Beatrice Ferrar (25 March 1875 – 12 February 1958) was a British actress who made a speciality of playing in 18th-century dramas.

Early life

Born in St Pancras in London in 1875 as Flora Beatrice Bishop to Mary S. Bishop (1836-) and Charles R. Bishop (1814-), the Managing Clerk to a firm of solicitors, she was one of three actress sisters which included

Ada Ferrar Ada Ferrar (1 June 1864 – 8 January 1951) was a British actress of the late Victorian era, Victorian and Edwardian eras. Early life Born in St Pancras, London, St Pancras in London in 1864 as Ada Janet Bishop to Mary S. Bishop (1836-) and ...

(1864-1951) and Jessie Ferrar (a.k.a. Marion Bishop, 1879-1950). She followed Ada the oldest sibling on to the stage, making an early appearance as a fairy for Frank Benson and played Richard, Duke of York in ''

Richard III Richard III (2 October 145222 August 1485) was King of England and Lord of Ireland from 26 June 1483 until his death in 1485. He was the last king of the House of York and the last of the Plantagenet dynasty. His defeat and death at the Battl ...

''. She played Fanny Bunter in

Tom Taylor Tom Taylor (19 October 1817 – 12 July 1880) was an English dramatist, critic, biographer, public servant, and editor of ''Punch'' magazine. Taylor had a brief academic career, holding the professorship of English literature and language a ...

's ''New Men and Old Acres''.

Stage career

Ferrar made her London début aged 15 in 1890 as one of the Two Young Zephyrs in ''The Bride of Love'' at the

Adelphi Theatre The Adelphi Theatre is a West End theatre, located on the Strand in the City of Westminster, central London. The present building is the fourth on the site. The theatre has specialised in comedy and musical theatre, and today it is a receiv ...

in a production that included her sister

before appearing as the 12 year-old Tow Tow in ''Sweet Nancy'' at the Lyric Theatre, playing the title role for three weeks during the run. She joined the company of John Hare to play Beatrix Brent in ''Lady Bountiful'' at the

Garrick Theatre The Garrick Theatre is a West End theatre, located in Charing Cross Road, in the City of Westminster, named after the stage actor David Garrick. It opened in 1889 with ''The Profligate'', a play by Arthur Wing Pinero, and another Pinero play ...

(1891). She appeared as Milly opposite

H. B. Irving Harry Brodribb Irving (5 August 1870 – 17 October 1919), was a British stage actor and actor-manager; the eldest son of Sir Henry Irving and his wife Florence ( née O'Callaghan), and father of designer Laurence Irving and actress Elizabeth ...

in T. W. Robertson's ''School'' at the

(1891), and was the precocious schoolgirl Mildred Selwyn opposite H. B. Irving in

Sydney Grundy Sydney Grundy (23 March 1848 – 4 July 1914) was an English dramatist. Most of his works were adaptations of European plays, and many became successful enough to tour throughout the English-speaking world. He is, however, perhaps best remembe ...

's ''A Fool's Paradise'' at the Garrick Theatre (1892). She was at the

Comedy Theatre The Harold Pinter Theatre, known as the Comedy Theatre until 2011,

as Mrs. Robert Briscoe in ''The Sportsman'' (1892) and was Grace Walters in ''The Great Unpaid'' (1892) before playing a number of roles for Hare,

Winifred Fortescue Winifred Fortescue (7 February 1888 – 9 April 1951) was a British writer and actress. The wife of Sir John Fortescue, librarian and archivist at Windsor Castle and reputed British Army historian, she became formally styled Winifred, Lady Fort ...

and Edward Terry on tour. With Edward Terry she acted in ''Love in Idleness'' (1896), and played the emotional child Lisa in '' The Squire of Dames'' opposite Charles Wyndham at the

Criterion Theatre The Criterion Theatre is a West End theatre at Piccadilly Circus in the City of Westminster, and is a Grade II* listed building. It has a seating capacity of 588. Building the theatre In 1870, the caterers Spiers and Pond began development ...

(1895) and Georgiana Ridout in ''The Matchmaker'' at the

Shaftesbury Theatre The Shaftesbury Theatre is a West End theatre, located on Shaftesbury Avenue, in the London Borough of Camden. Opened in 1911 as the New Prince's Theatre, it was the last theatre to be built in Shaftesbury Avenue. History The theatre was d ...

