Abraham Portal (baptised 1726 – 1809) was an English goldsmith and dramatist.

Life

He was the son of a clergyman, Peter William Portal, of

Huguenot The Huguenots ( , also , ) were a religious group of French Protestants who held to the Reformed, or Calvinist, tradition of Protestantism. The term, which may be derived from the name of a Swiss political leader, the Genevan burgomaster Be ...

origin. He started in life as a goldsmith and jeweller on

Ludgate Hill Ludgate Hill is a street and surrounding area, on a small hill in the City of London. The street passes through the former site of Ludgate, a city gate that was demolished – along with a gaol attached to it – in 1760. The area include ...

, but lost money both in this trade and as a bookseller, and finished his career as a box-keeper at

Drury Lane Theatre The Theatre Royal, Drury Lane, commonly known as Drury Lane, is a West End theatre and Grade I listed building in Covent Garden, London, England. The building faces Catherine Street (earlier named Bridges or Brydges Street) and backs onto Drur ...

. It appears from his ''Poems'' that Portal was a close friend of John Langhorne. Other friends were

Edmund Cartwright Edmund Cartwright (24 April 174330 October 1823) was an English inventor. He graduated from Oxford University and went on to invent the power loom. Married to local Elizabeth McMac at 19, he was the brother of Major John Cartwright, a politic ...

and

John Scott of Amwell John Scott (January 9, 1731 – December 12, 1783), known as Scott of Amwell, was an English landscape gardener and writer on social matters. He was also the first notable Quaker poet, although in modern times he is remembered for only one anti ...

. His brother was the Rev. Andrew Portal, headmaster and usher of

Abingdon School Abingdon School is a day and boarding independent school for boys in Abingdon-on-Thames, Oxfordshire, England. The twentieth oldest independent British school, it celebrated its 750th anniversary in 2006. The school was described as "highly ...

. In the spring of 1796 Portal seems to have been living in Castle Street,

Holborn Holborn ( or ) is a district in central London, which covers the south-eastern part of the London Borough of Camden and a part ( St Andrew Holborn Below the Bars) of the Ward of Farringdon Without in the City of London. The area has its roots ...

Works

Portal's writings include: * ''Olindo and Sophronia: a Tragedy'', the story taken from

Torquato Tasso Torquato Tasso ( , also , ; 11 March 154425 April 1595) was an Italian poet of the 16th century, known for his 1591 poem ''Gerusalemme liberata'' (Jerusalem Delivered), in which he depicts a highly imaginative version of the combats between ...

, two editions, 1758, London. * ''The Indiscreet Lover: a Comedy'', performed at the Haymarket for the benefit of the

British Lying-In Hospital The British Lying-In Hospital was a maternity hospital established in London in 1749, the second such foundation in the capital. Background The impetus for the creation of a dedicated maternity hospital was dissatisfaction on the part of the gov ...

in Brownlow Street; dedicated to the Duke of Portland; two editions, London, 1768. To the printed copies is appended a list of "errata", in which the reader is requested to substitute polite periphrases for coarse expressions in the text. * ''Songs, Duets, and Finale'', from Portal's comic opera ''The Cady of Bagdad'', London, 1778. The opera, which was given at Drury Lane on 19 February 1778, was not printed; the music was by

Thomas Linley the elder Thomas Linley (17 January 1733 – 19 November 1795) was an English bass and musician active in Bath, Somerset. Born in Badminton, Gloucestershire, Linley began his musical career after he moved to Bath at age 11 and became apprentice to the o ...

. * ''Poems'', 1781. The volume includes dedicatory verses to

Richard Brinsley Sheridan Richard Brinsley Butler Sheridan (30 October 17517 July 1816) was an Irish satirist, a politician, a playwright, poet, and long-term owner of the London Theatre Royal, Drury Lane. He is known for his plays such as ''The Rivals'', ''The Sc ...

, and two bombastic poems, ''War: an Ode'', and ''Innocence: a Poetical Essay'', which had previously been issued separately. * ''Vortimer, or the True Patriot: a Tragedy'', London, 1796. Among the dramatis personæ are Vortimer's father

Vortigern Vortigern (; owl, Guorthigirn, ; cy, Gwrtheyrn; ang, Wyrtgeorn; Old Breton: ''Gurdiern'', ''Gurthiern''; gle, Foirtchern; la, Vortigernus, , , etc.), also spelled Vortiger, Vortigan, Voertigern and Vortigen, was a 5th-century warlord in ...

, his mother Rowena, Hengist, and Horsa. Samuel Ireland's ''

Vortigern and Rowena ''Vortigern and Rowena'', or ''Vortigern, an Historical Play'', is a play that was touted as a newly discovered work by William Shakespeare when it first appeared in 1796. It was eventually revealed to be a Shakespeare hoax, the product of promi ...

'' had appeared in March 1795. Neither ''Vortimer'' nor ''Olindo and Sophronia'' was acted.

Family

Portal married Elizabeth Nethersole in 1748; they had a son, who died young, and she died in 1758. He then married Elizabeth Bedwell, and they had nine children. Of these Ann Cracroft Portal married Moreton Walhouse, and was step-mother of

Edward John Littleton, 1st Baron Hatherton Edward John Littleton, 1st Baron Hatherton PC, FRS (18 March 17914 May 1863), was a British politician from the extended Littleton/Lyttelton family, of first the Canningite Tories and later the Whigs. He had a long political career, active ...

References

;Attribution {{DEFAULTSORT:Portal, Abraham 1726 births 1809 deaths English goldsmiths English dramatists and playwrights English male dramatists and playwrights