Isabella Mattocks (1746 – June 25, 1826) was a British actress and singer.

Early life

Hallam (later Mattocks) was baptised in

Whitechapel Whitechapel is a district in East London and the future administrative centre of the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. It is a part of the East End of London, east of Charing Cross. Part of the historic county of Middlesex, the area formed ...

in 1746 by

Lewis Lewis may refer to: Names * Lewis (given name), including a list of people with the given name * Lewis (surname), including a list of people with the surname Music * Lewis (musician), Canadian singer * "Lewis (Mistreated)", a song by Radiohead ...

and

Sarah Hallam Douglass Sarah Hallam Douglass (d. Philadelphia, 1773) was an English-born American stage actress and theatre director. She was married to Lewis Hallam, with whom she travelled to America to perform in his company in 1752. This was the first permanent the ...

. Her father and her uncle

William William is a male given name of Germanic origin.Hanks, Hardcastle and Hodges, ''Oxford Dictionary of First Names'', Oxford University Press, 2nd edition, , p. 276. It became very popular in the English language after the Norman conquest of Engl ...

were also actors.Jared Brown, ‘Hallam, Lewis (1714?–1756?)’, Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, 200
accessed 7 Feb 2015
/ref> Her grandfather Thomas Hallam had been part of the

Drury Lane Drury Lane is a street on the eastern boundary of the Covent Garden area of London, running between Aldwych and High Holborn. The northern part is in the borough of Camden and the southern part in the City of Westminster. Notable landmarks ...

company when he was killed in a dispute with fellow actor

Charles Macklin Charles Macklin (26 September 1699 – 11 July 1797), (Gaelic: Cathal MacLochlainn, English: Charles McLaughlin), was an Irish actor and dramatist who performed extensively at the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane. Macklin revolutionised theatre in ...

during a performance. When her father and William decided to try acting in America they took three of Isabella's siblings, but she was left in the care of her aunt, Ann, and her husband John Barrington in England. In 1762 she made her debut in the adult role of

Juliet Juliet Capulet () is the female protagonist in William Shakespeare's romantic tragedy ''Romeo and Juliet''. A 13-year-old girl, Juliet is the only daughter of the patriarch of the House of Capulet. She falls in love with the male protagonist R ...

. For most of her childhood except for a few years at school she played small parts in the productions of the Covent Garden company of actors. When she was sixteen she joined the company and in 1765 she married her leading man George Mattocks. Hallam's guardians who she said treated her like true parents opposed the match for reasons that are not certain.Olive Baldwin, Thelma Wilson, ‘Mattocks , Isabella (1746–1826)’, Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, 2004; online edn, Jan 201
accessed 7 Feb 2015
/ref>

Career

In 1767 she appeared in a revival of ''

Double Falsehood ''Double Falsehood'' (archaic spelling: ''Double Falshood'') or ''The Distrest Lovers'' is a 1727 play by the English writer and playwright Lewis Theobald, although the authorship has been contested ever since the play was first published, with ...

'' which is a play that claims links to William Shakespeare. The couple would appear together taking leading roles although Isabella was considered too short for some roles. By the time younger actresses were competing for her roles she was established as a character actor. She was believed to have had an affair with

Robert Bensley Robert Bensley (c. 1740 – 1817) was an 18th-century English actor, of whom Charles Lamb in the ''Essays of Elia'' speaks with special praise. Life His early life is obscure, but his family was not poor: an uncle, Sir William Bensley, was ...

but her marriage to George survived. She was known for performing epilogues and these were sometimes written for her by the politician and playwright

Miles Peter Andrews Miles Peter Andrews (1742 – 18 July 1814) was an 18th-century English playwright, gunpowder manufacturer and politician who sat in the House of Commons from 1796 to 1814. Biography Andrews was the son of William Andrews, a drysalter of Watli ...

. Mattocks was to remain with the Covent garden acting company for 46 years. Thomas Dibdin noted that her last part was on 7 June 1808, noting how long she had amused her audiences. She only daughter who married Nathaniel Huson in 1801. Huson was a barrister who swindled Mattocks out of £6000. However a benefit was staged for her and this replaced over £1000 of what had been lost. Mattocks died in

Kensington Kensington is a district in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea in the West End of London, West of Central London. The district's commercial heart is Kensington High Street, running on an east–west axis. The north-east is taken up b ...

in 1826.

Selected roles

Mattocks as ''Mrs Warren'' in
Holcroft's ''The Road to Ruin'' * Lucinde in '' Love in a Village'' by

Isaac Bickerstaffe Isaac Bickerstaffe or Bickerstaff (26 September 1733 – after 1808) was an Irish playwright and Librettist. Early life Isaac John Bickerstaff was born in Dublin, on 26 September 1733, where his father John Bickerstaff held a government posi ...

