“DRURY LANE THEATRE, near Covent Garden Market, is renowned in the annals of the British drama, the first house on this site dating from 1663. It was built for Thomas Killigrew, and others, ‘the king's servants,’ in Charles the Second's reign. When that theatre was burned down, Sir Christopher Wren designed its successor. Rich, Steele, and Garrick, were amongst the patentees; and here the last took leave of the stage. Sheridan afterwards became one of the proprietors, and in his time the theatre was pulled down and rebuilt. The new house was destroyed by fire in 1809, and then succeeded the present building, designed by B. Wyatt, which was opened in 1812, Lord Byron writing the address. This occasion gave rise to that amusing production of the Smiths, ‘Rejected Addresses.’ The Doric portico in Brydges Street, and the iron colonnade in Little Russell Street, were added during Elliston's lessee-ship. The hall contains a cast of Scheemaker's statue of Shakspere, and a statue of Edmund Kean, by Joseph. Amongst the celebrated actors and actresses who have appeared at Drury Lane were, Nell Gwynne, Mrs. Siddons, John Kemble, Edmund Kean, and Macready” (213).

“DRURY LANE THEATRE, Brydges Street. The original theatre on this site having been bnrnt down in 1809, it was rebuilt in 1811, from designs by Mr. Wyatt. The front towards Brydges Street, which is exceedingly mean, is ornamented with pilasters of the Doric order, with a portico. In 1822 the interior was entirely remodelled by Mr. Peto from designs by S. Beazley, Esq., architect, and will contain three thousand and sixty persons. The staircase, hall, rotunda, and saloon are of great beauty, and with the interior at once convenient and commodious. In consequencee [sic] of the drepressed [sic] state of the classic English drama, this theatre is now devoted to the production of German operas and French horsemanship” (123-4).

”DRURY LANE THEATRE. The principal front next Brydges Street is two hundred and thirty-one feet in length, and, before the addition of the present ugly portico, consisted of two slightly projecting wings from which an elegant tetrastyle portico of the Ionic order, the whole height of the building, was to have projected. […] These wings are formed of four antæ, surmounted by an entablature, the architrave of which is very properly omitted in the central part, and in the sides which extend beyond the wings. This central part or entire façade is plastered with Roman cement in imitation of Portland stone, and joins on to the north front in little Russell Street, (so named after the Duke of Bedford, its ground landlord) with great ingenuity and pleasing effect. The cornice is surmounted by a lofty blocking-course, breaking into piers over the antæ. The capitals of the antæ are of the pure Greek Ionic, after those of the temple of Minerva Polias at Priene; the echini of which are embellished with eggs and tongues, and the hypotrachelion. with the beautiful foliage of the Grecian honeysuckle Between the shafts of the antæ in each wing is a window, constructed upon a deep stone sill, which corresponds in lines and height with the string-course of the north and south front lines. The division of the stories is properly marked by a larger or principal string-course, which runs through, and pervades the whole composition. […]” (135-6).

pp66-68.

”DRURY LANE THEATRE, between Drury Lane and Brydges Street, near Covent Garden, where Garrick used to act. Shakspeare's play,s comedies, spectacular plays, English opera, etc. Pantomime in winter. […] The vestibule contains a statue of Kean as Hamlet by Carew, and others” (38).

"Architecturally and historically this is one of the most important theatres in the world. No other site in Britain has a longer history of continuous theatre use. The right of the Lane to present dramatic entertainments dates from the Royal Patent (still in the possession of the theatre) granted by Charles II to Killigrew in 1662. Drury Lane shares with Haymarket Theatre Royal the distinction of being entirely pre-Victorian in external appearance (the Lyceum has a pre-Victorian portico). As now seen, the main theatrical shell, the staircase, rotunda, saloon etc of 1811-12, are by B D Wyatt and comprise the only substantial Georgian theatre fabric in London. The entrance façe is the earliest now surviving in London on a working theatre. It is a pity that the portico of 1820 is so obviously an addition to Wyatt’s restrained but elegant Neo-classical design, but Beazley’s side colonnade of 1831 is a worthy later adornment and a fine townscape feature, especially when viewed from Covent Garden Market. The great staircase, rotunda & saloon are important late Georgian monuments in their own right and unparalleled in any British theatre for their splendour and sense of grand theatrical occasion. Inevitably, after the architectural promise of these public spaces, the comparatively modern (1922) auditorium disappoints, but only by contrast. It is of considerable quality and, from a theatrical viewpoint, remarkably successful and intimate. This is surprising when it is remembered that, in the 1920s, theatre architecture had no clear direction. By Emblin Walker, Jones & Cromie, this is the last auditorium to be designed in the rich fin-de-sièe manner established by Matcham, Sprague & Crewe (the Fortune is only two years later and belongs to a totally different era). It has some points of kinship with Manchester Opera House (1912) and, more so, Manchester Palace (1913). The style is Empire with a rectangular proscenium and a modelled elliptical tympanum over. The proscenium is separated from three tiers of curving balcony fronts by deep canted side walls containing three bays of boxes at three levels, framed by pilasters and columns of imitation lapis lazuli. They have gilt capitals carrying an entablature from which a flared and coffered elliptical-arched ceiling springs across to form a deep sounding board. The stage is raked at the front, flat at the back, with an extensive counterweight system. Elaborate metal stage machinery with six bridges (two tilting), described in the Stage Year Book for 1910, survived the 1922 works, and as rare survivals of their genre, they are highly significant. They are, however, not regularly used, and in 2007 works to accommodate an incoming show saw the machinery in part moved and altered, as well as being overhauled. Any alterations were temporary, however, and all machinery will be re-instated following the end of that particular show's run. Drury Lane is, unlike almost every other West End theatre, generously planned, with a 130ft frontage and a depth of well over 300ft. Within this area, the auditorium, stage and additional backstage areas are contained in a succession of approx 80ft cubes. The vast backstage areas, such as the scene dock, present valuable opportunities for future improvements, although it must be noted are of architectural and historic merit in their own right. The antiquity of the theatre and its complex building history makes it important that all future works, especially at lower levels should be monitored for recordable evidence of earlier phases."

pp716-17.

The information provided within this source is much the same as that given within the 1868 edition of the book.