Eleanor Bufton
Eleanor Bufton | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | 2 June 1842 Wales |
| Died | 9 April 1893 (aged 50) London, England |
| Nationality | British |
| Occupation | Actress |
| Years active | 1854-1893 |
| Spouse | Arthur Swanborough |
| Children | 2 |
Eleanor Bufton (2 June 1842 – 9 April 1893) was a Welsh actress of the Victorian era. She began acting in her teens and spent most of her career in London, playing in Shakespeare, Victorian burlesque, and a range of drama and comedy roles.
Early life and work
Bufton was born in
Work at the Royal Strand
She then worked for the Royal Strand Theatre. She married Arthur Swanborough, who was the son of the theatre's manager, Ada Swanborough, in 1860.[1] Bufton performed in Post-boy in 1860, in the role of Miss Wharton. She also performed other roles in burlesques at the Strand. In 1866, she played Hero in Much Ado About Nothing at the St James's Theatre. Bufton also performed roles in The Rivals and Road to Ruin. She created roles in the W. S. Gilbert plays Dulcamara and Randall's Thumb, and appeared in the first stage adaptation of Charles Dickens' novel Great Expectations as Estelle, also written by Gilbert.[2]
Later career
In April 1868 she became manager of the refurbished Greenwich Theatre. In her opening speech/poem, she referred to its heritage in the Richardson's travelling theatre at the annual Greenwich Fair, and offered enfranchisement to those whom even John Stuart Mill and the women's suffrage movement could not empower.[4]
Her career was halted after she was injured in a railway accident. The accident was at
Death and legacy
Bufton died at the age of 50 in The Strand, London, from bronchitis.[6] She is buried at the Brompton Cemetery.[2] She and her husband had two daughters.
References
- ^ a b c Joseph Knight, ‘Bufton, Eleanor (1842–1893)’, rev. J. Gilliland, Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, 2004; online edn, January 2008 accessed 25 January 2015
- ^ a b c d e f
This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: "Bufton, Eleanor". Dictionary of National Biography. London: Smith, Elder & Co. 1885–1900.
- ^ a b Charles Eyre Pascoe (1880). Our actors and actresses. The dramatic list. Bogue. pp. 73–74.
- ^ The Era, 19 April 1868, accessed through British Newspaper Archives - British Library
- ^ "Mrs Swanborough and the Railway Company". Huddersfield Chronicle. Huddersfield. 16 November 1872. p. 2.
- ^ "Deaths of Note". Bath Chronicle and Weekly Gazette. Bath. 13 April 1893. p. 6.
