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Eleanor Elizabeth Emily (Nelly, sometimes Nellie) Bromley (30 September 1850 – 27 October 1939) was an English actor and singer who performed in
operetta Operetta is a form of theatre and a genre of light opera. It includes spoken dialogue, songs, and dances. It is lighter than opera in terms of its music, orchestral size, length of the work, and at face value, subject matter. Apart from its s ...
s, musical burlesques and comic plays. She is best remembered today for having created the role of the Plaintiff in
Gilbert & Sullivan Gilbert and Sullivan was a Victorian-era theatrical partnership of the dramatist W. S. Gilbert (1836–1911) and the composer Arthur Sullivan (1842–1900), who jointly created fourteen comic operas between 1871 and 1896, of which ''H.M.S. Pina ...
's first success, ''
Trial by Jury A jury trial, or trial by jury, is a legal proceeding in which a jury makes a decision or findings of fact. It is distinguished from a bench trial in which a judge or panel of judges makes all decisions. Jury trials are used in a significant ...
'', although she played in that piece for just over three months out of a successful career spanning nearly two decades.


Life and early career

Bromley was born on 30 September 1850 in London to an actress and singer, also Eleanor Bromley (1826–1860). The identity of her father is unknown. Her mother was born into the large family of John Charles Bromley (died 1839) and his wife Hannah ''née'' Shailer. Her mother had begun acting while still a teenager, in 1843, appearing at many of the major West End theatres, especially at 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 ...
. She continued to act until she died in childbirth in 1860. In 1857, she had married Charles Henry Cook. After her mother's death, Bromley and her younger sister, Jessy Cook, were raised by their grandmother Hannah. Gänzl, Kurt
"Nellie Bromley, or, A breach of lots of promises"
Kurt Gänzl's blog, 3 June 2018
Bromley used her nickname "Nelly" as her stage name and, like her mother, began a stage career in her teens. By December 1866, she was acting at the
Royalty Theatre The Royalty Theatre was a small London theatre situated at 73 Dean Street, Soho. Established by the actress Frances Maria Kelly in 1840, it opened as Miss Kelly's Theatre and Dramatic School and finally closed to the public in 1938.
in London, playing Dolly Mayflower in a
burlesque A burlesque is a literary, dramatic or musical work intended to cause laughter by caricaturing the manner or spirit of serious works, or by ludicrous treatment of their subjects.
by
F. C. Burnand Sir Francis Cowley Burnand (29 November 1836 – 21 April 1917), usually known as F. C. Burnand, was an English comic writer and prolific playwright, best known today as the librettist of Arthur Sullivan's opera ''Cox and Box''. The son of ...
of ''
Black-Eyed Susan ''Black-Eyed Susan; or, All in the Downs'' is a comic play in three acts by Douglas Jerrold. The story concerns a heroic sailor, William, who has been away from England for three years fighting in the Napoleonic Wars. Meanwhile, his wife, Susa ...
''. She remained in the company at the Royalty, acting in other burlesques, including
W. S. Gilbert Sir William Schwenck Gilbert (18 November 1836 – 29 May 1911) was an English dramatist, librettist, poet and illustrator best known for his collaboration with composer Arthur Sullivan, which produced fourteen comic operas. The most f ...
's ''Highly Improbable'' and as Nimble Ned in Burnand's burlesque on
Claude Duval Claude Du Vall (or Duval) (164321 January 1670) was a French highwayman in Restoration England. He came from a family of decayed nobility, and worked in the service of exiled royalists who returned to England under King Charles II. Little else ...
.Nellie Bromley in Pascoe, Charles E. (ed.) ''The Dramatic List'' (1880), David Bogue, London, pp. 60–61] She also played in comedies and toured with
Edward Askew Sothern Edward Askew Sothern (1 April 182620 January 1881) was an English actor known for his comic roles in Britain and America, particularly Lord Dundreary in ''Our American Cousin''. He was also known for his many practical jokes. Life and career ...
. Like her mother, she soon appeared in many of the West End theatres including the
Globe A globe is a spherical model of Earth, of some other celestial body, or of the celestial sphere. Globes serve purposes similar to maps, but unlike maps, they do not distort the surface that they portray except to scale it down. A model globe ...
,
Olympic Olympic or Olympics may refer to Sports Competitions * Olympic Games, international multi-sport event held since 1896 ** Summer Olympic Games ** Winter Olympic Games * Ancient Olympic Games, ancient multi-sport event held in Olympia, Greece b ...
,
Royal Court A royal court, often called simply a court when the royal context is clear, is an extended royal household in a monarchy, including all those who regularly attend on a monarch, or another central figure. Hence, the word "court" may also be appl ...
, the
Gaiety Gaiety or Gayety may refer to: * Gaiety (mood), the state of being happy * Gaiety Theatre (disambiguation) * ''USS Gayety (AM-239'', former name of the ship ''BRP Magat Salamat (PS-20)'' See also *Gaiety Girls Gaiety Girls were the chorus girl ...
and the
Strand Strand may refer to: Topography *The flat area of land bordering a body of water, a: ** Beach ** Shoreline *Strand swamp, a type of swamp habitat in Florida Places Africa *Strand, Western Cape, a seaside town in South Africa * Strand Street, ...
.Stone, David
"Nellie Bromley"
The Gilbert and Sullivan Archive, 23 December 2010, accessed 5 June 2018
By 1873, she had become popular in
H. B. Farnie Henry Brougham Farnie (8 April 1836 – 21 September 1889), often called H. B. Farnie, was a British librettist and adapter of French operettas and an author. Some of his English-language versions of operettas became record-setting hits on the ...
's musical comedies. In his pasticcio ''The Black Prince'' (1874), she and
Selina Dolaro Selina Simmons Belasco Dolaro (20 August 1849 – 23 January 1889) was an English singer, actress, theatre manager and writer of the late Victorian era. During her career in operetta and other forms of musical theatre, she managed several of ...
played sisters Flossie and Sybil.


