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St. Martin's Hall / St. Martin's Music Hall / Queen's Theatre, Long Acre, London. St. Martin's Hall
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St. Martin's Music Hall A portion of Mr. Hullah's new Music Hall was opened to the public on Monday night last. The plot of ground on which it is erected consists of a parallelogram of 149 feet in length and 61 feet in width, the north side abutting on Wilson Street (leading from Endell Street to Drury lane), and the east side on Charles Street (Long Acre); this plot being connected, at the south west corner, with Long Acre, by another, 44 feet in length and 22 feet in width. When completed, the concert hall will be 121 feet long, 55 feet wide, and 40 feet high; the length being rather more than double the width, and the height a third of the length. It is to afford accommodation for 3,000 persons. At the west end of the hall will be two antirooms, entered by two staircases; the one leading from Long Acre, the other from Wilson Street. A third entrance, at the east end, will be connected with a staircase leading from Charles Street. On the north and south sides, and at the west end of the hall, will be erected galleries. The part completed is next Charles Street, with a temporary entrance through No. 89, Long Acre. It is 87 feet long, 55 feet wide, and 40 feet high to the boarded ceiling, or inner roof, which is flat at the centre and sloped at the sides: it has arched ribs next the walls with ornamented spandrells, and is divided into panels by moulded ribs. The walls are perfectly plain, and the windows on either side, by which it is lighted, are too much like those of a factory; still the dimensions of the apartment and the construction of the roof give it a certain air of nobleness which will compensate for some defects. The hall is lighted at night by suspended gas chandeliers. On the ground floor there will be a lecture room, 51 feet long, 40 feet wide, and 26 feet high, calculated to accommodate 500 persons, besides class rooms. We must mention that the principle feature of the concert with which the new hall was opened was a festival anthem, composed by Mr. Henry Leslie, son of Mr. John Leslie, one of the late Commission of Sewers, and inventor of several improvements in lighting and ventilation. The anthem is a masterly composition, indicating the possession of powers of very high order, - and suffices, with other works previously submitted to public ordeal, to place Mr. Leslie in the foremost rank of those on whom the reputation which England has to achieve in musical science depends. The Builder, February 16th 1850
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The Queen's Theatre, Long Acre, London
Above - The site of the Queen's Theatre, Long Acre - Photo M. L. 2007.
Right - Plaque commemorating the site of the Queen's Theatre which reads: 'Queen's Theatre - The old Queen's Theatre occupied this site for just eleven years from 1867 to 1878 and was renowned in its day, albeit fleetingly, for the distinguished players, including Ellen Terry and Charles Wyndham, who trod its boards.' The music-hall, which was capable of easily accommodating 3,000 persons, was opened in 1850 by Mr. Hullah, the founder of a new school of choral harmony. Here Mr. Hullah held his singingclasses; and oratorios and concerts, both instrumental and vocal, of a high order of excellence, were given under his direction. Here, too, Mr. Charles Dickens first appeared as a public lecturer, in April, 1858, on behalf of the Hospital for Sick Children, in Great Ormond Street, and a week or two later on his own account. Text from 'Old and New London' by Edward Walford, M. A. 1898. This Queen's Theatre is not to be confused with the current Queen's Theatre on Shaftesbury Avenue.
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LOST
LONDON THEATRES by N. M. Bligh
Right - Oldhams Walk on part of the site of Oldhams Press, which was formerly part of the Queen's Theatre site - Photo M. L. 2007. On the site stood St. Martin's Hall, where Dickens gave some of his famous readings; the building was reconstructed to the designs of Albert Moore the artist and opened as a theatre in 1867. An old print of the interior shows the artistic and impressive decoration by Telbin the scene painter, while on the technical side the house enjoyed the advantages of up-to-date and efficient equipment. Yet in spite of the magnificence of the house and the wealth of talent appearing in many of the productions, the theatre had a life of only eleven years. A wide variety of causes contributed to this not easily understandable collapse and some of them will be examined after an attempt has been made to review briefly the main offerings staged in those few years.
