Leonard Bentley
Regent Street
This is a Magic Lantern slide showing Regent Street looking north from near the Quadrant. There are bustles, knifeboard buses, top hats, Hansoms, Growlers and Sandwich board men amongst a whole lot more detail. It is the sandwich board men which hold the clue to the date of the photograph, it is 1883 and the comic opera, “The Merry Duchess” is playing at the newly refurbished Royalty Theatre in Dean Street. The actor/manager at the Royalty was Miss. Kate Santley, a rare occupation for a woman who preferred to be called the Manageress. Miss. Santley or more correctly Evangeline Estelle Gazina was born in Germany and as a young girl emigrated to the US with her family, she returned to Europe at the start of the American Civil War and became an actress and music hall artist in London. In 1877 she took over a dilapidated Royalty Theatre, she was told by the first Chief Officer of the London Fire Brigade that the premises were a fire hazard and would not give her the necessary permissions to stage productions. She then set about restoring the Theatre which was completed in 1883, the first production was “The Merry Duchess” by G.R. Sims and Frederick Clay, it ran from 25th April until 14th August 1883. G.R. Sims was a famous Victorian Poet, playwright and author whose most famous work or best known today is the poem/Ballad, “It was Christmas Day in the Workhouse”. He also put his name and money into a hair restorer called “Tatcho”. Further up Regent Street past the sandwich board men and ladies with bustles on the corner with Vigo Street are the premises of Scott Adie and Company Ltd at 115 Regent Street, also known as the “Royal Scotch Warehouse” or “The Royal Clan Tartan Warehouse”. The shop sold male and female Scottish made clothing for the Hunting, shooting and Fishing set. It had Queen Victoria’s Royal Warrant and the shop front is displaying one of two Crystal Laurels with Thistles to celebrate the Queen’s official birthday on Saturday 26th May when the Trooping the Colour ceremony was due to take place but was postponed because of rain, the Queen’s real birth date was two days earlier on the 24th May. The photograph appears to have been taken before or after these dates because there should be another Crystal Laurel decorated with Roses and Shamrocks. The police constable standing on the traffic island with the taxi rank is stationed at Vine Street police station, at one point in the 19th century it was described as the busiest police station in the world.
Regent Street
This is a Magic Lantern slide showing Regent Street looking north from near the Quadrant. There are bustles, knifeboard buses, top hats, Hansoms, Growlers and Sandwich board men amongst a whole lot more detail. It is the sandwich board men which hold the clue to the date of the photograph, it is 1883 and the comic opera, “The Merry Duchess” is playing at the newly refurbished Royalty Theatre in Dean Street. The actor/manager at the Royalty was Miss. Kate Santley, a rare occupation for a woman who preferred to be called the Manageress. Miss. Santley or more correctly Evangeline Estelle Gazina was born in Germany and as a young girl emigrated to the US with her family, she returned to Europe at the start of the American Civil War and became an actress and music hall artist in London. In 1877 she took over a dilapidated Royalty Theatre, she was told by the first Chief Officer of the London Fire Brigade that the premises were a fire hazard and would not give her the necessary permissions to stage productions. She then set about restoring the Theatre which was completed in 1883, the first production was “The Merry Duchess” by G.R. Sims and Frederick Clay, it ran from 25th April until 14th August 1883. G.R. Sims was a famous Victorian Poet, playwright and author whose most famous work or best known today is the poem/Ballad, “It was Christmas Day in the Workhouse”. He also put his name and money into a hair restorer called “Tatcho”. Further up Regent Street past the sandwich board men and ladies with bustles on the corner with Vigo Street are the premises of Scott Adie and Company Ltd at 115 Regent Street, also known as the “Royal Scotch Warehouse” or “The Royal Clan Tartan Warehouse”. The shop sold male and female Scottish made clothing for the Hunting, shooting and Fishing set. It had Queen Victoria’s Royal Warrant and the shop front is displaying one of two Crystal Laurels with Thistles to celebrate the Queen’s official birthday on Saturday 26th May when the Trooping the Colour ceremony was due to take place but was postponed because of rain, the Queen’s real birth date was two days earlier on the 24th May. The photograph appears to have been taken before or after these dates because there should be another Crystal Laurel decorated with Roses and Shamrocks. The police constable standing on the traffic island with the taxi rank is stationed at Vine Street police station, at one point in the 19th century it was described as the busiest police station in the world.