Amy Coleridge (25 May 1864 – 4 August 1951) was a British actress who had a successful career playing in Shakespeare's plays in South Africa as well as in her home country. She acted in the companies of

Henry Irving Sir Henry Irving (6 February 1838 – 13 October 1905), christened John Henry Brodribb, sometimes known as J. H. Irving, was an English stage actor in the Victorian era, known as an actor-manager because he took complete responsibility ( ...

and

John Martin-Harvey Sir John Martin-Harvey (22 June 1863 – 14 May 1944), known before his knighthood in 1921 as John Martin Harvey, was an English stage actor-manager. Born in Bath Street, Wivenhoe, Essex, he was the son of John Harvey, a yacht-designer an ...

. She was born as Amy Matilda Cowlrick at St Pancras in London in 1864, the daughter of Adelaide ''née'' Jackson (1839–) and Charles Cowlrick (1837–1922), a commercial clerk. She married the English actor

William Haviland William Haviland (1718 – 16 September 1784) was an Irish-born general in the British Army. He is best known for his service in North America during the Seven Years' War. Life William Haviland was born in Ireland in 1718. He entered milita ...

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

on 1 February 1884. They had two children, the actor Frederick Alexander Irwin (1884-1924) and Ellen Winifred Irwin (1887-) but were divorced in 1904 following her adultery with the actor Percy Anstey (1876–1920). In 1886 she and her husband were at the Lyceum Theatre in the company of

for whom she played Alice in ''Faust'' (1886), Ursula in ''

Much Ado About Nothing ''Much Ado About Nothing'' is a comedy by William Shakespeare thought to have been written in 1598 and 1599.See textual notes to ''Much Ado About Nothing'' in ''The Norton Shakespeare'' ( W. W. Norton & Company, 1997 ) p. 1387 The play ...

'', and Julie Lesurques in ''

The Lyons Mail ''The Lyons Mail'' is a 1931 British historical mystery adventure film directed by Arthur Maude and starring John Martin Harvey, Norah Baring, and Ben Webster. It was based on the 1877 play ''The Lyons Mail'' by Charles Reade which in turn was ...

'' (1893). She acted in ''

The Lady of Lyons ''The Lady of Lyons; or, Love and Pride'', commonly known as ''The Lady of Lyons'', is a five act romantic melodrama written in 1838 by Edward Bulwer-Lytton, 1st Baron Lytton. It was first produced in London at Covent Garden Theatre on 15 Februar ...

'' alongside her husband in

's Lyceum Theatre Company tour of the provinces in 1888. She and Haviland returned to South Africa as members of the Holloway Theatre Company in 1895 where she played

Desdemona Desdemona () is a character in William Shakespeare's play ''Othello'' (c. 1601–1604). Shakespeare's Desdemona is a Venetian beauty who enrages and disappoints her father, a Venetian senator, when she elopes with Othello, a Moorish Venetian ...

in ''

Othello ''Othello'' (full title: ''The Tragedy of Othello, the Moor of Venice'') is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare, probably in 1603, set in the contemporary Ottoman–Venetian War (1570–1573) fought for the control of the Island of Cypru ...

'' and

Cordelia Cordelia is a feminine given name. It was borne by the tragic heroine of Shakespeare's ''King Lear'' (1606), a character based on the legendary queen Cordelia. The name is of uncertain origin. It is popularly associated with Latin '' cor'' ( geni ...

in ''

King Lear ''King Lear'' is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare. It is based on the mythological Leir of Britain. King Lear, in preparation for his old age, divides his power and land between two of his daughters. He becomes destitute and insane an ...

'' on tour. In 1897 she returned to tour South Africa with the Haviland and Lawrence Shakespearian & Dramatic Company in their season of Shakespearian plays directed by her husband

and co-starring Haviland and his co-manager

Gerald Lawrence Gerald Leslie Lawrence (23 March 1873 – 9 May 1957) was a British actor and manager. Lawrence was born in London in 1873, the son of Emily Mills ''née'' Asher (1832-1912) and John Moss Lawrence (1827-1888), an investor. Lawrence studied sta ...

. By 1900 she and her husband William Haviland were in London with the company of

, for whom she appeared as Marie in ''Louis XI'' at the Lyceum Theatre (1900), joining him for his sixth tour of America in 1902 in three productions: ''A Cigarette Maker's Romance'', ''The Children of Kings'' and ''The Only Way''. She appeared opposite Martin-Harvey as Margaret Hungerford in ''The Breed of the Treshams'' (1903). In 1906, after her divorce from Haviland, she married the actor Percy Anstey. After divorcing Anstey she married Archibald Brough Pearce (1897–1962) in 1915.England & Wales, Civil Registration Marriage Index, 1837-1915 for Amy M Cowlrick: 1915, Q1-Jan-Feb-Mar - Ancestry.com
/ref> She is believed to have returned to South Africa to act for Leonard Rayne for some years, later becoming a speech and drama teacher. Amy Coleridge died in

Pietermaritzburg Pietermaritzburg (; Zulu: umGungundlovu) is the capital and second-largest city in the province of KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. It was founded in 1838 and is currently governed by the Msunduzi Local Municipality. Its Zulu name umGungundlovu ...

, South Africa on 4 August 1951.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Coleridge, Amy 1864 births 1951 deaths Actresses from London 19th-century English actresses 20th-century English actresses English stage actresses English Shakespearean actresses Women of the Victorian era Actors from St Pancras, London