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Construction of this Theatre Royal
Performance and fire
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The play
Fire breaks out
Panic and attempted escape
Response to the fire
Outcome
Aftermath
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Relief fund
Burials
The theatre
The production
Causes and investigations
Toggle Causes and investigations subsection
Coroner's inquest
Independent inquiry
City council report
Attempted prosecutions
Awards and recognition
Legacy
See also
References
Exeter Theatre Royal fire

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Coordinates: 50.7264°N 3.5274°W
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Exeter Theatre Royal fire

Contemporary illustration of the fire

Date 5 September 1887
Venue Theatre Royal, Exeter, England
Coordinates 50.7264°N 3.5274°W
Also known as
Exeter disaster
Exeter theatre fire
Theatre Royal disaster
Cause Design failures by architect C. J. Phipps
Deaths 186
Non-fatal injuries Dozens
Property damage Building destroyed
Inquest
Coroner's inquestParliamentary inquiry
Verdict Accidental death
The Exeter Theatre Royal fire was a disaster that occurred on 5 September 1887 in
Exeter, England. A fire broke out in the backstage area of the Theatre Royal during
the production of The Romany Rye by George Robert Sims and produced by Wilson
Barrett. The fire caused panic throughout the theatre, with 186 people dying from a
combination of the direct effects of smoke and flame, crushing and trampling, and
trauma injuries from falling or jumping from the roof and balconies.

The death toll makes it the worst theatre disaster, the worst single-building fire,
and the third worst fire-related disaster in UK history.

Most of the dead were in the gallery of the theatre, which had only a single exit
with several design flaws, and quickly became clogged with people trying to escape.

Construction of this Theatre Royal

The previous Theatre Royal, Exeter had been gutted by fire in 1885, and the new
theatre was opened, on a new site, in 1886 to the design of well-known theatre
architect C. J. Phipps.[1][2] The theatre was leased exclusively to Sidney
Herberte-Basing.[3][4][5]

The building was constructed from stone and red brick on the outside, but inside
made extensive use of timber.[6]

The licensing authority, Exeter City Council ordered that the new theatre be
constructed "in accordance with the rules and regulations of the Metropolitan Board
of Works",[7] which was a statutory requirement in London under The Metropolitan
Building Act 1855 (with theatre particulars added in the 1878 amendment), but not
in the regions.[8]

In his letter accompanying the plans to the Corporation Surveyor of Exeter City
Council, Phipps directly states that the building met all the rules and
requirements laid out:

...the theatre is designed in accordance with the rules and regulations of the
Board of Works under the Act of 1878 and of the Lord Chamberlain – and having
constructed some 40 theatres, I bring a somewhat large experience to bear on this
subject

— 
C.J. Phipps, Letter of 11 July 1885 from Phipps to the Corporation Surveyor of
the City of Exeter[3]
During the licensing inspection, the magistrates noted several deficiencies, which
were ordered to be rectified, including installing an additional exit for the
audience from the boxes, stalls, and pit, widening the exits to at least 6 feet
(1.8 m), changing some single leaf exit doors to double doors, and supplying 80
feet (24 m) of hose for each hydrant (of which there were only two – one in the
foyer and one in the "prompts" in front of the stage),[3] rather than 40 feet (12
m) which had been provided.[7]

The magistrates did not make an inspection of the stage, the mezzanine floor, or
the fly galleries above the stage.[3]

The theatre's design contained a gallery, which was the audience viewing area at
the top of the building containing the cheapest seats, to which access and egress
was limited to a single stone staircase, which had four right-angled turns in it.
Licensing magistrates noted during the licensing hearing that the Metropolitan
Board rules stated that there should be two exits, but Phipps asserted that a
second exit was provided by climbing the railing at the front of the gallery, and
dropping to the second circle below.[6] Unlike several other faults which were
noted with clear instructions to remediate, it is unclear in documentation if the
magistrates remarks about the exit required action, and the magistrates seemed to
accept the assurances of the architect, issuing the licence.[3]