Above - The Queen's Theatre - From the magazine 'Theatre World' February 1956 The first manager was Alfred Wigan of the Olympic and Princess's theatres, but the moving spirit was Henry Labouchere who ran the house for the gratification of his actress wife, the charming Henrietta Hodson. She, with Wigan and a galaxy destined to become famous, including Charles Wyndham, Ellen Terry, and Lionel Brough making his first London appearance, opened in a romantic play A Double Marriage, adapted from Charles Reade's novel White Lies; but the first real success was Dearer Than Life, by J. H. Byron, with Brough and J. L. Toole who revived it on endless later occasions. Also in the cast was Irving who just previously in this same theatre had made his first appearance with Ellen Terry, an association destined to lead to the Lyceum triumphs of later years. Historical dramas were a favourite feature, especially two written by Tom Taylor for "the beautiful Mrs. Rousby"; the first, and probably the most successful, was Twixt Axe and Crown, in 1870 and revived in 1875, dealing with the rivalry of Queen Mary and Queen Elizabeth, and putting a heavy strain on historical accuracy. The second was Joan of Arc in 1871, showing that 1955 had no monopoly! In The Last Days of Pompeii a dramatisation of Lord Lytton's novel, everything went wrong. due to the fact that John Ryder, despite his ability, as an actor, was unequal to putting on elaborate sensational effects. Some success was scored in 1872 with Amos Clark, an historical drama laid near Taunton in 1685, and history was further portrayed or travestied in Cromwell, with George Rignold in the title role in 1872, and the following year in The Wandering Heir by Charles Reade who had a good deal to do with this theatre. The lead in this 1730-period piece was taken by Mrs. John Wood who was succeeded during the run by Ellen Terry. Several Shakespeare plays were presented including a magnificent production of A Midsummer Night's Dream in 1870 with the great Samuel Phelps as Bottom, and Henry IV, in 1876, with Phelps, now nearing the end of his career, in the lead. Special mention must be made of the appearance of the distinguished Italian actor Salvini as Othello in 1876 and in due course as Hamlet. His intention to put on Macbeth was frustrated by an indisposition attributed to the English climate! Of Othello, H. B. Baker, in The London Stage, tells us it was "one of the greatest pieces of tragic acting the world has ever seen, not only in overwhelming power, but in subtle art: it created a profound impression."
Right - The site of the Queen's Theatre, Long Acre - Photo M. L. 2007. Apart from the plays which have been selected for mention by name, the staple fare consisted largely of heavy melodramas, revivals of old-established favourites with burlesques and curtain raisers to make up the triple or multiple bill which in those days appeared to be a necessity no matter how long or imposing the main feature might be. No claim is made to have mentioned anything like the extensive list of players famous at the time, or later to attain fame; many would mean little or nothing to present-day readers, but, from references to those whose names will always endure, it can justly be claimed that the Queen's was almost always able to muster some of the finest companies. Thus in trying to adduce reasons for the eclipse of this theatre after so brief a life one must seek causes other than the want of eminent players. The most likely primary cause was the lack of a strong guiding hand and a definite policy, with, as contributory factors, too many adaptations and revivals instead of originality. Labouchere had little theatre interest at heart except insofar as it offered acting scope and opportunity to his wife. His regime was followed by various managers, none of whom were of the calibre of the great actor-managers with the energy or business capacity to build up or establish a reputation for the house. The public was beginning to tire of the flood of adaptations of Dickens which for years had been a feature of the London stage, and of the other plays, sandwiched between the more marked successes, many were indifferent offerings. In the penultimate year, 1877, Summer Promenade Concerts under Alfred Cellier and Riviere ran for a couple of months, and in the final year a Hungarian tragedian essaying Othello was described as "like a clown " and the play as " like a provincial burlesque." The end came in April 1878 and the building was, by some miracle of transformation, converted into the Clerical Co-operative Stores. Ultimately it passed to its present use, much of the Long Acre Endell Street exterior still remaining substantially unchanged. Although the Queen's appears to have endured the shortest life of any of the vanished leading West End theatres of the past, nevertheless it gained a lasting measure of fame by virtue of the eminence of the players who trod its boards. From the magazine 'Theatre World' February 1956.
