C. J. Phipps
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Charles John Phipps was an English architect known for more than 50 theatres he designed in the latter half of the 19th century, including several important ones in London. He is noted for his design of the Theatre Royal, Exeter, which caught fire in 1887, killing 186 visitors.
Phipps, c. 1890
Family grave of C. J. Phipps in Highgate Cemetery
Royal Theatre, Northampton
Exeter Theatre Royal fire
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On 5 September 1887, a fire broke out in the backstage area of the Theatre Royal in Exeter, England, during the production of The Romany Rye. The fire caused panic throughout the theatre, with 186 people dying from a combination of the direct effects of smoke and flame, crushing and trampling, and trauma injuries from falling or jumping from the roof and balconies.
Contemporary illustration of the fire
An illustration in Police Illustrated of the Exeter Theatre Royal fire, showing the scene inside in the dress circle
An illustration in Police Illustrated of the Exeter Theatre Royal fire, showing the stairway where many died
An illustration in Police Illustrated of the Exeter Theatre Royal fire, showing an actress dropping from a window