The licensing requirements also specified the provision of an iron safety curtain,
which was not fitted at the time of the fire. Similarly, a fire hydrant in the
stage wings was on the plans of the theatre but never installed,[6] despite Phipps
being advised by Mssrs Merryweather, the installers of fire suppression measures,
that the two hydrants installed were insufficient.[3]

Performance and fire

The play
See also: The Romany Rye (play)
The disaster occurred on 5 September 1887,[5] the opening night of the touring
production of the melodrama The Romany Rye written by George Robert Sims, performed
by the company of Gilbert Elliott[9] and produced by Wilson Barrett.[10][11] The
show had previously been staged at the Princess's Theatre in London.[9]

The play had up to eighteen very elaborate sets and scenes, which were all stored
around the backstage area.[4]

There were 700 to 800 people in the Theatre Royal at the time of the fire,[6]
around half of its full capacity,[12] with some 300 people in the gallery alone,
which had been boosted by an influx of "half-timers" who entered after 9pm for a
cheaper seat.[4]

Fire breaks out

An illustration in Police Illustrated of the Exeter Theatre Royal fire, showing the
scene inside in the dress circle
The fire broke out at approximately 10:20pm during the conclusion of the fourth
act,[3] when a gauze curtain was lowered from the gantry by a scene-shifter named
Taylor, who then observed that the gauze had caught alight on one of the gas jets
used for stage lighting.[6] Upon seeing this, Taylor then ran across the gantry and
released the "drop-scene" (a painting of Warwick Castle by Walter Johnson[2])
towards the front of the stage, temporarily isolating the fire from the auditorium,
and before the audience had noticed anything wrong.[4][6]

The drop-scene covered the stage whilst the actor playing the part of Scragger was
in the middle of speaking a line,[3] and people in the theatre initially laughed,
thinking there was a technical 'first-night' glitch in the performance.[4][13]

The fire spread rapidly on scenery backstage, with the theatre fireman attempting
to use a hose to extinguish it, but with no effect.[6] The escape of the cast and
crew meant the stage doors were opened, and this provided a draft that fanned the
flames, and caused the drop scene – which had sheltered the audience to that point
– to first bulge out, and then ignite.[6][4]

Panic and attempted escape

An illustration in Police Illustrated of the Exeter Theatre Royal fire, showing the
stairway where many died
The appearance of smoke and flame in the auditorium caused a mass panic, with
patrons rushing for the exits. Those in the stalls and dress circle were easily
able to escape through several easily accessed, wide exits. The higher upper circle
had a wide stone staircase, as well as several secondary staircases, and whilst
there were some crush injuries in the panic, most people were able to escape
successfully.[6]

Less fortunate were patrons in the pit area, where heavy crushing occurred from the
movement of the crowd, and multiple lives were lost.[6] Those trying to exit the
pit found that one of their exits was locked and barred, and they were only saved
when the hinges of the door gave way from the crushing pressure of the crowd.[6]

Because the fire had been ignited by a gas lamp, the gas valves were shut off, but
due to a further design flaw in the building, the shut-off cut the gas to all
lighting in the building, including the lighting in the auditorium, and this meant
that the audience trying to escape were plunged into darkness, and with the thick
smoke visibility was severely restricted.[7]

A number of deaths occurred when attendees from the Upper Circle attempted to
descend the stairs they had entered by, but there was no signage or indication of
which route was the exit, and they missed the opening for the exit stairs on a
landing, and went straight ahead, finding themselves in the restaurant and bar,
from which there was no escape.[3][4]

