James Nutcombe Gould (known as Nutcombe Gould) (24 February 1849 in

Stoke-in-Teignhead Stokeinteignhead () is a village and civil parish in the Teignbridge district of Devon, England, above the southern bank of the estuary of the River Teign. The parish has a short boundary on the estuary, and is otherwise surrounded, clockwise f ...

Devon Devon ( , historically known as Devonshire , ) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South West England. The most populous settlement in Devon is the city of Plymouth, followed by Devon's county town, the city of Exeter. Devon is ...

– 10 October 1899 in

Paddington Paddington is an area within the City of Westminster, in Central London. First a medieval parish then a metropolitan borough, it was integrated with Westminster and Greater London in 1965. Three important landmarks of the district are Paddi ...

) was an English stage actor. He was the son of John Nutcombe Gould (1805-1878), a wealthy rector, and Katherine Emma née Grant (1821-1903), a daughter of Major-General James Grant (1780-1852). James had wanted to follow his father into the church. However, he had a stammer, which he thought held him back in his career. He worked as a bank clerk until he inherited sufficient wealth to marry well and to change career onto the stage, mostly in London. He took the stage name Nutcombe Gould and never stammered on stage. In 1879 he set up 'The Barn Owls' an amateur dramatics group in

Lustleigh Lustleigh is a small village and civil parish nestled in the Wrey Valley, inside the Dartmoor National Park in Devon, England. It is between the towns of Bovey Tracey and Moretonhampstead. The village is focused around the parish church of St ...

, Devon. Notably, Gould originated the role of Lord Darlington in ''

Lady Windermere's Fan ''Lady Windermere's Fan, A Play About a Good Woman'' is a four-act comedy by Oscar Wilde, first performed on Saturday, 20 February 1892, at the St James's Theatre in London. The story concerns Lady Windermere, who suspects that her husband i ...

'' by

Oscar Wilde Oscar Fingal O'Flahertie Wills Wilde (16 October 185430 November 1900) was an Irish poet and playwright. After writing in different forms throughout the 1880s, he became one of the most popular playwrights in London in the early 1890s. He is ...

when it premiered in 1892. In 1895 Gould played Friar Lawrence in ''

Romeo and Juliet ''Romeo and Juliet'' is a Shakespearean tragedy, tragedy written by William Shakespeare early in his career about the romance between two Italian youths from feuding families. It was among Shakespeare's most popular plays during his lifetim ...

'' by

William Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 26 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's nation ...

. In 1897 Gould played Hamlet in ''

Hamlet ''The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark'', often shortened to ''Hamlet'' (), is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare sometime between 1599 and 1601. It is Shakespeare's longest play, with 29,551 words. Set in Denmark, the play depicts ...

'' by

, directed by

Ben Greet Sir Philip Barling Greet (24 September 1857 – 17 May 1936), known professionally as Ben Greet, was a Shakespearean actor, director, impresario and actor-manager. Early life The younger son of Captain William Greet RN and his wife, Sarah Ba ...

. His name appears in the biography of

Ellen Terry Dame Alice Ellen Terry, (27 February 184721 July 1928), was a leading English actress of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Born into a family of actors, Terry began performing as a child, acting in Shakespeare plays in London, and tour ...

Family

Nutcombe Gould married Edith Mitchell (1859-1900) in 1878 at

St George's, Hanover Square St George's, Hanover Square, is an Anglican church, the parish church of Mayfair in the City of Westminster, central London, built in the early eighteenth century as part of a project to build fifty new churches around London (the Queen Anne C ...

, with 5 children: #Marjory Nutcombe Gould (1881-1946) #Olave Edith Nutcombe Gould (1883-1941) #Katharine Winifred Nutcombe Gould (1884-1960) #Mary Dorothy Nutcombe Gould (1886-1934) #Millicent Mary Nutcombe Gould (1889-1932) He died at the early age of 50, in

on 10 October 1899. His wife also died early in Weymouth on 13 December 1900, aged 41. Both he and his wife are buried in the churchyard of

Church of St John the Baptist, Lustleigh Lustleigh is a small village and civil parish nestled in the Wrey Valley, inside the Dartmoor National Park in Devon, England. It is between the towns of Bovey Tracey and Moretonhampstead. The village is focused around the parish church of St ...

, where a memorial lamp gifted by them to the Church is now a Grade II listed object. His brother

Edward Blencowe Gould Edward Blencowe Gould ( Stoke-in-Teignhead, Devon 9 August 1847 Devon 16 November 1916) was a British Consul in Bangkok, Thailand. Gould was the first to bring Siamese cats to Europe in 1884 when he brought a pair back to Britain for his sister ...

is held to be responsible for the first import of Siamese cats into the UK.

References

1849 births 1899 deaths English male stage actors Male actors from Devon 19th-century English male actors {{UK-stage-actor-stub