The Spirits of the Theatre Royal - Bath
The Spirits of the Theatre Royal
Baths Theatre Royal is said to be one of the most paranormally active buildings in the City.
It was built in 1805. and is a Grade II* listed building, it has been described by the Theatres Trust as "One of the most important surviving examples of Georgian theatre architecture".
It has a capacity for an audience of around 900.
The Theatre Royal was built to replace the Old Orchard Street Theatre, funded by a Tontine and elaborately decorated.
The architect was George Dance the Younger, with John Palmer carrying out much of the work.
It opened with a performance of Shakespeare's Richard III and hosted performances by many leading actors of the time including Dorothea Jordan, William Macready and Edmund Kean.
A major fire in 1862 destroyed the interior of the building and was quickly followed by a rebuilding programme by Charles J. Phipps, which included the construction of the current entrance.
Further redecoration was undertaken in 1892; more extensive building work, including a new staircase and the installation of electric lighting, followed in 1902.
Despite performances by casts including Sarah Bernhardt, the ballerina Anna Pavlova and Mrs. Patrick Campbell, the theatre was rarely very profitable.
During World War II Donald Wolfit, Irene Vanbrugh, John Gielgud and Sybil Thorndike appeared, with shows including Noël Coward's Private Lives and Blithe Spirit, a performance by Ballet Rambert and light entertainment such as Charley's Aunt, but audiences declined.
In 1979 the theatre was bought by a trust and, following public donations, it underwent refurbishment, with the rebuilding of the stage and the installation of a new taller fly tower for scenery and lighting.
In 1997 a new 120-seat theatre, known as the Ustinov Studio, was opened.
Further restoration work to the main auditorium was needed in 2010 and in 2005 a children's theatre known as The Egg was opened.
The most well known spirits of the Theatre are that of a Grey Lady and the famous story of the Tortoishell Butterfly, which is said to be an omen of good luck and appears usually around December for Panto season.
But on reading an intriguing book by Malcolm Cadey on the ghosts of Bath, I have discovered a lot of eyewitness accounts of some very unusual and in some cases disturbing phenomena at the theatre over the years..
In the 1970's Margaret Royal decided to create a ghost walk starting from the Garricks Head and heading into the most haunted parts of Bath, telling the various stories she had uncovered on the way.
It was on this that it was discovered that the Theatre Royal and the Garricks Head shared the same spirits, as the Theatre is between two houses, Richard (Beau) Nash lived in both, the Garricks Head was his original house, of which part of it was then built into the theatre.
On the other side was his second house where Popjoys Restaurant was in later years and where Juliana Popjoy lived, she was his final mistress before he died there in 1761.
The other principle spirits there are a man in a red wig, tricorn hat and long coat, and the Grey Lady, but whether the grey lady is the same spirit or not? as there maybe two...
Some of the eyewitness accounts, mainly by staff of the theatre over the years, include a terrifying black shapeshifting mist that manifested in front of several people, changing form in front of the terrified witness then either discipating or shooting up into the ceiling.
The man on the foyer, which had had lots of sightings, but strangely only by people who are actors, not staff.. this is the man in the tricorn hat, red wig, long coat with brass buttons and breeches, but since that area was altered in the early 1980's he had no longer been spotted.
This spirit is also said to be seen in the Garricks Head, but who is he?
There could also be the spirit of a cleaner who worked there and likes to mess with things in the bar and at one point was leaving mysterious 'cleaned' areas..
In 1948 the spirit of a man was seen in evening dress.
There was also a chilling account of a young scruffy and ragged girl seen who would be crying, the witness reported that the crying would get louder around them as well, causing an audible phenomenon as well as visual..
Two of the most astonishing accounts where that of two occasions where the spirit of a soon to be or recently deceased person sppaered to people that knew them..
One account was from one of the nights of the Bath Blitz in April 1942, where a firewatcher was working at the theatre, his account tells of the bombs raining down all around and the explosions close by, at one point there was a let up in the bombardment and he saw a blue light flash at a window.
He looks out and sees his friend, making gestures at him, he thought it curious, but then he was gone, the bombardment continues and then a little later he gets a phone call and is told that sadly his friend who was working at the Francis Hotel just around the corner had died, killed instantly when the hotel took a direct hit from a bomb..
Another similar chilling tale is that of a female worker, who thought her friend had come to see her at work, she was conversing with her and chatting, then a little later mentioned she had come in to someone, who proceeded to tell her that the friend in question had actually died that morning, before the time the lady had seen her..
So with two similar cases of hauntings of this nature, it begs the question, does the area of the theatre have a portal of some kind? for these two types of phenomena to happen, with the deceased people having nothing really to do with the theatre other than. that there friends were there at their time of passing, or just after....
The Theatre is such a hotbed of paranormal activity, it would be really interesting to know if there are any more sigtings or activity in more recent years.
The book Paranormal Bath by Malcolm Cadey has all the full eye witness accounts and is an amazing and chilling read..
Photo Credits- Drawing - Rare Old Prints 1888
