Winifred "Betty" Barnes (18 December 1892 – 5 April 1935) was an English actress and singer known for roles in

Edwardian musical comedy Edwardian musical comedy was a form of British musical theatre that extended beyond the reign of King Edward VII in both directions, beginning in the early 1890s, when the Gilbert and Sullivan operas' dominance had ended, until the rise of the A ...

and operetta, creating the title role in ''

Betty Betty or Bettie is a name, a common diminutive for the names Bethany and Elizabeth. In Latin America, it is also a common diminutive for the given name Beatriz, the Spanish and Portuguese form of the Latin name Beatrix and the English name Beatric ...

'', among others. After 15 years on the stage, she retired upon her marriage in 1924.

Early life

Barnes was born in

Brixton Brixton is a district in south London, part of the London Borough of Lambeth, England. The area is identified in the London Plan as one of 35 major centres in Greater London. Brixton experienced a rapid rise in population during the 19th ce ...

in south London in 1892, the youngest daughter of William Bernard Barnes (1861–1943), a bicycle maker, and his Irish-born wife, Nora ''née'' Buckley, a schoolmistress. She was educated at the Convent of Notre Dame on

Clapham Common Clapham Common is a large triangular urban park in Clapham, south London, England. Originally common land for the parishes of Battersea and Clapham, it was converted to parkland under the terms of the Metropolitan Commons Act 1878. It is of gr ...

Career

She made her stage début in

with a minor role in ''

Our Miss Gibbs ''Our Miss Gibbs'' is an Edwardian musical comedy in two acts by 'Cryptos' and James T. Tanner, with lyrics by Adrian Ross and Percy Greenbank, music by Ivan Caryll and Lionel Monckton. Produced by George Edwardes, it opened at the Gaiety Thea ...

'' at the Gaiety Theatre in London in 1909. She toured the provinces in the companies of

George Edwardes George Joseph Edwardes (né Edwards; 8 October 1855 – 4 October 1915) was an English theatre manager and producer of Irish ancestry who brought a new era in musical theatre to the British stage and beyond. Edwardes started out in theatre ma ...

, playing such roles as Marjory Joy in a revival of ''

A Country Girl ''A Country Girl, or, Town and Country'' is a musical play in two acts by James T. Tanner, with lyrics by Adrian Ross, additional lyrics by Percy Greenbank, music by Lionel Monckton and additional songs by Paul Rubens (composer), Paul Rubens. The ...

'' (1914) and the title role in ''

'' at the

Prince's Theatre The Shaftesbury Theatre is a West End theatre, located on Shaftesbury Avenue, in the London Borough of Camden. Opened in 1911 as the New Prince's Theatre, it was the last theatre to be built in Shaftesbury Avenue. History The theatre was d ...

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 ...

(1914) and then at

Daly's Theatre Daly's Theatre was a theatre in the City of Westminster. It was located at 2 Cranbourn Street, just off Leicester Square. It opened on 27 June 1893, and was demolished in 1937. The theatre was built for and named after the American impresar ...

in London in 1915, where it ran for 391 performances. She appeared as Mary, Princess of Valaria in ''

The Happy Day ''The Happy Day'' is a musical comedy in two acts by Seymour Hicks, with music by Sidney Jones and Paul Rubens, and lyrics by Adrian Ross and Rubens. It was produced by George Edwardes's company (by the estate's executor, Robert Evett) and was ...

'' (1916) at

in London, which ran for 241 performances.Gillan, Don
Winifred Barnes
Stage Beauty, accessed 15 May 2019 She was Aloney opposite Charles Hawtrey in ''Anthony in Wonderland'' by

Monckton Hoffe Monckton Hoffe (1880–1951) was an Irish playwright and screenwriter. Early life On 26 December 1880, Hoffe was born in Connemara, Ireland. His full name was Reaney Monckton Hoffe-Miles. Career Hoffe was known for his romantic comedies a ...

at the

Prince of Wales Theatre The Prince of Wales Theatre is a West End theatre in Coventry Street, near Leicester Square in London. It was established in 1884 and rebuilt in 1937, and extensively refurbished in 2004 by Sir Cameron Mackintosh, its current owner. The theatre ...

in 1917. In 1917 Barnes played the title role in the operetta '' Arlette'' at the

Shaftesbury Theatre The Shaftesbury Theatre is a West End theatre, located on Shaftesbury Avenue, in the London Borough of Camden. Opened in 1911 as the New Prince's Theatre, it was the last theatre to be built in Shaftesbury Avenue. History The theatre was d ...