The majority of the deaths occurred in the gallery, at the top of the theatre,
where the single narrow staircase provided a bottleneck, worsened by the presence
of a 'check-box' where patrons dropped their passes on the way out, directly at the
top of the gallery stairway. In the darkness and smoke, the check-box was knocked
down the stairs by the first rush of people, coming to rest at the first right-
angle corner on the stairs, where it created a trip hazard, where people then fell
over it, blocking the stairway, and causing a backlog of people and a crush as
those behind pushed forward to reach the blocked exit.[6]

The wife of the check-box attendant, Lucy Coombes, had come to meet her husband at
the end of his shift but had arrived early. She was tripped by the falling checkbox
and was trampled by the crowd. She was taken to hospital but died on the day that
the inquest verdict was announced.[3]

Some people did try to climb the railing to the upper circle (which the architect
suggested as a valid second exit), but no-one is thought to have survived trying to
exit in this way, all being overcome by smoke and fumes before successfully
completing it.[3]

Response to the fire

Area map of the Exeter Theatre Royal during the 1887 Fire, showing the theatre, the
Inn and its stables, and the fire station. The approximate location of the modern
John Lewis building is shown for reference.

An illustration in Police Illustrated of the Exeter Theatre Royal fire, showing an

actress dropping from a window
The fire brigade of the West of England Insurance Co was based only 100 yards (91
m) from the theatre,[14] and Mr R Harry, who worked for the Exeter Tramway Company
had left the New North Road depot near the fire station when he saw smoke issuing
from the building, and ran back to the fire station to alert them.[4] By chance, Mr
Harry had also been the person to raise the alarm when the first Theatre Royal
burnt down two years previously.[4] This rapid alert meant that they responded
about five minutes after the blaze started with their "Little West" fire engine.[6]

Ladders were brought by members of the public from a local builder's yard, and
several people were successfully rescued using the ladders to bring them from the
gallery down to the balcony of the upper and dress circles.[6]
After around ten minutes, a rumour circulated in the crowd that everyone was out of
the building. The responding firefighters, having managed to get water on the
outside of the building now managed to make entry to the building, and only then
saw the scale of the disaster. On approaching the gallery stairs, they saw forty to
fifty people in a heap on the exit stairs, dead or dying.[4]

Other fire brigades from across the city also attended, including the Army brigade
from Higher Barracks,[15][3] and the railway brigade of the London and South
Western Railway.[3] A number of people were on the roof awaiting rescue, but the
city's wheeled ladder was delayed in arriving from the Guildhall as it was chained
up for security, and the keyholder could not be located for some twenty minutes.[3]

Firefighters from Topsham saw the blaze from 5 miles (8.0 km) away, and set off to
attend, but their horse had been turned out to graze, and could not be caught, and
so they set off pulling their engine by hand. The horse was eventually captured,
and caught up with the firefighters about halfway on their journey, then being
harnessed to the appliance to continue the journey.[3][4] The Topsham brigade would
later receive a commendation from the Home Secretary for their bravery during the
response.[4]

The fire was beyond the capability of the firefighters, and they had to retreat
from the flames. A group of rescuers, including soldier Driver George Cooper, and
sailor Seaman William Hunt,[16][17] climbed over a small roof and broke a window,
pulling several people to safety.[6]

Soldier Bombardier Scattergood rescued a number of people from the building,

including a child extra who he found alone and terrified on the stage, before being
overcome by smoke. He suffered severe burns before being pulled out of the building
himself, and taken to hospital, where he died a few days later.[3]

A number of people remained trapped on the roof or on the balconies of the

building, but the fire's spread overtook many of these before rescuers could reach
them, some choosing to jump to the street rather than be reached by the flames.[17]

The last survivor was a woman found crouching in the saloon passage, and pulled out
through a window at just after 11pm.[3]

The landlord of the nearby New London Inn, Robert Pople, responded at the first
alarm, bringing five or six ladders which saved many people,[16] and then opened
his premises, using the pub to shelter the survivors, and laying out victims in the
stables. His actions during the fire were widely reported, including by The
Illustrated London News, and he was praised for his actions. He was presented with
a silver and gold bracelet by the Earl of Portsmouth the following month for his
actions on the night of the fire. This popularity saw him elected Sheriff of Exeter
in 1890,[18] followed by Alderman, and later he was elected Mayor of Exeter three
times.[19]

