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NOTTINGHAM PAST & PRESENT: NOTED BUILDINGS
THEATRE ROYAL, 1885
This is a delightful drawing that shows another phase of Mr. Hammond's genius. His treatment of the six great Corinthian columns with the details of their capitals and the delicate workmanship of the entablature over them is a very fine achievement. The Theatre Royal was built in 1865, at a cost of £15,000, on part of the old Sand Field of the town and was opened by a pantomime 'The House that Jack Built'.
Previous to 1865 the only theatre in Nottingham was in St. Mary's Gate. This building, which still remains, was erected in 1760 by a man called Whitely, the proprietor of one of the stock companies by which the theatrical business of England was then conducted; it was closed in 1867, but was immediately re-opened as a concert hall. It is interesting to see the old stage door and scenery entrance to this building— they are still to be found in Halifax Place—and to remember that within its walls Handel's 'Judas Maccabaeus', 'Samson' and 'The Messiah' were first introduced to Nottingham.
The drawing shows us a flight of pigeons; one of the interesting features of Nottingham is its pigeons, which congregate upon the Castle Rock, round the Theatre Royal and at the top of Victoria Street. They are exceedingly tame, though perhaps not so tame as their brethren who live upon St. Paul's Cathedral, London.