''Trial by Jury'' and later years

She then returned to the Royalty (under the management of
Richard D'Oyly Carte Richard D'Oyly Carte (; 3 May 1844 – 3 April 1901) was an English talent agent, theatrical impresario, composer, and hotelier during the latter half of the Victorian era. He built two of London's theatres and a hotel empire, while also establi ...
acting for Selina Dolaro) to create the role of the Plaintiff, on 25 March 1875, in
Gilbert and Sullivan Gilbert and Sullivan was a Victorian era, Victorian-era theatrical partnership of the dramatist W. S. Gilbert (1836–1911) and the composer Arthur Sullivan (1842–1900), who jointly created fourteen comic operas between 1871 and 1896, of which ...
's ''
Trial by Jury A jury trial, or trial by jury, is a legal proceeding in which a jury makes a decision or findings of fact. It is distinguished from a bench trial in which a judge or panel of judges makes all decisions. Jury trials are used in a significant ...
''. Although Bromley was a critical success in the part, she left the production in July 1875. "Trial by Jury Lancers",
Charles d'Albert Charles d'Albert, Duke of Luynes (, 5 August 1578 – 15 December 1621) was a French courtier and a favourite of Louis XIII. In 1619, the king made him Duke of Luynes and a Peer of France, and in 1621, Constable of France. Luynes died of sc ...
's dance arrangement of numbers from the piece, was dedicated to Bromley. She next played at the
Criterion Theatre The Criterion Theatre is a West End theatre at Piccadilly Circus in the City of Westminster, and is a Grade II* listed building. It has a seating capacity of 588. Building the theatre In 1870, the caterers Spiers and Pond began development ...
as Mrs Graham in ''The Great Divorce Case'', an adaptation of '' Le Procès Veauradieux''. Later in 1875 Bromley played the Princess of Granada in H. S. Leigh's translation of
Jacques Offenbach Jacques Offenbach (, also , , ; 20 June 18195 October 1880) was a German-born French composer, cellist and impresario of the Romantic period. He is remembered for his nearly 100 operettas of the 1850s to the 1870s, and his uncompleted opera '' ...
's ''
Les brigands ''Les brigands'' (''The Bandits'') is an opéra bouffe, or operetta, by Jacques Offenbach to a French libretto by Henri Meilhac and Ludovic Halévy. Meilhac and Halévy's libretto lampoons both serious drama (Schiller's play ''The Robbers'') an ...
'', presented at the Globe Theatre with the title ''Falsacappa''. Bromley acted regularly at the Criterion in a series of long-running English adaptations of French farces: ''Hot Water'', ''On Bail'' and, as Rebecca, in the original cast of '' The Pink Dominos'' (1877), as well as René in a Farnie and
Robert Reece Robert Reece (2 May 1838 – 8 July 1891) was a British comic playwright and librettist active in the Victorian era. He wrote many successful musical burlesques, comic operas, farces and adaptations from the French, including the English-lang ...
adaptation of Offenbach, ''La Créole'', at the Folly Theatre. In 1879, she created the role of Amy Jones in another hit, ''Crutch and Toothpick''. She returned to the Royalty in 1880, appearing in ''Venus'', an