(1896). She appeared in

Gertrude Warden Gertrude Warden (1859–1925) was an English actress and writer, who wrote over 30 novels under her stage name, her name at birth being Gertrude Isobel Price and her married name Mrs John Wilton Jones. Life Warden began life as Gertrude Isobel ...

and John Wilton Jones's one act play ''A Woman's Proper Place'' (1896). Beatrice Ferrar Puck 1905

She was Irene opposite Charles Hawtrey in ''One Summer's Day'' at the

Comedy Theatre The Harold Pinter Theatre, known as the Comedy Theatre until 2011,

(1898); Florry Larkins in a revival of ''The Club Baby'' at the

Avenue Theatre The Playhouse Theatre is a West End theatre in the City of Westminster, located in Northumberland Avenue, near Trafalgar Square, central London. The Theatre was built by F. H. Fowler and Hill with a seating capacity of 1,200. It was rebuilt i ...

(1898); and Pamela Beechinor in ''The Manoeuvres of Jane'' at the

Haymarket Theatre The Theatre Royal Haymarket (also known as Haymarket Theatre or the Little Theatre) is a West End theatre on Haymarket in the City of Westminster which dates back to 1720, making it the third-oldest London playhouse still in use. Samuel Foote ...

(1899). Her obvious ladylike qualities somewhat prevented her from convincingly playing the vulgar

music hall Music hall is a type of British theatrical entertainment that was popular from the early Victorian era, beginning around 1850. It faded away after 1918 as the halls rebranded their entertainment as variety. Perceptions of a distinction in Bri ...

singer Maud St. Trevor in ''Hearts Are Trumps'' at the

Theatre Royal, Drury Lane 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 Dr ...

(1899) but she had more success as Lucy in ''

The Rivals ''The Rivals'' is a comedy of manners by Richard Brinsley Sheridan in five acts which was first performed at Covent Garden Theatre on 17 January 1775. The story has been updated frequently, including a 1935 musical and a 1958 List of Maverick ...

'' opposite

Cyril Maude Cyril Francis Maude (24 April 1862 — 20 February 1951) was an English actor-manager. Biography Maude was born in London and educated at Wixenford and Charterhouse School. In 1881, he was sent to Adelaide, South Australia, on the clipper ship ...

and as Miss Constance Neville in

Oliver Goldsmith Oliver Goldsmith (10 November 1728 – 4 April 1774) was an Anglo-Irish novelist, playwright, dramatist and poet, who is best known for his novel ''The Vicar of Wakefield'' (1766), his pastoral poem ''The Deserted Village'' (1770), and his pl ...

’s ''

She Stoops to Conquer ''She Stoops to Conquer'' is a comedy by Oliver Goldsmith, first performed in London in 1773. The play is a favourite for study by English literature and theatre classes in the English-speaking world. It is one of the few plays from the 18th ...

'', both at the

(1900) with '' The Era'' saying of her performance in the latter, "Miss Beatrice Ferrar’s Miss Neville was younger and more hoydenish than is customary; but, in practice, this proved an advantage ... In the more serious passages of the part Miss Ferrar showed how keenly acute she is by nice enunciation and by sufficiently subduing her vivacity..." Ferrar played Lisa opposite

in ''The Twin Sister'' at the

Duke of York's Theatre The Duke of York's Theatre is a West End theatre in St Martin's Lane, in the City of Westminster, London. It was built for Frank Wyatt and his wife, Violet Melnotte, who retained ownership of the theatre until her death in 1935. Designed by th ...

(1902); Dolly Banter in ''What Would a Gentleman Do?'' at the

Apollo Theatre The Apollo Theatre is a Grade II listed West End theatre, on Shaftesbury Avenue in the City of Westminster, in central London.

(1892); Praline in the farce ''The Girl from Maxim's'' at the

(1902); Miss Sterling opposite

Allan Aynesworth Edward Henry Abbot-Anderson (14 April 1864, Sandhurst, Berkshire – 22 August 1959, Camberley, Surrey), known professionally as Allan Aynesworth, was an English actor and producer. His career spanned more than six decades, from 1887 to 1949 ...

in ''The Clandestine Wedding'' at the

(1903); Amy Spencer opposite

in ''Cousin Kate'' at the

Playhouse Theatre The Playhouse Theatre is a West End theatre in the City of Westminster, located in Northumberland Avenue, near Trafalgar Square, central London. The Theatre was built by F. H. Fowler and Hill with a seating capacity of 1,200. It was rebuilt i ...

