Florence Everilda Goodeve (24 May 1848 – 15 January 1916) was an English composer and lyricist, often credited as Mrs Arthur Goodeve.

Early and personal life

She was born Florence Everilda Knowlys in

Heysham Heysham ( ) is a coastal town in Lancashire, England, overlooking Morecambe Bay. It is a Heysham Port, ferry port, with services to the Isle of Man and Ireland, and the site of two Heysham nuclear power station, nuclear power stations. Demogra ...

Lancashire Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated Lancs) is the name of a historic county, ceremonial county, and non-metropolitan county in North West England. The boundaries of these three areas differ significantly. The non-metropolitan county of Lancashi ...

. Her father Thomas John Knowlys (b. 1803; died by 1869) and mother Anna Maria Martha ''née'' Hesketh (1809–1886) were married in September 1828, and built a large edifice they named Heysham Tower in the area, which is now the site of the

Midland Hotel, Morecambe The Midland Hotel is a Streamline Moderne building in Morecambe, Lancashire, England. It was built by the London, Midland and Scottish Railway (LMS), in 1933, to the designs of architect Oliver Hill, with sculpture by Eric Gill, and murals by ...

."Heysham Tower in the 19th century"
Heysham Heritage Association Her father was nephew of

Newman Knowlys Newman Knowlys (1758– 5 January 1836) was an English barrister and judge and the Common Serjeant of London and Recorder of London. Knowlys was born in London, the fourth son of William Knowlys, a merchant of London. He was educated at Botesd ...

and her mother was sister of

Peter Hesketh-Fleetwood Sir Peter Hesketh-Fleetwood, 1st Baronet, (9 May 1801 – 12 April 1866) was an English landowner, developer and Member of Parliament, who founded the town of Fleetwood, in Lancashire, England. Born Peter Hesketh, he changed his name by ...

. She was the youngest of four sons and six daughters, one of whom died in infancy. She married Louis Arthur Goodeve (1841–1888) on 23 November 1869 at

Christ Church, Clifton Down Christ Church () is a Church of England parish church in Clifton, Bristol, England. It has been designated as a Grade II* listed building. History The church was built in 1841 by Charles Dyer. The steeple was built in 1859 by John Norton, and ...

, wearing "a simple

tulle Tulle (; ) is a commune in central France. It is the third-largest town in the former region of Limousin and is the capital of the department of Corrèze, in the region of Nouvelle-Aquitaine. Tulle is also the episcopal see of the Roman Catho ...

veil" and attended by seventeen

bridesmaid Bridesmaids are members of the bride's party in a Western traditional wedding ceremony. A bridesmaid is typically a young woman and often a close friend or relative. She attends to the bride on the day of a wedding or marriage ceremony. Traditi ...

s. She accompanied her husband to

Calcutta Kolkata (, or , ; also known as Calcutta , List of renamed places in India#West Bengal, the official name until 2001) is the Capital city, capital of the Indian States and union territories of India, state of West Bengal, on the eastern ba ...

, where he was an advocate in the High Court; they had five children. Florence died in

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

Music and art

Florence evinced a musical talent at an early age and at the age of fourteen she wrote her "Glockenspiel Galop" and several songs. It was heard by

Virginia Gabriel Mary Anne Virginia Gabriel (7 February 1825 – 7 August 1877) was an English singer and composer. She was also known as Mrs. George E. March. Life Virginia Gabriel was born in Banstead, Surrey, England, the daughter of Major-general "Archange ...

who persuaded her to have it published. Altogether she published about 70 songs. Some of her most popular were, "Ah, Well-a-Day," "The Jovial Beggar," and "Fiddle and I." Her later compositions included "Song of the Rivers," "In the Silver Years," "I Would Not Love You Less," "Row, Row," a boating song, "If Thou Must Love Me," and "The King's Wooing," a baritone song, written for

Robert Watkin-Mills Robert Watkin-Mills (March 4, 1849 – December 10, 1930) was an English bass-baritone concert singer of the late Victorian era who in his later career moved to Canada. An early recording artist, he recorded selections from the works of Schuma ...

. Besides being a musician, Goodeve was an amateur painter, and she also contributed to several magazines.

References

External links

Mrs. Arthur Goodeve (composer)
''Discography of American Historical Recordings'' {{DEFAULTSORT:Goodeve, Florence Everilda 1848 births 1916 deaths 19th-century classical composers 20th-century classical composers English classical composers British women classical composers 20th-century English composers 19th-century English musicians 20th-century English women musicians 19th-century British composers 20th-century British women composers 19th-century women composers