27th September 1820 (engraved)
| Artist/Maker | |
| Place of origin |
This print shows the roughly semi-circular auditorium of the third and largest Theatre Royal to stand on the site in Drury Lane. Designed by the architect Henry Holland (1745-1806), it was built between 1791 and 1794 under the ownership of the playwright and politician Richard Brinsley Sheridan (1751-1816) and was Europe's largest functioning theatre with an auditorium designed to hold more than 3,600. With iron columns replacing the previous wooden ones, it had five tiers of galleries but was considered by many as far too large. Actress Sarah Siddons called it: 'a wilderness of a place.' It opened on 12 March 1794 but was destroyed by fire in February 1809.
Object details
| Categories | |
| Object type | |
| Materials and techniques | hand coloured engraving, ink and paint on paper |
| Brief description | Print depicting the Interior of the Late Theatre Royal Drury Lane as built by Henry Holland Esq., RA. Opened 12 March 1794 and destroyed by fire 24 February 1809. Engraving by Dale, published in London by Robert Wilkinson 27th September 1820. |
| Physical description | Hand coloured engraving depicting the interior of the Theatre Royal Drury Lane as it was between 1794 and 1809 showing the tiers of boxes stage left and the chandelier-lit auditorium with a small party of visitors standing in one of the boxes, as if being shown around. |
| Dimensions |
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| Credit line | Bequeathed by Prince Littler |
| Summary | This print shows the roughly semi-circular auditorium of the third and largest Theatre Royal to stand on the site in Drury Lane. Designed by the architect Henry Holland (1745-1806), it was built between 1791 and 1794 under the ownership of the playwright and politician Richard Brinsley Sheridan (1751-1816) and was Europe's largest functioning theatre with an auditorium designed to hold more than 3,600. With iron columns replacing the previous wooden ones, it had five tiers of galleries but was considered by many as far too large. Actress Sarah Siddons called it: 'a wilderness of a place.' It opened on 12 March 1794 but was destroyed by fire in February 1809. |
| Associated object | S.2413-2009 (Copy) |
| Collection | |
| Accession number | S.25-1976 |
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| Record created | February 3, 2010 |
| Record URL |
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