Article No 5 (1910)

The FIRE destroying the OPERA HOUSE Crewe. 7 -19 Mar 1910
See below - DICK WHITTINGTON AND HIS CAT (Pantomime) Dan Thomas & Co
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In the 19th March 1910 Crewe and Nantwich Chronicle
the following article appeared on page 5.
GREAT FIRE AT CREWE
OPERA HOUSE DESTROYED
FIREMAN AND MANAGERS HEROIC CONDUCT

One of the most disastrous fires that have occurred in CREWE for many years
broke out during the early hours of Friday morning, resulting in the entire
destruction of the Opera house in Heath Street. The company occupying the boards
for the week was Mr D Thomas's pantomime in "Dick Whittington". They had a very
successful week up to Thursday night and when they left the theatre about 11.15
everything appeared to be all right. Mr Ambrose Fischer, the manager of the
theatre, remained behind with his wife and child, and shortly after twelve O
Clock as he was about to leave the building, he made, as was his custom, an
examination of the premises. Proceeding from his office to the pit-stalls
below he noticed a strong smell of something burning. He at once rushed to the
entrance of the stage door, which had been locked up by the staff. He noticed
smoke issuing from underneath the stage, and without losing a moment he hurried
and gave the alarm. At first he rushed across to the fire station, which is only
a few yards away, and returning he made a gallant attempt to get on to the stage
where a number of hydrants were kept. He broke down a door, but was met with a
great volume of smoke. This drove him back for a while, but after recovering
somewhat he made a blind rush into the building. He almost reached the hydrants,
when he was overpowered, and fell to the ground. At this point a fireman
appeared on the scene, and seeing Mr Fischer's perilous position he with
commendable promptitude dashed on to the stage, and succeeded in dragging him
out. A minute later flames shot out right and left across the stage, and had it
not been for the fireman's timely rescue the manager would have undoubtedly
perished in the flames. The fire proof curtain, which had only recently been
erected, was drawn after the night's performance, and this kept the flames
contained for a time to the back of the theatre. The Brigade attempted to
concentrate themselves here, but the property on the stage was of such an
inflammable nature - consisting of canvas scenery and tons of light woodwork  -
that their task was impossible. The fire had got such a firm hold that the
destruction of the whole building seemed inevitable, and the adjoining property
was in imminent danger. Mr Easton- Shore with Captain Harding and Lieut. Roberts
were in charge of the corporation fire brigade, and in view of the serious
outlook they deemed it advisable to call out the L. and N.W. Railway Fire
brigade. They responded to the call with remarkable promptitude, and aided by
the high pressure main, which belongs to the railway company, and under
excellent supervision of captain Earp rendered valuable assistance. The fire
spread with lightning like rapidity. From the apartment underneath the stage the
flames forced there way through the platform, and into the wings, where all the
gorgeous and valuable scenery belonging to the pantomime company was stored, and
after devouring this they shot up into the roof, which is nearly "100 FEET FROM
THE BOTTOM". Notwithstanding that there was a tremendous volume of water being
poured on to the flames the fire raged furiously. The fall of the roof over the
stage caused the safety curtain to collapse, and them the flames shot into the
auditorium. The orchestra where many of the musicians had left their
instruments, was rapidly enveloped in the flames, and consumed, and in turn the
pit stalls and the pit fell victims. In half an hour the whole place was like a
red-hot furnace. The Circle and the galleries fell with a thud, and then the
other part of the roof crashed in. The flames lit up the skies, and the
reflection could be seen for a radius of twenty miles. At Nantwich Captain
Thistlethwaite, of the Nantwich fire brigade, saw the illuminated skies, and he
set out on his bicycle to be of service if required. He did useful work; in fact
all the firemen worked manfully. When they found the hopelessness of saving the
theatre they directed their attention to the adjoining property, and to keep the
high surrounding walls of the theatre cool by spraying them with a good supply
of water. Had these walls collapsed the adjacent property would have not only
suffered great damage by the fall, but they would have been in great peril of
the flames. As it was the high walls confined the fire to the building alone,
and it was splendid work of the firemen in this direction that saved the other
buildings. At half past two the fire was at its fiercest, and heat from the
blazing furnace was intense. Hundreds of people turned out to witness the sight
but in view of the dangerous conditions of the walls, which were out of plumb to
the extent of one to one half feet, the police under the personal command of
Supt. Pearson and Inspector Sudlow, kept them at a safe distance. It was a
magnificent sight when the fire was at its height. Nothing has been seen in
Crewe to equal it since the great deviation fire when one portion of the works
was completely destroyed. It was not until about six O Clock that the firemen
had the flames perfectly in hand. With the exception of the manager's office,
and one side of the Dutch bar belonging to the circle, and one or two steel
pillars, which held the circle together, everything had collapsed. Under the
stage there is a well many feet deep, and into this almost everything had
fallen. The frame of the piano in the orchestra had buckled up, and lay among
the debris. It was scarcely good enough for scrap iron. The brass rails and
piping had all melted away. To view the picture at six O Clock one could
scarcely believe that a few hours previous a pretty theatre stood on the site.
The fire had done its work completely; in a marvellously short space of time it
had wrought havoc.

