Margaret Martyr or Margaret Thornton (1762 – 7 June 1807) was a British singer and actress.

Life

Martyr's parents were living in London when she was born in 1762. left, at Vauxhall as Miss Thorton She came to notice in 1778 when she was singing songs by

James Hook James Hook may refer to: * Captain Hook, the villain of J. M. Barrie's play and novel ''Peter Pan'' * James Hook (composer) (1746–1827), English composer and organist * James Hook (priest) (1771–1828), English priest, Dean of Worcester * Jame ...

Vauxhall Gardens Vauxhall Gardens is a public park in Kennington in the London Borough of Lambeth, England, on the south bank of the River Thames. Originally known as New Spring Gardens, it is believed to have opened before the Restoration of 1660, being ...

. She was Hook's pupil and she sang there each summer until 1780. She moved to singing

Ballad opera The ballad opera is a genre of English stage entertainment that originated in the early 18th century, and continued to develop over the following century and later. Like the earlier '' comédie en vaudeville'' and the later ''Singspiel'', its dist ...

and appeared in Love in a Village at the Covent Garden Theatre in 1779. She married Captain Martyr and they had a daughter. Her husband spent too much and died in 1783 - probably in Calais where he was escaping his debts. Martyr consoled herself with the prompter, James Wild, before establishing a lifelong partnership with the oboist William Thomas Parke. They had two sons but they never married. Martyr's style is said to have come from her "notorious" mentor

Ann Catley Ann Catley (1745–1789), also known as Ann Lascelles, was an English singer, actress, and prostitute. Personal life Catley was born near Tower Hill, London, to hackneyed coachman and a washer woman. Mr. Catley spent his earnings only on himsel ...

. Thomas Bellamy wrote of Martyr in 1795 "Catley's pupil - Catley's boast, Sportive, playful, arch and free, Lovely MARTYR, hail to thee!" Before her sons were born she was earning ten pounds a week at the Covent Garden theatre where she appeared in "second woman" roles and in

Breeches role A breeches role (also pants role or trouser role, or Hosenrolle) is one in which an actress appears in male clothing. Breeches, tight-fitting knee-length pants, were the standard male garment at the time these roles were introduced. The theatric ...

s. In 1794 when she was playing Euphrosyne in ''Comus'' by

George Colman the Elder George Colman (April 1732 – 14 August 1794) was an English dramatist and essayist, usually called "the Elder", and sometimes "George the First", to distinguish him from his son, George Colman the Younger. He also owned a theatre. Early lif ...

. Until 1804 she would spend each winter at Covent Garden and in the summer she would tour outside London and appear at Vauxhall Garedens. Martyr died on 7 June 1807 whilst still being paid by the Covent Garden theatre. She was buried in St Martin in the Fields.

Legacy

Martyr's will recognised her partner Parke as her executor and the farm she owned at

Yalding Yalding is a village and civil parish in the Borough of Maidstone in Kent, England. The village is situated south west of Maidstone at a point where the Rivers Teise and Beult join the River Medway. At the 2001 census, the parish, which incl ...

was divided between her two sons after her daughter was given half of it. There are a number of portraits of Martyr including a 1794 painting by Gainsborough Dupont,

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Martyr, Margaret 1762 births 1807 deaths 18th-century British women singers British stage actresses 18th-century English actresses 19th-century British women singers 19th-century British actresses