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The Surrey Theatre West Bar.


Guest tsavo

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Guest tsavo

Found these two pictures of the Surrey Theatre. The owner in the second picture is Thomas Youdan. The first is a reveiw of one of the Theatres productions. Read to the end for a very nasty accident.

From as ever, Picture Sheffield

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Guest Gramps

The end of the Surrey Theatre.

"In March 1865, yet another realistic modern drama was staged, Boucicault's 'The Streets of London', which featured the Great Fire of 1666. Admission prices were: Private boxes, 2s; Amphitheatre, Is; Boxes, 6d; Gallery, 3d.

On 25 March the play had run for two weeks to the delight of packed houses. Special effects included a grand house fire as the climax of the play. Tarpaulin and wood were ignited and the blaze tackled by real firemen specially recruited by Mr Youdan. The stage fire was lit and the house facade crashed blazing onto the stage with great dramatic effect. The Friday evening performance being over, the gaslights were extinguished at midnight, however it was surmised that some part of the woodwork, probably the flies had been ignited during the performance. At about 2.30am a policeman discovered the building on fire. A ferocious blaze took hold of the theatre which was immediately evacuated by the few remaining employees. In less than five minutes, the flames burst through the roof at the rear of the building and in no time, the whole structure was a roaring mass of fire and smoke. The firemen acted in desperate haste, because explosives, stored in the building andintended to blow off the roof of the stage house had ignited and enhanced the already awful conflagration. At the height of the blaze, fire brigades from several neighbouring towns were in attendance. The fire spread rapidly, threatening to destroy the surrounding West Bar houses, Spring Street and Hick's Lane also being in great danger. The building burned down in such grand style due to its being built largely of wood. The epic fire raged all through the night and until 10.00am the next morning and was not completely extinguished for five days. The building was totally gutted, nothing remaining but the charred walls."

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The end of the Surrey Theatre.

"In March 1865, yet another realistic modern drama was staged, Boucicault's 'The Streets of London', which featured the Great Fire of 1666. Admission prices were: Private boxes, 2s; Amphitheatre, Is; Boxes, 6d; Gallery, 3d.

On 25 March the play had run for two weeks to the delight of packed houses. Special effects included a grand house fire as the climax of the play. Tarpaulin and wood were ignited and the blaze tackled by real firemen specially recruited by Mr Youdan. The stage fire was lit and the house facade crashed blazing onto the stage with great dramatic effect. The Friday evening performance being over, the gaslights were extinguished at midnight, however it was surmised that some part of the woodwork, probably the flies had been ignited during the performance. At about 2.30am a policeman discovered the building on fire. A ferocious blaze took hold of the theatre which was immediately evacuated by the few remaining employees. In less than five minutes, the flames burst through the roof at the rear of the building and in no time, the whole structure was a roaring mass of fire and smoke. The firemen acted in desperate haste, because explosives, stored in the building andintended to blow off the roof of the stage house had ignited and enhanced the already awful conflagration. At the height of the blaze, fire brigades from several neighbouring towns were in attendance. The fire spread rapidly, threatening to destroy the surrounding West Bar houses, Spring Street and Hick's Lane also being in great danger. The building burned down in such grand style due to its being built largely of wood. The epic fire raged all through the night and until 10.00am the next morning and was not completely extinguished for five days. The building was totally gutted, nothing remaining but the charred walls."

Can you imagine trying to do this these days ?

He must have been as mad as a box of frogs even back then !

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Mr. Youdan, Surrey Music Hall

------------------ Sir Henry apparently also kept the menagerie going until his death, following which the animals were sold at an auction sale conducted by a Mr. Nicholson of Sheffield on April 19th 1856.

The following week the Derbyshire Courier reported the sales as:

Pair of wolves from Sweden for 19 guineas to Mr. Youdan, Surrey Music Hall, Sheffield.

Brown Bear from Sweden to Mr. Youdan £26-5s-0d.

Very handsome Russian Bear – Mr. Youdan, 11 guineas.

Pair North American Brown Bears, Youdan, £24-3s-0d.

Pair Esquimaux Dogs (Huskies), Youdan, £7.

Source

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A link to Rotherhamweb ....

Catastrophe at Surrey Theatre Sheffield .. The Coroner's Inquest

Great stuff! The Wilfred Ledger mentioned, was a distant ancestor of mine( 2nd cousin 4x removed), he was born Wilfred Henry Ledger in 1839 and was living on Broad Street with his parents in 1861, thanks for the link!!

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Great stuff! The Wilfred Ledger mentioned, was a distant ancestor of mine( 2nd cousin 4x removed), he was born Wilfred Henry Ledger in 1839 and was living on Broad Street with his parents in 1861, thanks for the link!!

I can't seem to find him on Ancestry ? Could be just me ...

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I can't seem to find him on Ancestry ? Could be just me ...

You'll find him here:

http://search.ancestry.co.uk/cgi-bin/sse.dll?gl=ROOT_CATEGORY&rank=1&new=1&so=1&MSAV=1&msT=1&gss=ms_f-2&gsfn=wilfred+henry&gsln=ledger&msbdy=1839&msbpn__ftp=Sheffield%2C+Yorkshire%2C+England&msbpn=1652386&msbpn_PInfo=8-%7C1652381%7C3257%7C3251%7C5292%7C165238&cpxt=1&catBucket=rstp&uidh=rs3&cp=11

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