			NOTHING SAVED   
So rapidly did the fire obtain a hold that it was practically impossible to save
anything. Had it originated in the auditorium it might have been possible to
have saved some things on the stage. The personal effects of the artists
belonging to the pantomime - the many beautiful dresses of the 30 or 40 girls,
the hansom state coach used in the palace scene, the pretty scenery - were all
devoured by the flames, and the company were left without a single thing to
proceed to the next town on tour, which should have been Burton on Trent, where
they were billed to appear at another of Mr H.G. Dudley Bennett's theatres. Many
of the artists, including Mr Dan Thomas, witnessed the awful spectacle. They
stood by absolutely helpless, and watched their possessions - in many cases
their life possessions - swallowed up by the angry flames. It was painful to
watch the pitiful plight into which they had been so suddenly plunged. Only an
hour or two previously they had left the building happy in the thought that they
had a good week, and promise of a better weekend. All their ideas were shattered
It was well into the afternoon before the firemen ceased to play on the
smouldering debris. They had been hard at work for twelve hours. They had failed
to save the theatre, but their splendid work had been the means of saving the
property around. It was due to captain Earp and his men that the fire was
prevented from spreading to Miss Roger's Tea- rooms next door. The rooms adjoin
the two theatre bars, and at some points only a wooden partition separated the
two buildings. The gallant Captain despite the dense volumes of smoke, stuck to
his post heroically. For upwards of an hour he never moved away from the circle
corridor, and he must have poured tons of water on to the flames to keep them in
check.

The cause of the fire is unknown. Judging from the firm hold, which it had
obtained when first perceived by Mr Fischer, there can be little doubt that it
had been smouldering for some considerable time. It is supposed that it
originated in one of the dressing rooms on the east side underneath the stage.
It can only be conjectured that somebody must have dropped a lighted cigarette
in one of the rooms. The damage is estimated at about £6,000. This does not
include the personnel effects of Mr Dan Thomas's company, which were
considerable. Neither does it include a quantity of valuable scenery belonging
to the Crewe, St Paul's institute, and which was stored in the building. There
was also a considerable quantity of beer and spirits destroyed. The building was
covered by the insurance to the extent of £4,000 but the majority of the other
things were not insured. Both Mr Bennett and Mr Thomas are considerable losers
by the fire. The company were practically left stranded. In addition to their
stage attire many of the artists had their private belongings in their boxes and
these were all destroyed. The Mayor of Crewe (Councillor C.R. Wooldridge), Mr
Wallace Lumb, Mr W.G. Thomas, Mr W Thomas and a number of influential gentlemen
in the town, as soon as they herd the sad plight of the artists arranged for
some temporary relief. Two concerts were arranged, and on Saturday these took
place at the Town hall, the members of the company supplying the entertainment.
Collectors armed with boxes, paraded the town and visited the football match
during the afternoon, and the result of the effort a sum of about £50 was
raised. Mr Wallace Lumb collected over £8 in his box.

