Skip to main content

Grecian Saloon

Tag this record

Venue Type & Location

Tavern

Overview

  • Address: Corner of City Road & Shepherdess Walk, Hackney. For a current map, Click Here. For historical maps showing the venue (in addition to the one excerpted at right), Click Here and Here.

  • Alternate Names: Grecian Theatre, Grecian Saloon at Eagle’s Tavern, Royal Grecian Theatre, Eagle Tavern Music Hall, Coronation Pleasure Ground.

  • Capacity: Diana Howard claims that, c. 1850, The Grecian could hold just under 1800 people (300 in Stalls, 420 in the Pit, 340 in the Boxes Circle, 660 in the Gallery and 72 in Boxes) (101). Erroll Sherson, on the other hand, suggests that the theatre sat only about 700 (19). Evidence to corroborate either of these figures has not yet been found.

  • Audience Composition: Many accounts suggest that audiences at the Grecian were quite large and mixed. An 1843 police report characterizes the theatre’s frequenters as “respectable tradesmen, clerks from the city, mechanics, and neighbours” (quoted in Davis & Emeljanow 48). At the same time, however, Davis and Emeljanow provide evidence to suggest that the theatre attracted the area's wealthy inhabitants (48), and the middle-class citizens of Hackney, Dalston & Stoke Newington as well (48). Many contemporary reports also claim that the audiences at the Grecian were densely packed with young thieves and teenaged prostitutes. James Ritchie, for instance, bemoans the theatre’s depraved female habitués, calling them “the refuse of the other sex” (220) and describing them as “unfortunates from the City road with painted faces, brazen looks and gorgeous silks” (219). Davis and Emeljanow, however, suggest that such reports (along with others emphasizing the drunkenness, violence and uncouth nature of local audiences) are greatly exaggerated and misleading.

  • Performance Space Description: In 1844, John Fisher Murray exuberantly called the Grecian “the grandest place [he] ever was in [his] life” (‘The Physiology of London Life', reproduced at the Dictionary of Victorian London Online). He praised everything from the “mighty columns” adorning the building’s exterior to the “plate-glass folding doors, [and] Spanish mahogany bar-fittings” inside (ibid), and ultimately compared the venue favourably to Devonshire House and Chatsworth. As for the theatre itself, it was described in London as it is To-day (1851) as “elegantly decorated, comfortably fitted up, and well adapted both for seeing and hearing” (222). The space was also, evidently, well adapted for eating and drinking, as audience seats were fronted by small tables on which spectators could place refreshments (Sherson 19). The stage itself (c.1850) measured 71’ wide by 30’ deep (Howard 101).

  • Typical Fare: In 1851, the author of London as it is To-day suggested that “[t]he principal entertainments [at the Grecian] consist of opera, farce, and ballet” (222). Melodramas, pantomimes, and burlettas could also frequently be found on bills. When Benjamin Conquest took over the theatre in 1851, he added Shakespeare to the theatre’s offerings, but quickly abandoned this new strategy when the productions proved unpopular. Throughout the period covered by this database, the Grecian was also attached to pleasure gardens, wherein typical Vauxhall-like entertainments could be enjoyed.

    • Performance History

  • The version of the theatre that was operative between 1842-1852 was built and opened by Thomas Rouse c. 1832.

  • Benjamin Conquest took over as manager in 1851 and soon thereafter (1858) had the theatre rebuilt.

  • The theatre was rebuilt again in 1876-7, before finally being sold to the Salvation Army in 1882.

    Please see the 'Bibliographic Sources' link at right for a complete listing of materials (both primary and secondary) from which the above information was compiled.

    The Howard and Senelick et al texts (cited at right) also contain listings of relevant contemporary and historical sources pertaining to this venue.

    Beth Marquis

    • Troupes at Grecian Saloon

    Film Affiliated people Film Type # of event(s)
    Boatman Ballet Troupe (London-Grecian, 46-7) 2 Deulin, Ballet Definite Boatman Ballet Troupe (London-Grecian, 46-7) 2
    Boatmen Ballet Troupe (London-Grecian, 51) Ballet Definite Boatmen Ballet Troupe (London-Grecian, 51)
    Cave, J.H. Cave, J.H. Minstrel Definite Cave, J.H.
    Ethiopian Serenaders (1846-48) Dumbolton, James A. Minstrel Definite Ethiopian Serenaders (1846-48)
    Ethiopian Serenaders (1846-48) Pell, Gilbert W. Minstrel Definite Ethiopian Serenaders (1846-48)
    Ethiopian Serenaders (1846-48) Stanwood, Moody Minstrel Definite Ethiopian Serenaders (1846-48)
    Ethiopian Serenaders (1846-48) White, W. Minstrel Definite Ethiopian Serenaders (1846-48)
    Ethiopian Serenaders (1846-48) Harrington, George Minstrel Definite Ethiopian Serenaders (1846-48)
    Ethiopian Serenaders (1846-48) Germon, Francis Minstrel Definite Ethiopian Serenaders (1846-48)
    Flying Indians Dramatic Definite Flying Indians
    Frazer Dramatic Definite Frazer
    Grecian Saloon Minstrels (47) Minstrel Definite Grecian Saloon Minstrels (47)
    Mistaken Story Troupe (Grecian Saloon, 47) Dramatic Definite Mistaken Story Troupe (Grecian Saloon, 47)
    More Ethiopians Troupe (Grecian Saloon, 47) Robson, 'Little' Minstrel Definite More Ethiopians Troupe (Grecian Saloon, 47)
    Pickaninny Pickaninny, Dramatic Definite Pickaninny

