Theatre Royal, Exeter

The Theatre Royal in Exeter was a playhouse in the city centre. Its first building dated from 1821, replacing a theatre of 1787 destroyed by fire. After another blaze in 1885, a new Theatre Royal opened in 1886 on Longbrook Street and New North Road. The architect was C. J. Phipps, known for many London theatres. The 1887 fire during a melodrama called Romany Rye became the worst in British theatre history. In the panic, 186 people died when gallery exits proved too few. A national appeal raised over £20,000 for victims’ families. The event led to stricter safety rules for public buildings. A memorial in Higher Cemetery, Heavitree, was carved by local sculptor Harry Hems. The rebuilt theatre opened in 1889 with a D’Oyly Carte Opera Company performance. It showed melodrama, ballet, musicals and pantomimes every Christmas. For a time in the 1950s it screened CinemaScope films. The Theatre Royal closed in 1962 and was demolished for an office block. Campaigns to save it helped create the Northcott Theatre instead. Its programmes reflected changing tastes across the 19th and 20th centuries. The site now lies beneath modern buildings near the city’s main roads.