			THE WALLS ARE UNSAFE      
Thousands visited the scene of the fire on Friday evening and Saturday, but they
were unable to get very close on account of the Heath Street having been
barricaded. The Mayor of Crewe personally inspected the outside walls, which
remained, and considered them unsafe. The bricks had been baked in the fire and
it was thought advisable to stop traffic from passing underneath. Early on
Monday morning a large body of workmen were busily engaged in lowering the
walls, and now scarcely anything remains but the site upon which the theatre
stood.

			THE HISTORY OF THE THEATRE  
No name is more closely linked with the history of the Crewe Theatre than that
of Mr Henry Taylor. In 1881 Mr Taylor who settled in Crewe in the 60's, and
established the business known as the Caxton printing offices took a very active
part in a number of amateur dramatic performances, which were attended with
encouraging success, and he thought the time was quite ripe for a home of the
drama in the town. The old chapel in Heath Street, which had been vacated by the
Catholics for the more commodious premises now known as St Mary's school, had
been acquired by the late Mr Thomas Cliffe, of Crewe Gates farm, together with
the land adjoining, and it was in this building that Mr Henry Taylor, to the
great dismay of many friends at the time, established the old Lyceum Theatre.
The Gallery hitherto occupied by the choir, was converted into the circle and at
the other end a stage was erected. Miss Bateman, Mr F.A. Scudamore, and Mr Frank
Fayre were the heads of some of the first companies who occupied the boards, and
the enterprise met with such tangible support that Mr Taylor set in mind on
securing a more suitable building. He accordingly approached the late Mr Charles
Welch, and several other townsmen, and the results of their deliberations were
the formation of the Lyceum Buildings Co, and the erection (in 1887) of the
theatre, which was destroyed on Friday morning. As showing the dimensions of the
new theatre in comparison with the old one, it may be mentioned that the stage
occupied exactly to an inch the site of the Old Catholic Chapel. The Chapel and
the land were disposed of to the company by Mr Cliffe, who himself became a
considerable shareholder, together with the late Mr Chas Welch, the late Mr T
Glover, and the late Ald, John Wilding, Mr H Taylor and others. Mr Welch was the
first chairman of the company. Mr Taylor was appointed lessee and manager; and
retained that position until some twelve months ago, when he disposed of his
interest to Mr H Dudley Bennett of the Shakespeare theatre, London.
 
Mr Taylor recalls an interesting incident, which occurred on the night that Lord
Frederick Cavendish was murdered in the Phoenix Park. Miss Bateman, who was
playing "Leah" at the theatre before a very crowded house had to leave early in
order to catch a train which would land her in Holyhead in time for a Dublin
boat, and to this end the performance closed at 9 O Clock. The audience were so
enthusiastic that they un-harnessed the horse attached to the ladies wagonette
and drew her to the station themselves. During Mr Taylor's management he had a
varied experience. Some weeks he would have a successful run, particularly with
musical comedy; but there were many weeks when business was about as wretched as
it could possibly be. He found the taste of the people wanted elevating for the
higher class plays and opera's, and where he could bill such companies as Mr
Benson's and Mr Moody Manners he could always rely on good houses. The directors
allowed Mr Taylor a free hand as to the provision of one of the most commodious
and best-appointed stages in the provinces, and he was frequently complimented
on this fact by the managers of the companies who occupied it from time to time.
There was indeed ample accommodation for the largest and most exacting
productions on the road. The stage was one of the largest in the provinces.
 
(With thanks to the Crewe Chronicle for reproduction of this article)

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