Only a few days ago, I was discussing the photos and newspaper clippings Geoff Try had brought along with him to our regular meeting. They were of the Windsor Theatre fire in 1908. We had some questions the answers to which we would never get to discuss, as he unfortunately passed a few days later. Here is a summary of the story …
In February 1908, the original Theatre Royal in Windsor was destroyed by fire after nearly a century of service. The blaze began in the early hours of 17 February when a sentry on Castle Terrace spotted flames, and the fire brigade was later alerted by railway staff.
Despite efforts by Windsor, Eton, and Windsor Castle fire brigades, the backstage area was totally burnt out. The auditorium suffered less damage due to the asbestos safety curtain, but the water used to extinguish the fire caused significant additional harm. Although there were no casualties, performers lost property, costumes, musical instruments, and scenery, and neighbouring businesses were damaged, notably a grocer, a wine merchant, a confectioner, and a fruit & flower seller, some of which were uninsured.
Determined to rebuild, the theatre’s owners, the Shipleys of Burge & Co, the Windsor brewers, commissioned architect Frank Verity to design a new, larger, fire-resistant theatre, which opened in December 1910. The new building improved on the original by increasing capacity (about 850 seats), raising the roof to allow better stage equipment, and using safer materials, including a single fire curtain. The Windsor Strollers, an amateur theatre group, performed the opening play Under the Red Robe, and the reopening was well-attended and praised, except for some minor complaints about draughts.
References
“Fire!” by Hester Davenport in Windlesora 26 (2010)
“Tragedy at Windsor Theatre” by Hester Davenport in Windlesora 26 (2010)
“The First Theatre Royal” by Hester Davenport in Windlesora 22 (2006).
“The Danger of Banana Fritters” by Sue Ashleyin Windlesora 30 (2014)
Windsor Local History Group 