in London on 6 September 1917 where it ran for 260 performances, and in 1918 she played Marlene de Launay in the operetta ''Soldier Boy!'' with music by

Sigmund Romberg Sigmund Romberg (July 29, 1887 – November 9, 1951) was a Hungarian-born American composer. He is best known for his musicals and operettas, particularly ''The Student Prince'' (1924), ''The Desert Song'' (1926) and ''The New Moon'' (1928). Earl ...

and

Emmerich Kalman Emmerich may refer to: Places * Emmerich am Rhein, city in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany ** Emmerich Rhine Bridge ** Emmerich station * Emmerich, Wisconsin, unincorporated community in the town of Berlin, Wisconsin, United States Other uses * ...

at the

Apollo Theatre The Apollo Theatre is a Grade II listed West End theatre, on Shaftesbury Avenue in the City of Westminster, in central London.

. In 1919 she appeared in ''Maggie'' with music by

Marcel Lattès Marcel Lattès (11 December 1886 – 12 December 1943) was a French composer of film scores.Waldman p.154 He worked in French cinema during the 1930s. In 1940 following the German defeat of France, the Jewish Lattès was interned before being mo ...

and lyrics by

Adrian Ross Arthur Reed Ropes (23 December 1859 – 11 September 1933), better known under the pseudonym Adrian Ross, was a prolific writer of lyrics, contributing songs to more than sixty British musical comedies in the late 19th and early 20th centuries ...

at the

Oxford Theatre Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the Un ...

in London. She played Ariel in '' The Tempest'' at the

Aldwych Theatre The Aldwych Theatre is a West End theatre, located in Aldwych in the City of Westminster, central London. It was listed Grade II on 20 July 1971. Its seating capacity is 1,200 on three levels. History Origins The theatre was constructed in th ...

in 1921 and Betty in the

Victor Herbert Victor August Herbert (February 1, 1859 – May 26, 1924) was an American composer, cellist and conductor of English and Irish ancestry and German training. Although Herbert enjoyed important careers as a cello soloist and conductor, he is be ...

musical ''Angel Face'' at the Strand Theatre in London in 1922. Her last role was Hélene in the operetta ''The Three Graces'', with music by

Franz Lehár Franz Lehár ( ; hu, Lehár Ferenc ; 30 April 1870 – 24 October 1948) was an Austro-Hungarian composer. He is mainly known for his operettas, of which the most successful and best known is ''The Merry Widow'' (''Die lustige Witwe''). Life ...

, at the Empire Theatre in

Leicester Square Leicester Square ( ) is a pedestrianised square in the West End of London, England. It was laid out in 1670 as Leicester Fields, which was named after the recently built Leicester House, itself named after Robert Sidney, 2nd Earl of Leicester ...

in early 1924.

Retirement and death

Barnes retired from the stage after her marriage to Roy Faulkner, a barrister and tobacco merchant, at

Brompton Oratory Brompton Oratory is a large neo-classical Roman Catholic church in the Knightsbridge area of the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, London. Its full name is the Church of the Immaculate Heart of Mary, or as named in its Grade II* archite ...

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 ...

, London, on 24 July 1924, and the couple lived in Weircombe Cottage at

Holywell, Eastbourne Holywell (traditional local pronunciation "holly well") is a part of Meads, a district of Eastbourne in the county of East Sussex, UK. Holywell has no specific boundaries, but lies approximately between the western end of the lower promenade and ...

, where she took up poultry farming. She died suddenly at Weircombe Cottage, after a brief illness in 1935, aged 41.Winifred M Faulkner
in the England & Wales, Civil Registration Death Index, 1916–2007, Ancestry.com She is buried in the churchyard of St Mary Magdalen Church, Mortlake; the inscription reads "A lovely singer of great charm who gave joy to many. The flower that we loved is broken."

References

Sources

* Wearing, J. P. ''The London Stage 1910–1919: A Calendar of Productions, Performers, and Personnel'', Rowman & Littlefield (2014) * Wearing, J. P. ''The London Stage 1920–1929: A Calendar of Productions, Performers, and Personnel'', Rowman & Littlefield (2014)

External links

Portraits of Winfred Barnes
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National Portrait Gallery, London The National Portrait Gallery (NPG) is an art gallery in London housing a collection of portraits of historically important and famous British people. It was arguably the first national public gallery dedicated to portraits in the world when it ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Barnes, Winifred 1892 births 1935 deaths People from Brixton English stage actresses English musical theatre actresses 20th-century English actresses 20th-century English women singers 20th-century English singers Burials at St Mary Magdalen Roman Catholic Church Mortlake