(1762) * Emily in '' The Double Mistake'' by Elizabeth Griffith (1766) * Aspasia in ''

Cyrus Cyrus ( Persian: کوروش) is a male given name. It is the given name of a number of Persian kings. Most notably it refers to Cyrus the Great ( BC). Cyrus is also the name of Cyrus I of Anshan ( BC), King of Persia and the grandfather of Cyrus ...

'' by

John Hoole John Hoole (December 1727 – 2 August 1803) was an English translator, the son of Samuel Hoole (born 1692), a mechanic, and Sarah Drury (c. 1700 – c. 1793), the daughter of a Clerkenwell clockmaker. He became a personal friend of Samuel Johnso ...

(1768) * Donna Louisa in ''

The Duenna ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the m ...

'' by

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 ...

(1775) * Daraxa in '' Edward and Eleonora'' by James Thomson (1775) * Mrs Sparwell in '' The World as it Goes'' by Hannah Cowley (1781) * Sophy Pendragon in ''

Which is the Man? ''Which is the Man?'' is a 1782 comedy play by the British writer Hannah Cowley. The original Covent Garden cast included John Henderson as Fitzherbert, William Thomas Lewis as Beauchamp, Richard Wroughton as Belville, John Quick as Pendrago ...

'' by Hannah Cowley (1782) * Olivia in '' A Bold Stroke for a Husband'' by Hannah Cowley (1783) * Mrs Wordly in ''

The School for Widows ''The School for Widows'' is a 1789 comedy play by the British writer Richard Cumberland. It premiered at the Theatre Royal, Covent Garden on 8 May 1789. The original Covent Garden cast included William Thomas Lewis as Jack Marmoset, Thomas Ryd ...

'' by

Richard Cumberland Richard Cumberland may refer to: * Richard Cumberland (philosopher) (1631–1718), bishop, philosopher * Richard Cumberland (dramatist) (1732–1811), civil servant, dramatist * Richard Cumberland (priest) (1710–1737), Archdeacon of Northa ...

(1789) * Adelaide in '' The German Hotel'' by

Thomas Holcroft Thomas Holcroft (10 December 174523 March 1809) was an English dramatist, miscellanist, poet and translator. He was sympathetic to the early ideas of the French Revolution and helped Thomas Paine to publish the first part of ''The Rights of Ma ...

(1790) * Lady Peckham in '' The School for Arrogance'' by

(1791) * Mrs Warren in '' The Road to Ruin'' by

(1792) * Mrs Fancourt in '' The Town Before You'' by Hannah Cowley (1794) * Nanette in '' Love's Frailties'' by

(1794) * Mrs Sarsnet in '' The Deserted Daughter'' by

(1795) * Clementina Allspice in ''

The Way to Get Married ''The Way to Get Married'' is a 1796 comedy play by the British writer Thomas Morton. The play was frequently revived well into the nineteenth century. The original cast included William Thomas Lewis as Tangent, John Quick as Toby Allspice, ...

'' by Thomas Morton (1796) * Miss Union in '' Fortune's Fool'' by

Frederic Reynolds Frederic Reynolds (1 November 1764 – 16 April 1841) was an English dramatist. During his literary career he composed nearly one hundred tragedies and comedies, many of which were printed, and about twenty of them obtained temporary popularit ...

(1796) * Miss Vortex in '' A Cure for the Heart Ache'' by Thomas Morton (1797) * Lady Vibrate in '' He's Much to Blame'' by

(1798) * Sally in '' Secrets Worth Knowing'' by Thomas Morton (1798) * Fidelia in ''

The Eccentric Lover ''The Eccentric Lover'' is a comedy play by the British writer Richard Cumberland. It was first performed at Covent Garden Theatre on 30 April 1798. The original cast included William Thomas Lewis as Sir Francis Delroy, John Quick as Peter Crow ...

'' by

(1798) * Lady Maxim in ''

Five Thousand a Year ''Five Thousand a Year'' is a 1799 comedy play by the British writer Thomas John Dibdin. The original Covent Garden cast included William Thomas Lewis as George Fervid, Alexander Pope as Frederick Fervid, Joseph Shepherd Munden as Sir Matthew Max ...

'' by

Thomas John Dibdin Thomas John Dibdin (21 March 1771 – 16 September 1841) was an English dramatist and songwriter. Life Dibdin was the son of Charles Dibdin, a songwriter and theatre manager, and of "Mrs Davenet", an actress whose real name was Harriett Pit ...

(1799) * Mrs Trot in '' Town and Country'' by Thomas Morton (1807)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Mattocks, Isabella 1746 births 1826 deaths People from Whitechapel 18th-century English actresses 18th-century British actresses British stage actresses