The police also attended, with a Constable Ching being noted for making a number of
successful rescue efforts into the building with a handkerchief over his mouth.[6]

Outcome

Bodies laid out for identification at the stables of the New London Inn following
the fire, published by the Illustrated London News
By the morning following the fire, more than 130 bodies were laid out at the New
London Inn.[4] Large local fabric retailer Colson's sent its entire stock of calico
to the inn to help wrap the bodies of the dead.[20]

Following recovery, 186 people died during the fire, making this the worst theatre
disaster, the worst single-building fire, and third worst fire-related disaster in
UK history,[21] behind the Albion Colliery Disaster and the 1212 Great Fire of
London.

The dead included at least one baby, 9 months old Willie Davie, found with his
father, named Henry Davie (Davey in some references) of Heavitree,[15][3] as well
as thirteen other children aged 16 or under.[3]

Ninety-eight children lost at least one parent in the fire, and thirty-nine were
orphaned by the disaster, with more than half being under six years old.[4]

Many bodies were unrecognisable. Whilst some were identified from jewellery or
personal effects, a number remained unidentifiable.[6][4]

Aftermath
Following the fire, on the 8 September, the coroner ordered the ruined theatre to
be boarded up, with all persons prohibited, in order that it might be preserved for
investigation.[22]

It took some time for the building to be made safe, and for all of the remains to
be found and identified. On the 9 September, four days after the fire, the
Associated Press reported that the death toll might not exceed 140.[23]

Relief fund
A local relief fund for the families of victims of the disaster was started very
quickly, with donations being managed by a Relief Fund Committee.[22] By the 9
September, only four days after the disaster, the committee had made interim awards
to 17 cases who were in immediate need, making weekly instalment payments.[22] In
order to care for all of the orphans left by the fire, it was calculated that
between ten and twenty thousand pounds would be required, which the committee felt
it would be impossible to raise locally.[22]

At the recommendation of the Relief Committee, the Exeter Town Clerk send letters,
including to the Lord Mayor of London, and the appeal went national.[22]
Contributions came from across the country, including £100 from Queen Victoria[24]
and £100 from actor-manager Henry Irving who was playing at the Royalty Theatre,
Glasgow.[4] The Lord Mayor of London collected donations at the Mansion House for
the appeal,[22] and this ended up being the largest single donation to the fund at
£1,537.[3]

Donations were even received internationally, with subscriptions being received in

British Embassies, including in Paris, France,[23] as well as from Australia,
America, and the South African gold fields.[3]

Due to the number of orphans created, serious consideration was given to the
founding of an orphanage specifically for those orphaned by the fire, and a sub-
committee was created to assess the feasibility.[24] In the end, no orphanage was
built, with children sent to orphanages across the country,[4] after visits by the
committee to a number of institutions to assess their suitability.[25]

Eventually, the relief fund raised £20,763, which was used for survivors and to
support the families of the victims.[3] By 1931, the fund was still providing for
five survivors, with £480 still remaining in trust of the fund.[4]

Burials

Memorial to the dead of the fire in Higher Cemetery, Heavitree

The funerals of the majority of victims were held within a few days of the fire. 68
of the victims were identifiable, and their bodies released to their families for
burial, mostly in the Higher Cemetery, Heavitree. These services continued over the
following weeks, often back-to-back at the cemetery, with family, friends,
colleagues, and well-wishers attending.[26]

The majority of the dead were interred in the same mass grave, prepared for the
purpose at Higher Cemetery,[27] although due to site restrictions, only four
coffins could be brought at once.[3] The remains of the 118 people who were not
identifiable were interred with their body parts placed in 15 shared coffins.[4]
Over 10,000 people attended the cemetery for the funeral service.[4]