    Events at Grecian Saloon

    Event Date Venue Location Film
    Variety - London, London (city-county) Grecian Saloon Minstrels (47)
    Dramatic - London, London (city-county) More Ethiopians Troupe (Grecian Saloon, 47)
    Dramatic - London, London (city-county) More Ethiopians Troupe (Grecian Saloon, 47)
    Dramatic - London, London (city-county) Grecian Saloon Minstrels (47)
    Dramatic - London, London (city-county) More Ethiopians Troupe (Grecian Saloon, 47)
    Dramatic - London, London (city-county) Mistaken Story Troupe (Grecian Saloon, 47)
    Dramatic - London, London (city-county) Boatman Ballet Troupe (London-Grecian, 46-7) 2
    Dramatic - London, London (city-county) Boatman Ballet Troupe (London-Grecian, 46-7) 2
    Dramatic - London, London (city-county) Boatman Ballet Troupe (London-Grecian, 46-7) 2
    Dramatic - London, London (city-county) More Ethiopians Troupe (Grecian Saloon, 47)
    Dramatic - London, London (city-county) Boatman Ballet Troupe (London-Grecian, 46-7) 2
    Variety - London, London (city-county) Grecian Saloon Minstrels (47)
    Variety - London, London (city-county) Boatman Ballet Troupe (London-Grecian, 46-7) 2
    Variety - London, London (city-county) Boatman Ballet Troupe (London-Grecian, 46-7) 2
    Variety - London, London (city-county) Boatman Ballet Troupe (London-Grecian, 46-7) 2
    Variety - London, London (city-county) Boatman Ballet Troupe (London-Grecian, 46-7) 2
    Variety - London, London (city-county) Cave, J.H.
    Variety - London, London (city-county) Cave, J.H.
    Variety - London, London (city-county) Cave, J.H.
    Variety - London, London (city-county) Cave, J.H.
    Dramatic - London, London (city-county) Boatman Ballet Troupe (London-Grecian, 46-7) 2
    Dramatic - London, London (city-county) Boatman Ballet Troupe (London-Grecian, 46-7) 2
    Dramatic - London, London (city-county) Boatman Ballet Troupe (London-Grecian, 46-7) 2
    Dramatic - London, London (city-county) Boatman Ballet Troupe (London-Grecian, 46-7) 2
    Dramatic - London, London (city-county) Boatman Ballet Troupe (London-Grecian, 46-7) 2
    Variety - London, London (city-county) Grecian Saloon Minstrels (47)
    Variety - London, London (city-county) Grecian Saloon Minstrels (47)
    Variety - London, London (city-county) Flying Indians
    Variety - London, London (city-county) Grecian Saloon Minstrels (47)
    Variety - London, London (city-county) Grecian Saloon Minstrels (47)
    Variety - London, London (city-county) Grecian Saloon Minstrels (47)
    Variety - London, London (city-county) Grecian Saloon Minstrels (47)
    Variety - London, London (city-county) Grecian Saloon Minstrels (47)
    Variety - London, London (city-county) Grecian Saloon Minstrels (47)
    Dramatic - London, London (city-county) Boatman Ballet Troupe (London-Grecian, 46-7) 2
    Variety - London, London (city-county) Pickaninny
    Dramatic - London, London (city-county) Boatman Ballet Troupe (London-Grecian, 46-7) 2
    Variety - London, London (city-county) Ethiopian Serenaders (1846-48)
    Variety - London, London (city-county) Boatman Ballet Troupe (London-Grecian, 46-7) 2
    Dramatic - London, London (city-county) Boatman Ballet Troupe (London-Grecian, 46-7) 2
    Variety - London, London (city-county) Boatmen Ballet Troupe (London-Grecian, 51)
    Dramatic - London, London (city-county) Frazer

    Bibliographic Sources

    View a list of abbreviations.

    • Observer (London) May 24, 1847: 5.
      Info in Record:
      • proprietor/lessee
    • London: The Library Association, 1970
    • (Under Entertainment - Gardens & Spas - The Eagle)
    • London: H.G. Clarke & Co., 1851
      p222.
    • Iowa City: University of Iowa Press, 2001
    • Hamden, Connecticut: Archon Books, 1981
      pp76-77.
    • New York: Benjamin Blom, Inc., 1925
      pp9-36.
    • London: Cassell, Petter, Galpin & Co., 1881
    • (Under Music Hall - About Music Hall)
    • (Under Bishopsgate Library - Collections - Archives Collections - London Collection Manuscripts - Eagle Tavern)
    • (Under 'G')
    • London: Longmans, Green, Reader, and Dyer, 1868
      p.609, 784.
    • London: David Bogue, 1855
      p717.