Earlier theatres are referred to in newspapers and other documents however these appear in some cases to have only been temporary structures such as that erected near the High street by the (Jemmy) Whitley (c1724-1781) company for a season in 1779, although there appears to have been an intention to build a permanent structure for the 1780 season, however with the death of James Augustus Whitley in 1781, the way was left open for the James Edward Miller and Thomas Shaftoe Robertson (1773-1831) development.