took its name from a nearby well. The playhouse was built by actor John Hippisley, who had created the character of Peachum in John Gay’s Beggar’s Opera. The stage was so small that actors had to walk around the building to re-enter from the opposite side. A hole was made through a wall to the Malt Shovel alehouse so actors and seated audience members could fetch drinks. The theatre earned up to £80 on a full night, with servants admitted free to an upper gallery. The route from Queen Square and College Green was difficult in the dark, so the theatre provided linkboys with torches to guide patrons. Famous actors such as Charles Macklin, William Powell and Thomas King performed there during the Georgian era. After Hippisley’s death in 1748, his widow ran the theatre. When the Theatre Royal opened in King Street in 1776, most actors moved there. The last recorded show at Jacobs Well was a pantomime in 1779. Visitors today will find no building left from the theatre’s time. The site lies in a quiet part of Cliftonwood near the old well. The narrow streets still follow the same lines as in the 18th century. The Malt Shovel alehouse survives nearby, though the link to the theatre is gone. The area keeps the feel of a small, historic quarter close to Bristol’s centre.