Green’s Dictionary of Slang

the Britannia Theatre, Hoxton London E1.

1864, 1867, 1870		Hotten Sl. Dict.
1879		‘Autobiog. of a Thief’ in Macmillan’s Mag. (London) XL 500: I used to go to the Brit. (Britannia theatre) in Hoxton, or the gaff (penny music-room) in Shoreditch.
1891		A. Chevalier ‘The Cockney Tragedian’ 🎵 I saw a drama at the ‘Brit’ wot turned my nut.
1893		Era (London) 9 Dec. 9/5: For years and years Mrs Lane (Sara) has been the goddess of the Brit.
1909		J. Ware Passing Eng. of the Victorian Era.
1915		T. Burke Nights in Town 300: The old Brit! [...] The old Brit. held out longest, but even that is going now.
1935		G. Ingram Cockney Cavalcade 30: The ‘Brit’ Cinema, which is situated in that street. It was the old Britannia Music Hall.
1981		(con. c.1900) A. Harding in Samuel East End Und. 39: They had a better class of play at the ‘Standard’, but it wasn’t so near as the ‘Brit’.