Between one and two thousand people attended the cemetery on the first anniversary
of the fire, despite there being no formal service or remembrance function.[28][29]

At the cemetery a memorial to those who died in the fire was erected, made by local
sculptor Harry Hems.[27] It was hoped to be completed by the first anniversary, but
this was not achieved.[28]

Adjacent to the main memorial is a separate headstone to Bombardier F Scattergood

"who striving to save the lives of others, lost his own at the burning of Exeter
Theatre".[30]

The theatre
The theatre was severely damaged, with the stage and auditorium destroyed. A number
of parts survived, although smoke and water damaged, including most of the dressing
rooms, the foyer, and the upper circle bar. Workmen were employed to move
salvageable furniture to a nearby warehouse.[3] The theatre itself was insured by
the North British and Mercantile Insurance Company, who paid £5,300 for the losses
to the building and shops. The property in the theatre, belonged to operator Sidney
Herberte-Basing, and this was not insured, leaving him with considerable debts of
over £6,000. This led him to file for bankruptcy in May 1888.[3]

There was debate as to whether the theatre should be rebuilt, or if a new building
should be constructed. This was led by Alderman W. Horton Ellis. The decision was
made to follow the plans made by actor-manager Henry Irving, who had made a major
donation to the relief fund, working with eminent architect Alfred Darbyshire.[5]

This meant following the "Irving Safety Theatre" principles, These principles
included making the theatre site isolated, dividing the auditorium from the back of
house, a minimum height above street level for any part of the audience, providing
two separate exits for every section of the audience, improved stage construction
including a smoke flue, and fire-resistant construction throughout.[31]

Electric lighting was installed, with over 510 electric lamps being needed.[4] As
the electricity grid was not yet reliable enough in Exeter to ensure the
uninterrupted use of the lights, Robert Pople, the owner of the New London Inn who
had helped so much on the night of the fire, agreed to the placement of a generator
for a number of months in his stable yard.

The new theatre opened on 7 October 1889, with a D'Oyly Carte Opera Company
presentation of the Gilbert and Sullivan light opera The Yeomen of the Guard.[5]

The production
None of the cast members from the touring company were killed in the fire, although
company principal Gilbert Elliot was burnt to the face and hands,[32] and they
continued their tour, with the next stop at the Portsmouth Theatre the following
Monday.[33]

All of the scenery for the production was lost in the fire,[34] along with the
personal possessions of the company. The performance at Portsmouth used borrowed
costumes and scene sets.[35]

Continuing the tour to Portsmouth meant that members of the company who had been
summoned to appear at the coroner's inquest did not attend, and the coroner held
them in contempt.[36]

Causes and investigations

Coroner's inquest
A coroner's inquest was opened on 21 September 1887, in front of a coroner's jury.

The official verdict was of 'accidental death' but the licensing magistrates and
architect C. J. Phipps were severely criticised for their part in the disaster.[6]

The licensing magistrates were criticised for issuing a licence when requirements
from their first inspection had not been met (such as the safety curtain), and
because they were aware that there was only a single exit from the gallery. Phipps
was also heavily criticised for misleading the magistrates in relation to the lack
of a second exit, by suggesting that dropping over the edge of the balcony was a
suitable second exit.

Phipps was further criticised for the design, including the roof over the gallery
being too low, meaning that people had little chance to escape before smoke
overcame them.

Independent inquiry

Picture of the Theatre Royal, the morning after the fire

In addition to the coroner's inquest, the government tasked Captain Sir Eyre Shaw,
the Chief Officer of the Metropolitan Fire Brigade (since renamed the London Fire
Brigade), to conduct a parliamentary inquiry and report back.

