Lydia Foote, born Lydia Alice Legg (1843 – 30 May 1892), was an English actress. She played leading roles from the 1850s to the 1880s, including at the Lyceum Theatre, the

Olympic Theatre The Olympic Theatre, sometimes known as the Royal Olympic Theatre, was a 19th-century London theatre, opened in 1806 and located at the junction of Drury Lane, Wych Street and Newcastle Street. The theatre specialised in comedies throughout m ...

, the

Prince of Wales's Theatre The Scala Theatre was a theatre in Charlotte Street, London, off Tottenham Court Road. The first theatre on the site opened in 1772, and the theatre was demolished in 1969, after being destroyed by fire. From 1865 to 1882, the theatre was kn ...

and 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 ...

. She was known for her performances in such plays as ''

The Frozen Deep ''The Frozen Deep'' is an 1856 play, originally staged as an amateur theatrical, written by Wilkie Collins under the substantial guidance of Charles Dickens. Dickens's hand was so prominent—beside acting in the play for several performances, ...

'' (1866) and ''

Caste Caste is a form of social stratification characterised by endogamy, hereditary transmission of a style of life which often includes an occupation, ritual status in a hierarchy, and customary social interaction and exclusion based on cultura ...

'' (1867).

Life

Foote was born in London to Arthur Wellington Legg, a coachbuilder, and Sarah Judith Legg (''née'' Goward). Her maternal aunt was

Mary Anne Keeley Mary Anne Keeley, ''née'' Goward (22 November 1805 – 12 March 1899) was an English actress and actor-manager. Life Mary Ann Goward was born at Ipswich, her father was a brazier and tinman. Her sister Sarah Judith Goward was the mother of Lydi ...

, a noted actress.Joseph Knight, ‘Foote, Lydia (1843–1892)’, rev. J. Gilliland, ''Dictionary of National Biography'', Oxford University Press, first published 2004; online edn, October 2007, with portrait illustration"Lydia Foote"
The Library of Nineteenth-Century Photography, accessed 9 November 2014 Coming from an established and successful acting family Foote enjoyed a degree of respect that was generally not afforded to actresses of this era as their profession was seen as indicative of sexual promiscuity. Lydia Foote with guitar

Foote played leading roles from the 1850s to the 1880s. She debuted in London at the Lyceum Theatre in 1852 in the juvenile role of Edward in ''A Chain of Events'' by

Charles Mathews Charles Mathews (28 June 1776, London – 28 June 1835, Devonport) was an English theatre manager and comic actor, well known during his time for his gift of impersonation and skill at table entertainment. His play ''At Home'', in which he pla ...

and Slingsby Lawrence.Pascoe, Charles Eyre (ed.)
"Foote, Lydia A."
''Our actors and actresses. The dramatic list'', London: David Bogue, p. 149 (1880) About 1859, she played Amanthis in ''The Child of Nature'' by

Elizabeth Inchbald Elizabeth Inchbald (née Simpson, 15 October 1753 – 1 August 1821) was an English novelist, actress, dramatist, and translator. Her two novels, '' A Simple Story'' and '' Nature and Art'', have received particular critical attention. Life Bo ...

. In 1863–1866, after other performances in London,

Manchester Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The t ...

and elsewhere, she was engaged at the

, where she first appeared in '' The Ticket-of-Leave Man'' as May Edwards. In that piece, Foote delivered a song that was published as "The Song that Lydia Foote Sang". In 1864 there, she created the role of Enid 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 adaptation of '' The Hidden Hand'', and in the following year created another role, Miss Hargrave, in Taylor's ''Settling Day''. She also played Maria in ''

Twelfth Night ''Twelfth Night'', or ''What You Will'' is a romantic comedy by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written around 1601–1602 as a Twelfth Night's entertainment for the close of the Christmas season. The play centres on the twins Vio ...

''. In 1866, she received warm reviews as Clara in

Wilkie Collins William Wilkie Collins (8 January 1824 – 23 September 1889) was an English novelist and playwright known especially for ''The Woman in White (novel), The Woman in White'' (1859), a mystery novel and early "sensation novel", and for ''The Moons ...

's ''

''. The ''

Dictionary of National Biography The ''Dictionary of National Biography'' (''DNB'') is a standard work of reference on notable figures from British history, published since 1885. The updated ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'' (''ODNB'') was published on 23 September ...

'' refers to her "great triumph" as her performances as Esther in T. W. Robertson's ''

'', at the

in 1867.Full text of ''Society'' and ''Caste'' edited by T. Edgar Pemberton (1905)
via www.archive.org. Accessed February 2014.''

The Times ''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper ''The Sunday Times'' (fou ...

'', 11 April 1867 She continued to perform regularly in

West End theatre West End theatre is mainstream professional theatre staged in the large theatres in and near the West End of London.Christopher Innes, "West End" in ''The Cambridge Guide to Theatre'' (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1998), pp. 1194–1 ...

s, including in the roles of Lady Selina in ''How She Loves Him'' by

Dion Boucicault Dionysius Lardner "Dion" Boucicault (né Boursiquot; 26 December 1820 – 18 September 1890) was an Irish actor and playwright famed for his melodramas. By the later part of the 19th century, Boucicault had become known on both sides of the ...

and as Amanda in Robertson's ''Play'' (1868). In

H. J. Byron Henry James Byron (8 January 1835 – 11 April 1884) was a prolific English dramatist, as well as an editor, journalist, director, theatre manager, novelist and actor. After an abortive start at a medical career, Byron struggled as a provincial ...

's ''Blow for Blow'', she played twin sisters, and she had the title role in his play ''Minnie''. She also took the leading role in Robertson's ''Progress''. She later performed many roles at the

, including Smike in a stage version of ''

Nicholas Nickleby ''Nicholas Nickleby'' or ''The Life and Adventures of Nicholas Nickleby'' (or also ''The Life and Adventures of Nicholas Nickleby, Containing a Faithful Account of the Fortunes, Misfortunes, Uprisings, Downfallings, and Complete Career of the ...

'' (1875). She originated the roles of Anna in ''The Danischeffs'', adapted by Lord Newry (1877) and Midge in Boucicault's ''Rescued'' (1879), among others. Foote died in

Broadstairs Broadstairs is a coastal town on the Isle of Thanet in the Thanet district of east Kent, England, about east of London. It is part of the civil parish of Broadstairs and St Peter's, which includes St Peter's, and had a population in 2011 of ...

from cancer in 1892 and was buried at

Kensal Green cemetery Kensal Green Cemetery is a cemetery in the Kensal Green area of Queens Park in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea in London, England. Inspired by Père Lachaise Cemetery in Paris, it was founded by the barrister George Frederic ...

References

External links

Lydia Foote
at the National Portrait Gallery {{DEFAULTSORT:Foote, Lydia 1843 births 1892 deaths British actresses Burials at Kensal Green Cemetery 19th-century English actresses English stage actresses