Britannia Theatre
| Royal Britannia Saloon and Britania Tavern 1913–1940 Gaumont Cinema |
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c.1890 Playbill
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| Address |
Hoxton High Street (now Hoxton Street) Hackney, London |
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| Owner | Sam and Sarah Lane |
| Designation | Demolished |
| Type | Theatre, melodrama and pantomime |
| Capacity | 3000 seated and standing |
| Current use | Block of flats (on site) |
| Construction | |
| Opened | Easter Monday 1841 |
| Rebuilt | 1858 Finch Hill and Edward Lewis Paraire |
| Years active | 1840–1900 (circa) |
The Britannia Theatre (1841–1900) was located at 115/117 High Street, Hoxton, London. The theatre was badly damaged by a fire in 1900. The site was reused as a Gaumont cinema from 1913 to 1940, when this too was destroyed. The site is marked by a London Borough of Hackney historic plaque.
A typical night's entertainment would include 3–4 plays, with variety acts in the intervals between. Many music hall acts would appear during the interval, and sometimes their acts were woven into the performance. The plays varied, from Shakespeare, Victorian melodrama and comedy. During the winter season pantomime was performed.
Unusually for a theatre, food and drink were served in the auditorium, in the style of contemporary music halls.
Samuel Haycraft Lane was born in Lympstone, Devon in 1803. In 1821, he decided to escape the life of a fisherman and walk to London. After living hand to mouth and educating himself, with the help of a friend, William Brian, he encountered a troupe of actors who he had previously met on his journey. He helped the leader of the troupe, Jack Adams, to find premises for performance at the Union Tavern in Shoreditch. This hall catered for 500–seated and a similar number standing. Jack Adam's company performed a successful programme of drama, song, dance and acrobatics. Sam married Jack's daughter Mary, in 1835.
The troupe always had ambitions to perform serious drama, and in 1839, the company performed Othello, breaking the law on theatrical performance, as they were not a patent theatre. Lane lost his licence and paid a substantial fine. With the increase in London's population, and the increasing popularity of live entertainment, the law was finally changed with the Theatres Act 1843.
In 1840, Lane and his colleagues thought they had identified a loophole whereby performances could be offered without charge, with profits made from the sale of programmes, food and drink. The Britannia Tavern in Hoxton was identified as suitable premises. This was the former Pimlico tea gardens, an Elizabethan tavern and had a large hall attached, holding about 1,000 people. The Royal Britannia Saloon and Brittania Tavern was opened on Easter Monday 1841 by Sam Lane. The theatre was a success. Sadly, private life was more difficult, Mary became pregnant, and slipped and fell at a rehearsal, both she and the baby died. By 1858 having purchased the leases of surrounding properties, the theatre was rebuilt in larger form, with 3,000 seats. This building designed by Finch Hill, consisting of two circles, a pit and a gallery and had a reported record attendance of 4,790.
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