Although Adam’s designs for the Haymarket Opera House are undated, it is likely that the scheme dates to c1789, following the fire which destroyed Vanbrugh’s theatre on 17 June 1789. Adam’s scheme is speculative and likely part of the ensuing attempts to rebuild made by multiple parties.
Sheppard notes the inscriptions for rooms marked Taylors, (SM Adam volume 47/10), and its significance in dating the scheme as post 1780, when William Taylor took up the role as theatre manager. However, possibly worth consideration is the location of the rooms, adjacent to a suite assigned for the Wardrobe Keeper. Combined with the ambiguities of eighteenth-century spelling, it is possible that these rooms may have instead been intended for the use of the company’s tailor.