The Jacobs Well Theatre was a playhouse in

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Bristol Bristol () is a city, ceremonial county and unitary authority in England. Situated on the River Avon, it is bordered by the ceremonial counties of Gloucestershire to the north and Somerset to the south. Bristol is the most populous city i ...

, England, which opened in 1729. It took its name from the nearby Jacobs's Well, which may have been a

mikveh Mikveh or mikvah (, ''mikva'ot'', ''mikvoth'', ''mikvot'', or ( Yiddish) ''mikves'', lit., "a collection") is a bath used for the purpose of ritual immersion in Judaism to achieve ritual purity. Most forms of ritual impurity can be purif ...

, a type of Jewish ritual bath. The theatre was built by actor John Hippisley, who had created the character of Peachum in the premiere of

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. The stage space was so small that actors exiting on one side had to walk around the building to re-enter on the other side, often being subject to banter by spectators enjoying this free show. A hole was knocked through a party wall to an adjacent ale house, The Malt Shovel, so that actors, and audience seated on the stage, could obtain refreshments. Admission prices ranged from 1 shilling to 3 shillings, and it was estimated that a full house could earn as much as £80. Servants of patrons were admitted free of charge to an upper gallery. In later years,

Thomas Chatterton Thomas Chatterton (20 November 1752 – 24 August 1770) was an English poet whose precocious talents ended in suicide at age 17. He was an influence on Romantic artists of the period such as Shelley, Keats, Wordsworth and Coleridge. Althou ...

described the theatre as a "hut". The journey to the theatre from fashionable areas such as Queen Square and College Green was somewhat perilous, especially on dark nights, and consequently the theatre often provided

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s to light the way with torches. Notable actors who appeared at the theatre included

Charles Macklin Charles Macklin (26 September 1699 – 11 July 1797), (Gaelic: Cathal MacLochlainn, English: Charles McLaughlin), was an Irish actor and dramatist who performed extensively at the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane. Macklin revolutionised theatre in ...

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, and Thomas King, who were all stars of the Georgian stage. After Hippisley's death in 1748, the business was continued by his widow. When the Theatre Royal opened in King Street in 1776 most actors left the Jacobs Well Theatre as the new venue proved to be more fashionable. The last recorded performance at Jacobs Well was a pantomime in 1779.Watts, p. 59

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References

{{reflist Theatres completed in 1729 Culture in Bristol Theatres in Bristol 1729 establishments in England Demolished buildings and structures in Bristol

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