Captain Shaw was already a proponent of better fire safety in theatres, having
published the work "Fires in Theatres" in 1876, over 10 years before the Exeter
fire,[37] and having made repeated steps to improve fire prevention in theatres.
[38]

Shaw submitted his report the government on 29 September 1887, and in it he noted
the significant failings of the architect, Phipps. Phipps defended himself from the
blame, deflecting to the fact that a number of changes had been made during
construction from the designs that he proposed.[6] He also stated to the inquiry
that the Metropolitan Board of Works Rules and Regulations were not obligatory
outside of London, but Shaw roundly rejected this submission, as the licensing
authority had given this as a requirement before construction had started,
regardless of it not being otherwise legally required, and that Phipps had given
evidence to the magistrates at the licensing hearing that all the regulations had
been adhered to, despite this not being the case.[7]

Ultimately, Shaw identified that the substandard design and build of the theatre
caused the deaths. There was a large contribution from the architect, but Shaw gave
the largest blame to the licensing magistrates, as they had passed Phipps'
substandard work as being fit-for-purpose.[3] Shaw noted that the design flaws at
the Theatre Royal made this one of the most dangerous theatres in the country:[7]

It may be that, as stated in evidence, that there are elsewhere other theatres as
bad as that of Exeter; but it may be confidently asserted that there can be very
few worse

— 
Eyre Shaw, 1888 Parliamentary Inquiry Report[7]
The inquiry report identified twelve serious design and construction defects, any
one of which should have prevented the licensing of the building as a theatre:[7]

the theatre was not divided, so was a single risk

the ceiling of the auditorium was at least 5 feet (1.5 m) too low
the stage roof should have been 20 feet (6.1 m) above the centre of the some but
was only 7 feet (2.1 m)
there was no smoke outlet over the stage
there was no smoke outlet over the auditorium
the gallery only had one staircase, where there should have been two, and that
staircase was obstructed in several places
the gas supply for the large auditorium chandelier was the same as that for the
stage, and when the stage gas was shut off, this caused the auditorium to go dark
there were no masonry-built areas for storage of flammable scenery, which left it
around the stage ready to be ignited
there was no way of dealing with the fire in the wings of the stage, where fire was
most likely
passages and corridors which were meant to be of fire resistant materials, were
clad with flammable lath and plaster or matchboarding
the exit from the stalls and dress boxes as designed was "cramped and tortuous"
which had been remedied by an additional emergency exit, but that brought those
occupants into conflict with people from the gallery and dress circle
the best places for emergency exits on the building had instead been used for
street-facing shops
The disaster provided the impetus for new regulation, and new rules were
introduced, including making safety curtains mandatory.[39]

City council report

See also: Exeter City Fire Brigade
During the parliamentary inquiry, the Exeter City Council asked Captain Shaw to
make recommendations for fire fighting in the city.

Shaw's recommendation was the formation of a city fire brigade for Exeter, and
following a conference between Shaw and the Council on 21 September,[40] his formal
proposal was put forward on 28 September 1887, recommending the Chief Constable of
Exeter Police be put in charge.[14]

On 28 October, the police Chief Constable, Captain Edward Shower presented his list
of equipment and staff for the new brigade to the council, but turned down the
position of supervising the service.[14]

The council advertised the position, and appointed Mr William Pett of Sevenoaks.
[41] By 20 February 1888, interviews had been conducted and equipment procured.
Both the West of England Insurance Company and the Sun Insurance companies had
donated their fire engines and equipment to the new brigade, and the initial
brigade was to be based at the former West of England fire station, close to the
ruined theatre. The initial cohort of one sub-engineer, foreman, 16 firemen, 2
messengers and a brigade surgeon were duly appointed to form the Exeter City Fire
Brigade, which continued in service until being merged into the Devon Fire Brigade
in 1974,[14] and later the Devon and Somerset Fire and Rescue Service in 2007.

