C. J. Phipps

English architect
the 18th century arctic explorer

Charles John Phipps (25 March 1835 – 25 May 1897) 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.

Born in Bath, Phipps married Honnor Hicks on 10 April 1860. The couple had two sons and three daughters. Phipps's first major work was the rebuilding of Theatre Royal, Bath in 1862/3, after the old theatre had been destroyed by fire. Moving to London, he quickly established himself as the leading theatrical architect, building, in rapid succession, the Queen's Theatre (1867), the Gaiety Theatre (1868), the Olympic Theatre (1870) and the Vaudeville Theatre (1871). Phipps designed the Gaiety Theatre, Dublin for John and Michael Gunn, opened in November 1871. Phipps's Savoy Theatre (1881), a state of the art facility, was the first public building in the world lit entirely by electric light. Other major London theatres included the Strand (1882), the Prince's (1884), the Lyric (1888), the original Shaftesbury Theatre (1888), the Garrick (1889), the Tivoli (1890), Daly's (1893) and Her Majesty's Theatre (1897). In addition to Phipps's London theatres, he was responsible for over forty theatres in the provinces. He also designed Leinster Hall in Dublin for Michael Gunn (opened in 1886 and closed in 1895), the Star and Garter Hotel at Richmond (demolished in 1919) and the Savoy Turkish Bath. Phipps was chosen to design the Royal Institute of British Architects’ own premises at 9 Conduit Street. The building is still there, though no longer occupied by the RIBA (now in Portland Place) and is considered by some to reflect the influence of the architect's native town. He was a fellow (1866) of the Royal Institute of British Architects, serving on its council in 1875–6, and also of the Society of Antiquaries. Phipps died on 25 May 1897, aged 62, and is buried in a family grave on the east side of Highgate Cemetery.

Phipps designed the Theatre Royal, Exeter, which opened in 1886. In 1887, during a performance, a gauze curtain caught fire from a gas lamp lighting the stage. The resulting fire claimed the lives of 186 visitors and remains the worst theatre related disaster, and third most deadly fire in UK history. There were two inquiries into the disaster, both of which placed significant blame on Phipps:

A coroner's inquest was opened on 21 September 1887 before a coroner's jury. The magistrates who issued the premises licence had noted only a single exit from the gallery (where the majority of the deaths occurred) where there should have been two, but Phipps persuaded them that people climbing the railing at the front of the balcony and dropping to the Upper Circle below was a suitable and effective second exit. The verdict was of accidental death, but the coroner's jury found that the magistrates had been misled by Phipps and suggested that a licence should never have been issued.