Thomas Barrasford - Building The Tour

Building The Tour

Barrasford in return set about competing against Stoll, by resolving to build his theatres bigger and better than the Moss and Stoll empires. In 1900 he acquired the Grand Theatre, Edinburgh (renamed from the Tivoli Theatre). In 1901 he acquired the Birmingham Hippodrome (renamed from the Tower theatre), and then the Alhambra theatre, Kingston upon Hull. In 1902 he acquired the Glasgow Hippodrome, but his most important theatre in his business opened that year, the Bank Holiday opening of the brand new 4,000 seat Bertie Crewe designed Liverpool Royal Hippodrome, with prices at rock bottom. Although the now combined Moss-Stoll consortia already had a theatre in the city, they specifically built the Liverpool Olympia close by. Opened with a production of Tally Ho! direct from the London Hippodrome, it never paid its way thanks to the pulling power of the scale, extravagance and "twice-nightly" format of the Barrasford Hall.

Barrasford followed this success with the 1903 opening of the brand new Newcastle Pavilion in Westgate Road, with a bill topped by Tyneside contralto Madame Belle Cole. Barrasford in competition to Moss-Stoll added two further existing theatres to his tour in Liverpool: the Lyric Theatre in Everton Valley (opened Easter Monday, 1903); and the St Helens Hippodrome (previously the St Helens Empire), which opened with Fred Karno's comedy company in a production of Jail Birds. Barrasford also added the Grand Theatre, Manchester and the Regent Theatre in Salford, neither of which proved financially successful and where hence quickly disposed of.

In 1904, the second new Barrasford Hall opened in Glasgow, the Bertie Crewe designed Glasgow Pavilion on 29 February 1904. Barrasford also expanded south at this time, adding the Bristol Empire and the Brighton Hippodrome. He also took over the lease on the Britannia Theatre, Hoxton, letting Crewe refurbish it, but handed the lease over to Frank MacNaughten after nine months.

The St Helens Hippodrome was the fourteenth music hall added to the Tour in four years, with the empire spanning the following: Palace, Jarrow; Tivoli, Leeds; Tivoli, Edinburgh and Tivoli, Birmingham; Alhambra, Hull; Empire, Bristol; Lyric, Everton; Grand, Manchester, and Regent, Salford. The Britannia Theatre, Hoxton, together with the Hippodromes at Liverpool, Glasgow and Brighton and St. Helens.

Barrasford now expanded the physical footprint of his theatres further afield. Registering Barrasford Circuit as a limited company at Leicester Place, off Leicester Square, London, Barrasford was listed as Managing Director, and Hugh Astley ex-manager of the London Pavilion as Chairman. They then purchased the Newcastle Pavilion, and after the closure of the Hoxton venture, took on Stoll in a direct race to open in the Westend. Barrasford bought the old Lyceum Theatre, just off The Strand, which he commissioned Bertie Crewe to refurbish. Although Stoll's Empire won the opening race (Christmas Eve, 1904), the Lyceum opened on Boxing Day.

But much of Barrasford's financial success had been based on alcohol sales, and London County Council refused a license on principle for the Lyceum. Although the Lyceum attracted royal patronage before the Empire, with the first production of the ballet Excelsior seen by the Prince and Princess of Wales, afterwards King George V and Queen Mary.

By mid-1905, Barrasford Halls were facing a mini-financial crisis. Barrasford, in trying to out pace Stoll by trialling acts in Europe, had opened Alhambra-themed halls in Brussels and Paris. However, the former had quickly burnt down less than a year after opening, while both Paris and the Lyceum were losing money. With no possibility of a liquor license, Barrasford sold the Lyceum to the Melville family for £240,000.