Remembering Liverpool Structures - The Theatre Royal

Engraved from the original drawing by Robert Chaffens, taken 12th May 1773

Williamson Square Liverpool, originally known as Williamson Field, was a relatively muddy area off Frog Lane ( now Whitechapel ) and had been a place of entertainment from the 15th century. It was a gathering place for troupes of itinerant jugglers, troubadours and orators and there were regular complaints to the City Fathers that those entertaining were attracting an unruly element and causing disorderly behaviour in the area. It was originally laid out as a residential square in 1745. The first Theatre Royal was built on the West Side of the Square and opened under the authority of a Patent on Friday June the 5th, 1772 with a production of the play 'Mahomet'. However it was far from an ideal location for the venue as theatre-goers would often complain not only about the mud at the entrance to the theatre but the fights and loutish behaviour of sailors and prostitutes in the immediate area. Under the management of Joseph Younger and George Mattocks it had been designed by Sir William Chambers, and built by subscription, of which thirty different gentlemen contributed about £170 each, a considerable sum in the 1770s. Each of the subscribers were given 5% of the takings and a transferable ticket.

The original Theatre was demolished and rebuilt and enlarged in 1802 by John Foster, and, with an almost circular frontage with distinctive curved lines, it graced Williamson Square attracting thespians from all over the country. In 'Annals of the Liverpool Stage', R.J. Broadbent cites the following description of the auditorium after the building's reconstruction in 1803; "The shape of the interior is nearly that of a horse-shoe, the performance may be very well seen, and the lowest whisper, if articulate, distinctly heard. We could wish the proscenium had been less richly ornamented, for, however beautifully executed, it does not entirely harmonise with the light, elegant decorations of the other parts of the house. The fronts of the boxes are painted with a sort of lattice work silvered, and medallions beautifully executed. The supporters of the boxes are light, well-proportioned, cast-iron pillars, gilded. There are four-and-twenty of the handsomest lustres we ever saw; twelve of which, somewhat larger than the others, are suspended at equal distances round the lower tier; eight round the second tier, and four above those, round the third or highest tier." 

A Dance Academy set up by James Palmer and his son John Barton Palmer in the early 1800s, at their home at 12, St. Ann's Street, and at Nelson Street, Great George Square, and King Street, Soho, Liverpool would regularly hold a Ball for their students here for several decades up to the 1850s. Eventually they would be run by John Barton Palmer and his son, James Palmer, (named after the original James Palmer). The academy taught people how to dance Quadrilles, Minuets, and Spanish Country Dances amongst others. For years this Theatre held a monopoly in Liverpool, until a government act of 1843 introduced competition.

During Victorian times, Charles Dickens, Irving, Paganini and even Blondin, the famed tight-rope walker, all appeared at the New Theatre Royal along with a certain player of the era called Junius Brutus Booth who was famous for his serious acting roles. In 1847 Charles Dickens appeared as Captain Bobadil in Every Man in His Humour at The Theatre Royal. Commenting on his and a fellow actor's performance, the Liverpool Mercury said, 'Never was greater enthusiasm evinced by any audience within the walls of this theatre than that which attended the clever acting of these distinguished men. Rounds of applause greeted them every time they came on the stage, and they seemed deeply sensible of the good feeling manifested towards them'. In the face of new theatres opening , including the Star – now the Playhouse – across the square, the Theatre Royal went into decline.

The New Theatre Royal closed down in 1896 and the building became the Union Cold Storage Company which ingeniously converted the old building into a cold storage unit where for many years massive slabs of ice could be seen by anyone who cared to peer into the Arctic- cold rooms until it was demolished in 1971.

The site is now the home of the official Liverpool Football Club store.  

see also:- http://www.thefootballvoice.com/2021/12/remembering-liverpool-structures-owen.html