Attempted prosecutions
Charges were filed against both the architect Phipps, and the theatre operator,
Sidney Herberte-Basing, by an Edmund Acland Davie (Davies in some sources).[3]

The charge against Phipps was that he had "obtained a licence by fraudulent
misrepresentation". Following the laying of the charge, it was found that there was
no directly relevant statute under which he could be prosecuted, and a legal
opinion was sought from counsel in London, and following this advice, action was
discontinued.[3]
Herberte-Basing, who was not present on the night, being at home in Ilfracombe,[3]
was ordered to attend court on 18 October to face charges of breaching the
magistrates' licensing rules. After some delays due to availability of lawyers, the
case was conducted on 17 November in the absence of the defendant, who had already
taken up a position at the Alexandra Theatre, Liverpool (on the site of the newer
Liverpool Empire Theatre.[3] He was specifically charged that he had breached Rule
1, by permitting obstructions in the staircases and passages of the theatre, Rule
4, by ensuring that gaslights were not properly guarded, and Rule 17, by conducting
structural alterations without the leave of the magistrates.[3][42]

Mr Sparkes, for the defence, contended that the court had no jurisdiction to charge
Herberte-Basing, as the relevant statute did not specify any penalties for non-
compliance for some of the rule breaches, except for the refusal of a licence. The
bench noted the objections, but said that the trial should continue, although on
the basis of the breach of Rule 1, rather than the other two rules, as the other
prosecutions would succeed or fail on the same basis.[42]

The defence case also noted that Herberte-Basing had not been implicated in either
the inquest or the inquiry, and that was unfair for the prosecution, and the
"defendant has been chastised with whips" and they should not seek to "chastise him
with scorpions".[3][42]

Ultimately, the court found that the charge had not been sustained, and the case
was dismissed,[43] to applause from the court.[3][42][44] The remaining two charges
were then dismissed.[45]

Awards and recognition

A number of people were recognised for their actions during the fire.

Able Seaman William Hunt, who was at the theatre having been paid off from HMS
Express, was praised for making repeated rescues by climbing pillars at the front
of the theatre. He received the Bronze Medal of the Royal Humane Society, for
putting his own life at risk to save the life of others, as well as the more
unusual Silver Medal from the publishers of the magazine Ally Sloper's Half
Holiday. He was given special permission by the Admiralty to wear these on his
uniform, and at the urging of the Mayor of Exeter, was promoted to Leading Seaman.
[4]

Jimmie Lewin was awarded a certificate by the Royal Society for the Protection of
Life from Fire for his courageous actions in helping pass both the living and dead
through a window to the balcony.[4]

Bombardier S Scattergood of the Royal Horse Artillery made a number of rescues

before dying in the fire himself, and a special memorial was erected in the
cemetery by his comrades, next to the main memorial cross.[4]

Legacy
The impact on other theatres was almost immediate. Her Majesty's Theatre, Aberdeen
was due for relicensing at the end of September 1887. Following the fire at Exeter,
and the damning inquest and inquiry, Aberdeen magistrates immediately engaged three
independent surveyors to inspect the building, and refused to grant a licence until
major structural changes were made, in line with the recommendations of Eyre Shaw.
[3]

A Bill appeared in parliament in 1885, looking to regulate theatre safety, but it

was never passed into law. In the absence of action by the legislature, the fire
insurance companies took action of their own, and imposed detailed inspections and
surveys on their theatre clients, with huge premiums accompanying non-compliance
with the recognised best practice, or even refusing insurance cover. This quickly
created change, due to the financial impact on theatre owners and operators.[3]

The Exeter fire was directly referenced in later regulations, including the 'Manual
of Safety Requirements in Theatres and other Places of Public Entertainment'
published by the Home Office in 1934, which particularly picked up the lack of
clear exit signage, the existence of dead ends, and the lack of roof ventilation.
[4] This manual included requirements such as the fitting of a safety curtain.[46]
[47]

