'Interior of Covent Garden Theatre in 1804', (1881). A performance on the stage at the Theatre Royal in Covent Garden, London. The first Theatre Royal, on the site of an ancient convent garden, was commissioned by John Rich, and opened in 1732. In 1808 the theatre was completely destroyed by fire. From Old and New London: A Narrative of Its History, Its People, and Its Places. Westminster and the Western Suburbs, by Edward Walford, Vol. III. [Cassell, Petter, Galpin & Co., London, Paris & New York, 1881]