Nelly PowerWhile her name is given variously as Nellie or Nelly in contemporary press reports and in advertisements for her appearances, Nelly is the name on her gravestone. (10 April 1854 – 19 January 1887) was the stage name of Ellen Maria Lingham, an English singer, actress and popular performer in

music hall Music hall is a type of British theatrical entertainment that was popular from the early Victorian era, beginning around 1850. It faded away after 1918 as the halls rebranded their entertainment as variety. Perceptions of a distinction in Br ...

Victorian burlesque Victorian burlesque, sometimes known as travesty or extravaganza, is a genre of theatrical entertainment that was popular in Victorian England and in the New York theatre of the mid-19th century. It is a form of parody in which a well-known oper ...

and

pantomime Pantomime (; informally panto) is a type of musical comedy stage production designed for family entertainment. It was developed in England and is performed throughout the United Kingdom, Ireland and (to a lesser extent) in other English-speakin ...

.'' The Era'', 22 January 1887 "Death of Miss Nelly Power" Her funeral attracted three to four thousand spectators at

Abney Park Cemetery Abney Park cemetery is one of the "Magnificent Seven" cemeteries in London, England. Abney Park in Stoke Newington in the London Borough of Hackney is a historic parkland originally laid out in the early 18th century by Lady Mary Abney, D ...

and a further great crowd at the start of the procession from her home.''The Era'', 29 January 1887 "Funeral of Miss Nelly Power"

Early life

Power was born on 10 April 1854 in St Pancras, the youngest daughter of Arthur Lingham and Agnes Lingham (nee Power). Her father, a railway clerk, died less than a month before her birth. She had two older sisters who both died in childhood: Alice Sarah Adelaide (1850–1853) and Agnes (1852–1854). Power grew up with her mother, who reverted to the name Power, and a boarder, Thomas Sheppard James, who would become her mother's second husband in 1887.

Career

Power was a performer in

from the age of 8 when, as a pupil of Mrs J W Gordon, she appeared, singing two comic songs, at Gordon's Music Hall in Southampton.London Music Hall Database
/ref> She continued to sing and also performed impersonations and developed a comic style mimicking that of George Leybourne, which brought her fame by the age of 15.Aberdeen Weekly Journal, 24 January 1887 Death of Miss Nelly Power She made her first appearance on the legitimate London stage in 1868 in the

version of ''

Robinson Crusoe ''Robinson Crusoe'' () is a novel by Daniel Defoe, first published on 25 April 1719. The first edition credited the work's protagonist Robinson Crusoe as its author, leading many readers to believe he was a real person and the book a tra ...

'' at the Surrey Theatre."Gleanings", ''Birmingham Daily Post'', 25 January 1887 She then moved to the Vaudeville Theatre performing as principal "boy" in a number of

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.

plays by Robert Reece and Henry J. Byron: ''Don Carlos, Elizabeth Camaralzaman, The Orange Tree and the Bumble Bee, The Very Last Days of Pompeii'', and ''Romulus and Remus''. This was followed by a further spell in pantomime at the Surrey Theatre and the

Drury Lane Theatre 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 ...

where, in 1881, she had the title role in the pantomime ''Sindbad the Sailor'', with

Vesta Tilley Matilda Alice Powles, Lady de Frece (13May 186416September 1952) was an English music hall performer. She adopted the stage name Vesta Tilley and became one of the best-known male impersonators of her era. Her career lasted from 1869 until 19 ...

as Captain Tralala.Pantomimes at Drury Lane
/ref> She achieved national fame in the music halls with an act in which she caricatured dandies with comic songs such as "La-di-la". She was the original singer of " The Boy I Love Is Up in the Gallery", which was written for her by songwriter/composer

George Ware George Ware, Ph.D. (1924–2010) was an American dendrologist and former research director of the Morton Arboretum Illinois who specialized in the evaluation of Asiatic species of elm as urban trees.''Chicago Suburban Daily Herald'', 7 July 201 ...

Power died from

pleurisy Pleurisy, also known as pleuritis, is inflammation of the membranes that surround the lungs and line the chest cavity ( pleurae). This can result in a sharp chest pain while breathing. Occasionally the pain may be a constant dull ache. Other sy ...

in 1887, aged 32, and was buried at

in London. A commemorative

blue plaque A blue plaque is a permanent sign installed in a public place in the United Kingdom and elsewhere to commemorate a link between that location and a famous person, event, or former building on the site, serving as a historical marker. The term ...

was erected in 2017 at her former home, 97 Southgate Road,

Islington Islington () is a district in the north of Greater London, England, and part of the London Borough of Islington. It is a mainly residential district of Inner London, extending from Islington's High Street to Highbury Fields, encompassing the ...

, by the theatre charity

The Music Hall Guild of Great Britain and America The Music Hall Guild of Great Britain and America and the Theatre and Film Guild of Great Britain and America is a registered theatre charity and non-profit making theatre organisation based in London. The Guild's patrons include Brian Croucher ...

."Nelly Power is Commemorated"
The Music Hall Guild of Great Britain and America, accessed 14 August 2017

References

External links

FootlightNotes (includes picture and obituaries) {{DEFAULTSORT:Power, Nelly 1854 births 1887 deaths Burials at Abney Park Cemetery 19th-century British women singers Music hall performers Singers from London Vaudeville performers