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First telephone publicly exhibited on this side of the Atlantic at the Queen's Theatre, Long Acre. Edited from 'London and Londoners in the 1850s and 1860s' by Alfred Rosling Bennett, 1924. I remember the opening of the new Queen's Theatre, Long Acre by Mr. Henry Labouchere. The Lady with the Lamp was as conspicuous on the cover as she is to this day. Certainly she has shed light into some dark places since then. The company comprised Toole, Irving, Lionel Brough, Alfred Wigan, Clayton, Emery and Henrietta Hodson, afterwards Mrs. Labouchere - a veritable hot-bed of talent. I believe it was Irving's first appearance in London and that his salary - according to a subsequent revelation by the sapient "Labby" - was in the immediate neighbourhood of £2 10s. per week. They put on some good pieces, of which Dearer than Life and The Lancashire Lass, both by H. J. Byron, who was now deserting burlesque and pantomime for comedy, live best in my remembrance. In the former, Irving made up as an outcast starving in the Australian bush with almost terrifying effect. It was at this Queen's Theatre, in 1877, during a season of Promenade Concerts under Jules Rivière and Alfred Cellier, that the first telephone publicly exhibited on this side of the Atlantic was shown. The news of Bell's wonderful discovery was occupying the Press, and it occurred to the management to vary their concerts with a demonstration of Cromwell Varley's telephone. For this purpose the Queen's Theatre was joined to the Canterbury Music-hall, Westminster Bridge Road, by overhead wires and every evening several simple tunes were transmitted and emitted from a large drum-like apparatus suspended over the proscenium. It could only manage the melody and was accompanied softly by the full orchestra directed by M. Rivière, baton in hand. The inventor, Cromwell Varley, was one of the very competent electricians already mentioned in connection with the Atlantic cable. He had a beautiful house at Bexley, where his experiments might very likely have resulted in the first practicable speaking telephone, had not Alexander Graham Bell been in such a hurry in Canada. It is notable that the wires to Westminster were double, or metallic circuit, a stage of development not reached by the exploiters of the Bell telephone until after some dozen years of experience. And they were also the very first of the legions of overhouse telephone wires which afterwards decorated London and all other British towns. Hamilton Clarke was in musical charge of the exhibit, the electrical and engineering arrangements being under my own direction. At that time Varley's instrument could transmit music only; subsequently it was made to speak, but never rivalled Bell's in clearness or simplicity. A special preliminary performance was given for the benefit of the Press at which I delivered a little explanatory lecture. One of the representatives - he of the Standard - had just come up from an exhibition of blasting in Kent and had several dynamite cartridges in his pockets. Alter the performance, when a good many were assembled in the manager's room, he started to demonstrate the safety of dynamite, when properly and discreetly handled, by lighting one of the cartridges in the fireplace. I never saw a room cleared so quickly-the press gentlemen stood not on the order of their going, but went at once-and all at once! As a scientific man possessed of the knowledge that dynamite ought
to burn harmlessly if tactfully treated I could hardly rim away; nevertheless,
I did feel relieved when the cartridge eventually gave a last splutter
and went out. I can smell it now. Inspired by the Queen's Theatre performance, the comic paper Funny Folks, in its number of June 16th, 1877, gave a cartoon in which many of the uses to which the telephone is put in 1924 - including loud-speakers and "broadcasting "- were foreshadowed in quite a remarkable manner. Above text edited from 'London and Londoners in the 1850s and 1860s' by Alfred Rosling Bennett, 1924. |
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At
a corner on the north side of Long Acre, where it meets Endell Street,
with entrances in Wilson Street, Charles Street, and Long Acre, stands
the Queen's Theatre. This building passed
through the first two stages of its existence under the name of "
THOUSANDS
of Londoners and others familiar with Long Acre must be equally familiar
with the large and imposing block occupied by Odhams Press, but very
few can be aware, and only those of advanced years can remember, that
it once comprised the old Queen's Theatre, in its time the largest
in London, with the exception of 
Playgoers
at the Queen's were from time to time treated to adaptations of Dickens'
novels featuring