Wigan Album

Tuesday August the 2nd, 1785, a new Theatre opened at the rear of the old “Eagle and Child Hotel “in Standishgate, which later changed its name to the “Royal Hotel“. The “Wigan Theatre” was situated behind the “The Eagle and Child”

This is a poster for the Wigan Theatre, dated March 4th 1803. This “links” to the posting I made for the daughter of Mr Entwisle (sic), who was Harriot Beauclerk (née Mellon). She, by this time, would be making her appearances on the Drury Lane stage and was on her way to becoming the Duchess of St Albans.

The play was written the year before in 1802, by George Coleman (the younger) who later corroborated with David Garrick, a celebrated Shakespearian actor, playwright, who is most well-known for being responsible for putting Stratford upon Avon on the map with his Shakespeare Jubilee.

It seems Mr Entwistle, unlike his daughter, remained in Wigan treading the boards. In this production he plays “Mr Copeland” and in the forthcoming advertised attraction “Love and Magic” he plays “Jack Attall”.

The plays were often based on French plays and were a strange mixture of comedy and sentimentality.

The illustration of “The Royal Hotel”, also known as “The Eagle and Child” comes from the London Illustrated News of 1853, when it was reporting the miner’s 6 to 7 week strike in Wigan, that resulted in riots taking place. The Royal Hotel was one of the casualties as the broken windows testify, it was where the mine owners had been holding a meeting.