Theatre Royal, Bath

The Theatre Royal was built in 1805 to replace the Theatre Royal on Old Orchard Street, which is now Bath’s Freemason’s Hall.  The Theatre is said to be haunted by a Grey Lady, who has been seen many times over the years by actors and actresses.  Legend suggests that she is the ghost of an actress who committed suicide in the Garricks Head next door, after a duel between her lover and her husband left her lover dead.

In an interview with Mike Howell which appeared in The Shield Gazette on Thursday 12 January 2012, Liza Goddard described her encounter with a ghost at the Theatre Royal in Bath.

“I actually saw a ghost at the Theatre Royal at Bath many years ago. I was appearing in a matinee.

“I was on stage with Christopher Timothy and happened to glance up at one of the boxes. It was the top box, and I thought, ‘That’s odd, you don’t normally see people sitting up there’.

“I could see a woman, dressed in grey, and later I asked who she was. Everyone got terribly excited and said, ‘Oh, that’s the lady! You’ve seen her!’

“The box was locked – no one could get in – and I’d actually seen Juliana Popjoy, the mistress of Beau Nash – she frequented the theatre after his death.”

Beau Nash was an 18th century dandy and gambler who died in 1761, so there could be little doubt that his mistress was deceased too; yet many people claim to have seen her ghost in the same “top box” where Liza Goddard espied her some years ago.

There is also thought to be a phantom doorman.  The Theatre is found between the Garricks Head pub and Strada restaurant.  Both of these buildings were lived in by the dandy Beau Nash (Born 18 October 1674 –  Died 3 February 1761) and both are also said to be haunted.