Biography Samuel_Beazley

1 biography

1.1 years , berners street hoax
1.2 architect , playwright
1.3 london theatres , other work
1.4 personal life

biography
early years , berners street hoax

beazley born in westminster, son of samuel beazley, , wife ann (née frith). both facets of beazley s future career displayed when still boy: @ school @ acton, aged 12, wrote farce , constructed stage on , schoolfriends performed it. @ age showed signs of considerable taste art , dramatic talent , according tribute in journal of society of architects. trained architect uncle charles beazley, architect of admired church @ feversham .

the duchesse d angoulême

as youth, beazley volunteered service in peninsular war, in spain, , experienced many adventures, fond of relating in later life friends. among these, according account, being found unconscious , taken dead, waking find himself laid out burial. part in daring escape spain of duchesse d angoulême, daughter of louis xvi, fleeing napoleon s forces in 1815. account of escape published daughter after death.

in 1810, beazley made bet friend, theodore hook, on whether hook transform house in london talked-about address in week. became known berners street hoax, in hook sent out thousands of letters in name of resident @ 54 berners street, requesting deliveries, visitors , assistance. hundreds of persons – including tradesmen, doctors, lawyers, priests, governor of bank of england, duke of york, archbishop of canterbury, , lord mayor of city of london – arrived @ address on 27 november.

architect , playwright

after returning london, beazley practised architect and, @ same time, wrote plays. had had work professionally produced @ theatre royal english opera, lyceum in 1811: boarding house; or, 5 hours @ brighton, musical farce in 2 acts. in 1816 designed new theatre site, in 1 of first productions operetta jealous? reviewer wrote, translation french mr. beazley, , entertaining little thing is. have seen nothing long time has pleased much. same theatre, beazley wrote short operetta fire , water in 1817; revived on numerous occasions on next 3 years. business of piece made of scheme of petulant old man, proposes marry young lady, , of efforts of rattle brained young lover baffle him , carry off prize.

beazley continued write stage, producing more hundred comedies, farces, comic operas, , operettas. in 1829 wrote elephant of siam , fire fiend, presenting famous female elephant called madame d jeck, showing off tricks perform. historian john earl notes elephant, rather author, took curtain call. among beazley s other works gretna green, steward, old customs, lottery ticket, uncle, bachelors wives, hints husbands , bull s head.

beazley translated opera librettos, including robert le diable, caterina cornaro , la sonnambula. last said have been adapted beazley fit english pronunciation of opera star maria malibran during series of morning interviews @ bedside.

london theatres , other work

beazley s st james s theatre in 1836

beazley designed lyceum theatre twice. 1816 building, known english opera house, destroyed fire in 1830, , beazley provided designs replacement, opened in 1834. designed st james s theatre, city of london theatre in norton folgate (both in 1830s) , royalty theatre in 1840. major additions existing theatres included strand front of adelphi theatre, , russell street colonnade of drury lane theatre (1831), among many others. in 1820 responsible rebuilding of theatre royal in birmingham, had been destroyed fire. designed 2 theatres dublin, 2 belgium, 1 brazil, , 2 different parts of india.

beazley s biographer, g. w. burnet, wrote in 1885, without presenting artistic attraction, theatres possessed merit of being adapted purposes. earl added, [beazley s] theatre designs invariably neo-classical , not strikingly innovative; drew on european architectural precedents adapted them skilfully. … experience playwright , intimate knowledge of physical demands of dramatic presentation gave him significant advantage on rivals. beazley s non-theatre work included several buildings in leamington spa, ashford town hall, , studley castle in warwickshire. last important works south-eastern railway company, , include terminus @ london bridge, of stations on north kent line, , lord warden hotel , pilot house @ dover.

in addition architecture , playwriting, beazley wrote 2 novels, roué, 1828, , oxonians, 1830. in burnet s view, cleverly constructed, modern taste seem tedious , formal. wrote architectural papers , short book published in 1812 enclosure of waste lands. versatility caused him nicknamed vanbrugh of time: has not designed several theatres, has written many excellent pieces performed in them. earl agreed, describing vanbrugh , beazley soldiers, adventurers, playwrights, , architects.

personal life

beazley married 3 times: first in 1809 eliza richardson, second in 1824 frances conway, , third in late 1840s marianne joseph. first 2 marriages ended in divorce. in will, beazley divided bulk of considerable fortune between third wife, marianne, , sister emily beazley. made further bequests children of sister nancy, wife of edward tribe. in codicils, made provision children in care of several different women.

beazley died @ home, tonbridge castle, kent, on 13 october 1851, aged 65. buried @ bermondsey old church, london. many years earlier had composed own epitaph:

here lies samuel beazley,

who lived hard , died easily

he remembered playwright j. r. planché dear, good-tempered, clever, generous, eccentric sam beazley.

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