George Davies Harley (1762 – 28 November 1811), originally George Davies, was an English actor and poet.

Life

Harley was, according to one account, a tailor, and according to a second, a banker's clerk, and then a clerk in lottery offices. He received acting lessons from John Henderson, and made his first appearance on the stage as Richard III on 20 April 1785 at

Norwich Norwich () is a cathedral city and district of Norfolk, England, of which it is the county town. Norwich is by the River Wensum, about north-east of London, north of Ipswich and east of Peterborough. As the seat of the See of Norwich, with ...

. Becoming known as the "Norwich Roscius", Harley was engaged by Thomas Harris for

Covent Garden Theatre The Royal Opera House (ROH) is an opera house and major performing arts venue in Covent Garden, central London. The large building is often referred to as simply Covent Garden, after a previous use of the site. It is the home of The Royal Op ...

, where he appeared as Richard 25 September 1789. In the course of this and two or three following seasons he played Shylock, Touchstone, King Lear, and Macbeth, and took original characters in plays of

William Hayley William Hayley (9 November 174512 November 1820) was an English writer, best known as the biographer of his friend William Cowper. Biography Born at Chichester, he was sent to Eton College, Eton in 1757, and to Trinity Hall, Cambridge, in 176 ...

and other writers. For career reasons he withdrew into the provincial theatres; but returned to Covent Garden, where he remained for four seasons. He then once more went into the provinces, and played old men in comedy with success at Bristol in 1796–9, and then at Birmingham, Sheffield, Wolverhampton, and elsewhere. In 1802 he supported Sarah Siddons in her farewell visit to Dublin. Harley died at Leicester, 28 November 1811.

Works

Harley's writings were: * ''A Monody on the Death of Mr. John Henderson, late of Covent Garden Theatre'', Norwich, 1787. * ''Poems by George Davies Harley, of the Theatre Royal, Norwich''. Printed for the author (by subscription), 1796. * ''Ballad Stories, Sonnets'', vol. i. Bath, 1799. * ''Holyhead Sonnets'', Bath, 1800. * ''An Authentic Biographical Sketch of the Life, Education, and Personal Character of William Henry West Betty, the Celebrated Young Roscius'', London, 1802. * ''The Fight off Trafalgar'', a descriptive poem, Sheffield and London, 1806. His monody on Henderson imitates

Thomas Gray Thomas Gray (26 December 1716 – 30 July 1771) was an English poet, letter-writer, classics, classical scholar, and professor at Pembroke College, Cambridge, Pembroke College, Cambridge. He is widely known for his ''Elegy Written in a Country ...

's ''Elegy''. Among his poems the longest are ''To Night'', and ''A Legacy of Love'', to his son aged four, whom he calls George the second, his predecessor being dead.

Notes

Attribution {{DEFAULTSORT:Harley, George Davies Date of birth missing 1762 births 1811 deaths English male stage actors 18th-century English male actors 19th-century English male actors Place of birth missing English male poets