extravaganza An extravaganza is a literary or musical work (often musical theatre) usually containing elements of burlesque, pantomime, music hall and parody in a spectacular production and characterized by freedom of style and structure. It sometimes also ha ...
by
Edward Solomon Edward Solomon (25 July 1855 – 22 January 1895) was an English composer, conductor, orchestrator and pianist. He died at age 39 by which time he had written dozens of works produced for the stage, including several for the D'Oyly Carte Oper ...
, Edward Rose and
Augustus Harris Sir Augustus Henry Glossop Harris (18 March 1852 – 22 June 1896) was a British actor, impresario, and dramatist, a dominant figure in the West End theatre of the 1880s and 1890s. Born into a theatrical family, Harris briefly pursued a comme ...
. By 1881, Bromley had moved in with artist Archibald Stuart-Wortley. They married in 1884, and he acted as father to her four children: Lillian Bertha (later an actress and singer known as Lilian Eldée, c. 1870–1904), Zoe (born c. 1871), Valentine Robert (1878–1950) and John (born 1881); their fathers are unknown. In 1882, she replaced
Lottie Venne Lottie Venne (28 May 1852 – 16 July 1928) was a British comedian, actress and singer of the Victorian and Edwardian eras, who enjoyed a theatre career spanning five decades. Venne began her stage career in musical burlesque before moving into ...
in Burnand's farce ''Betsy'' at the Criterion. In 1883, she appeared in ''Freedom'' at the
Theatre Royal, Drury Lane The Theatre Royal, Drury Lane, commonly known as Drury Lane, is a West End theatre and Grade I listed building in Covent Garden, London, England. The building faces Catherine Street (earlier named Bridges or Brydges Street) and backs onto Dr ...
, earning a good review in ''
The Theatre The Theatre was an Elizabethan playhouse in Shoreditch (in Curtain Road, part of the modern London Borough of Hackney), just outside the City of London. It was the first permanent theatre ever built in England. It was built in 1576 after the ...
'': "Miss Nelly Bromley is pretty and interesting as Constance"."Our Play-Box", ''The Theatre'', September 1883, p. 153 She retired from the stage around the same time. In later life, Bromley used her married name, Mrs. Archibald Stuart-Wortley. Bromley died in
Lymington Lymington is a port town on the west bank of the Lymington River on the Solent, in the New Forest district of Hampshire, England. It faces Yarmouth, Isle of Wight, to which there is a car ferry service operated by Wightlink. It is within the ...
, Hampshire in 1939 at the age of 89.


Notes


References

* Introduction by
Martyn Green William Martin Green (22 April 1899 – 8 February 1975), known by his stage name, Martyn Green, was an English actor and singer. He is remembered for his performances and recordings as principal comedian of the D'Oyly Carte Opera Company, in t ...
. * {{DEFAULTSORT:Bromley, Nelly 1850 births 1939 deaths English operatic sopranos 19th-century British women opera singers