(1903); Mrs. Harry Tavender in ''Joseph Entangled'' (1904) at the Haymarket Theatre; Puck in ''

A Midsummer Night's Dream ''A Midsummer Night's Dream'' is a comedy written by William Shakespeare 1595 or 1596. The play is set in Athens, and consists of several subplots that revolve around the marriage of Theseus and Hippolyta. One subplot involves a conflict amon ...

'' at the

(1905) opposite

Oscar Asche John Stange(r) Heiss Oscar Asche (24 January 1871 – 23 March 1936), better known as Oscar Asche, was an Australian actor, director, and writer, best known for having written, directed, and acted in the record-breaking musical ''Chu Chin C ...

as Bottom and

Roxy Barton Roxy Barton (8 May 1879 – 1 March 1962) was an Australian actress who also had a theatrical career in London and the U.S. She was born in Sydney in Australia in 1879 as Roxy Claudia May Barton, daughter of Jane McCulloch ''née'' Davie (183 ...

as Titania;''A Misummer Night's Dream'' (1905) - Footlight Notes website
/ref> Miss Pellender opposite Cyril Maude and

Winifred Emery Winifred Emery (1 August 1861 – 15 July 1924), born Maud Isabel Emery, was an English actress and actor-manager of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. She was the wife of the actor Cyril Maude. Born into a family of actors, Emery began ...

in ''The Superior Miss Pellender'' at the Waldorf Theatre (1906); Miss Neville opposite Cyril Maude and Winifred Emery in ''

'' at the Waldorf Theatre (1906); Lucy opposite

Lewis Waller William Waller Lewis (3 November 1860 – 1 November 1915), known on stage as Lewis Waller, was an English actor and theatre manager, well known on the London stage and in the English provinces. After early stage experience with John Lawrence To ...

in ''

'' at the Lyric Theatre (1910);

J. P. Wearing John Peter Wearing (born c. 1945) is an Anglo-American theatre historian and professor, who has written numerous books and articles about nineteenth and twentieth-century drama and theatre, including ''The Shakespeare Diaries: A Fictional Autobi ...

''The London Stage 1910-1919: A Calendar of Productions, Performers, and Personnel''
Rowman & Littlefield (2014) - Google Books and Boyne in

Herbert Beerbohm Tree Sir Herbert Beerbohm Tree (17 December 1852 – 2 July 1917) was an English actor and theatre manager. Tree began performing in the 1870s. By 1887, he was managing the Haymarket Theatre in the West End, winning praise for adventurous progra ...

's star-studded production of ''

The Critic ''The Critic'' was an American primetime adult animated sitcom revolving around the life of New York film critic Jay Sherman, voiced by Jon Lovitz. It was created by writing partners Al Jean and Mike Reiss, who had previously worked as writers a ...

'' opposite Laurence Irving,

Marie Tempest Dame Mary Susan Etherington, (15 July 1864 – 15 October 1942), known professionally as Marie Tempest, was an English singer and actress. Tempest became a famous soprano in late Victorian light opera and Edwardian musical comedies. Later, sh ...

and

Gertie Millar Gertrude Ward, Countess of Dudley ( Millar; 21 February 1879 – 25 April 1952), known as Gertie Millar, was an English actress and singer of the early 20th century, known for her performances in Edwardian musical comedies. Beginning her care ...

among others at His Majesty's Theatre (1911). In 1912 she was touring the provinces as Lucienne Bocard in ''The Glad Eye''.

Later years

In her later years she lived in London with her younger sister, Jessie. In the 1939 England Register she was listed as 'Actress' and her sister Jessie as 'Wholesale Milliner'. Beatrice Ferrar died in 1958 in London. In her will she left an estate valued at £2,451 6s 3d.England & Wales, National Probate Calendar (Index of Wills and Administrations), 1858-1995 for Flora Beatrice Bishop: 1958 - Ancestry.com
/ref> She never married.

References

External links

Portraits of Beatrice Ferrar
-

National Portrait Gallery, London The National Portrait Gallery (NPG) is an art gallery in London housing a collection of portraits of historically important and famous British people. It was arguably the first national public gallery dedicated to portraits in the world when it ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ferrar, Beatrice 1875 births 1958 deaths People from St Pancras, London 19th-century English actresses 20th-century English actresses English Shakespearean actresses Women of the Victorian era