See also
Crowd collapses and crushes – Type of disaster that occurs due to overcrowding
Theatre Royal disaster – Crowd crush in Glasgow, 1849
Victoria Hall disaster – Crowd crush that occurred in Sunderland, England in 1883
List of fatal crowd crushes
References
Theatre Notebook. Society for Theatre Research. 1971. p. 153.
"Opening of the New Theatre Royal, Exeter". The Stage. 15 October 1886.
Anderson, David (2002). The Exeter Theatre Fire. Entertainment Technology Press.
ISBN 1904031137.
Delderfield, Eric R (1950). Cavalcade by Candlelight: History of Exeter's
Theatres, 1725–1950. ERD Books. ISBN 9780900345128.
Lloyd, Matthew. "Theatres in Exeter, Devonshire".
Gillian, Don (2010). "The Fire at the Theatre Royal, Exeter". Stage Beauty.
Shaw, Eyre M (1888). Report concerning the fire which occurred at the Theatre
Royal, Exeter. Her Majesty's Stationery Office.
Woolrych, EH (1883). The Metropolis Local Management Acts: Second Edition. Shaw
and Sons.
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vte
Crowd collapses and crushes
List of fatal crowd crushes
19th c.
1807 Newgate Prison1823 Valletta1876 Brooklyn Theatre1883 Victoria Hall1896
Khodynka
20th c.
1902 Shiloh Baptist Church1903 Iroquois Theatre1908 Barnsley Hall1913 Italian
Hall1927 Laurier Palace1946 Burnden Park1954 Kumbh Mela1964 Estadio Nacional1965 El
Progreso Bullring1967 Atatürk Stadium1971 Ibrox1974 Zamalek1979 The Who concert1981
Karaiskakis Stadium1982 Luzhniki1985 Heysel Stadium1987 Shanghai Lujiazui1988
Dasharath Stadium1989 Tbilisi1989 Hillsborough1990 Mecca1991 Oppenheimer
Stadium1992 Mahamaham1992 Bastia1993 Lan Kwai Fong1994 Mecca1994 Gowari1996
Haridwar and Ujjain1997 Uphaar Cinema1998 Mecca1999 Sabarimala1999 Nyamiha (Minsk)
2000s
2000 Throb nightclub disaster2001 Mecca2001 Ellis Park Stadium2001 Accra Sports
Stadium2001 Akashi pedestrian bridge2003 E2 nightclub2003 The Station nightclub2004
Mecca2004 Miyun2005 Mandher Devi temple2005 Al-Aaimmah bridge2005 Chennai
(November)2005 Chennai (December)2006 Mecca2006 PhilSports Stadium2008 Bandung2008
Naina Devi temple2008 Jodhpur2009 Houphouët-Boigny2009 Mawazine
2010s
2010 Kor Royal Cup2010 Pratapgarh2010 Love Parade2010 Phnom Penh2011 Sabarimala2012
Port Said Stadium2012 Satsanga Deoghar2013 Houphouët-Boigny2013 Kiss nightclub2013
Kumbh Mela2013 Madhya Pradesh2014 Mumbai2014 Stade Tata Raphaël2014 Patna2014
Multan2014 Kwekwe2014 Shanghai Bund2015 30 June Stadium2015 Haiti2015 Mina2015
Colectiv nightclub2017 Turin2017 Mumbai2018 Caracas2018 Corinaldo2019
Antananarivo2019 Karbala2019 Caracas
2020s
2020 Kerman2020 Maligawatta2020 Los Olivos2021 Meron2021 Astroworld Festival2022
Vaishno Devi Temple2022 Yaoundé2022 Port Harcourt2022 GBLA Stadium2022 Giza2022
Kanjuruhan Stadium2022 Seoul2023 Arabian Gulf Cup2023 Pakistan2023 Sanaa2023 San
Salvador
Categories: Theatre firesFires in EnglandBuilding and structure fires in
England1887 disasters in the United Kingdom19th-century fires in the United
Kingdom1887 fires
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