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The London Archives

Theatres and Music Halls in London

Research Guide

1. About this guide

This guide outlines the records available at The London Archives for researching the history of theatres and music halls in London. The core material can be found in our local government collections as they were responsible for the licensing and regulation of theatres and music halls in London.

2. Local government records

2.1 How were theatres and music halls licensed and regulated?

As a result of the Licensing Act of 1737, all new plays had to be vetted by the Lord Chamberlain and spoken drama was limited to the patent theatres, originally at Drury Lane and Covent Garden. This Act was amended by the Theatres Act of 1843 which enabled other theatres to present spoken drama although the Lord Chamberlain’s censorship of plays continued until 1968. Places of entertainment could now apply for the following types of licences which led to a distinction between theatres and music halls:

  • Stage play licence - All theatres in the Cities of London and Westminster, and the boroughs of Finsbury, Marylebone, Tower Hamlets, Lambeth and Southwark had to apply for a Lord Chamberlain’s licence to perform drama. Outside this jurisdiction, theatres could apply for a stage play licence from the Justices of the Peace sitting at quarter sessions. Under this licence, drinking and smoking was not allowed in the auditorium.
  • Music and dancing licence – Introduced under the Disorderly Houses Act of 1751 which required all places of entertainment and houses used for music and dancing in London and Westminster (and a twenty-mile radius) to obtain a licence from Justices of the Peace sitting at quarter sessions. This licence did not allow venues to perform spoken drama.

Further regulation was put in place with the passing of the Metropolis Management and Building Acts Amendment Act of 1878 which meant no new theatre or music hall in London could be licensed without first being inspected by the Metropolitan Board of Works (MBW) and issued with a safety certificate.

In 1889, the newly established county councils (i.e. London County Council and Middlesex Couty Council) took over the licensing powers of the quarter sessions and the regulation of theatres and music halls, including inspections looking at building safety and the behaviour of performers and audience members.

2.2 Core Records

Here are the key records for each authority:

Middlesex and Westminster Quarter Sessions:

  • Applications for music and dancing licences up to 1837 can be found in the Middlesex and Westminster sessions papers in MJ/SP and WJ/SP. Further applications and licences are under MR/L/MD.

Metropolitan Board of Works:

  • Minutes and presented papers of the Building Act Committee, 1856-1889 in MBW/0729-0795 and its sub-committee on Theatres and Music Halls, 1882-1889 in MBW/0796-0809.

London County Council:

  • Minutes and presented papers of the Theatres and Music Halls Committee, 1889-1931 in LCC/MIN/10705-11159, Entertainments (Licensing) Committee, 1931-1940 in LCC/MIN/04386-04568 and Public Control Committee, 1941-1965 in LCC/MIN/09634-09651, 09867-09987.
  • Registers of applications for licences, 1898-1900, printed copies of applications for licences, 1889-1960 and seating plans of theatres, 1921 in LCC/PC/ENT.
  • Plans and drawings of places of public entertainment submitted to the Architect’s Department, 1883-1951 in LCC/AR/TH. Further plans can be found with the Greater London Council collection (see below)

Middlesex County Council:

  • Minutes and reports of the Licensing Committee in MCC/MIN/24/001-293.
  • Records relating to the licensing of places of public entertainment including plans and drawings of venues, 1893-1965 in MCC/CL/ES/EL and MCC/ES/EL.

Greater London Council:

  • Building act case files contain planning applications submitted to Greater London Council and its predecessors. To find relevant plans, please search the catalogue for the name of the property or architect. To browse, please search for ‘theatres building act case file’ or ‘music halls building act case file’.
  • Minutes and reports of the Licensing Committee, 1964-1968 in GLC/DG/MIN/127 and GLC/DG/PRE/127, Public Services Committee: Entertainments Sub Committee, 1968-1977 in GLC/DG/MIN/190 and GLC/DG/PRE/190, Public Services and Safety Committee: Entertainments Sub Committee, 1977-1981 in GLC/DG/MIN/185 and GLC/DG/PRE/185 and Public Services and Fire Brigade Committee: Entertainments Sub Committee, 1981-1986 in GLC/DG/MIN/177 and GLC/DG/PRE/177.

3. Further records at The London Archives

  • Bedford estate papers in E/BER include many records on theatres including architectural plans and drawings of Covent Garden Theatre, Drury Lane and Aldwych Theatres.
  • West family papers in F/WST include a bundle of early nineteenth century letters from the box office keeper of Covent Garden Theatre.
  • Cook Collection of Theatrical and Miscellaneous Papers in ACC/0595 comprises playbills, programmes, librettos and newspaper cuttings for several London theatres, dating from 1859 to 1865.
  • Diaries of Anthony Heap in ACC/2243 include reviews of theatre performances from 1928 to 1985.
  • Postcards of theatres, music halls and vaudeville performers in London and the suburbs in LMA/4237.
  • Amateur dramatic collections include the Hampstead Garden Suburb Play and Pageant Union in ACC/3816/04/02, Greater London Council Staff Dramatic Club in ACC/1337, Enfield Operatic and Dramatic Society in ACC/1287, Saint Michael’s Guild of Players in P70/MIC, West Middlesex Hospital Players in H36/WMX/Y/01 and the Genesta Amateur Dramatic Club in H29/NF/Y/02.
  • The Noble Collection of ephemera in SC/GL/NOB contains cuttings relating to a number of London theatres and music halls.
  • We have a large collection of uncatalogued playbills and programmes for London theatres under reference codes SC/GL/PPB and SC/GL/PPC. These are arranged by venue rather than performer or performance and date from the late eighteenth century onwards. Please contact the team for further information.
  • Prints and photographs relating to theatres and music halls can be found on London Picture Archive.

4. Books, Journals and Newspapers

We have many books and journals in our library on London’s theatres and music halls. For a full list, please search our library catalogue and narrow the results to ‘The London Archives’ and ‘Books’. Many of the most popular titles can be found by searching for shelfmarks 44.18 and 44.2.

The Gentleman’s Magazine is useful for theatrical gossip and critical reviews of performances and includes a monthly theatrical register which details performances being staged at the London theatres. The library holds copies from 1731 to 1868 under shelfmark 66.6 GEN.

Architectural journals such as ‘The Builder’ can contain plans and reports on renovations and alterations to places of public entertainment. Many of these journals are indexed on the Royal Institute of British Architects’ RIBA library catalogue.

Newspapers can contain much information on theatres, music halls and their performances. Many newspapers have been digitised and made available on the British Newspaper Archive (subscription required). Useful titles on this website include:

5. Records held elsewhere

The following archives have significant collections on London's theatres and music halls: