Mary Woffington
Mary Woffington | |
---|---|
Born | Mary Woffington 1729 |
Died | 4 April 1811 England | (aged 81–82)
Occupations |
|
Era | Georgian |
Spouse |
Robert Cholmondeley
(m. 1746; died 1804) |
Children | 10 |
Relatives |
|
Mary Woffington Cholmondeley (1729 – 4 April 1811) was an Irish socialite of the Georgian era. Her sister was the famous actor Peg Woffington. After a failed attempt at an acting career, Mary married the second son of the Earl of Cholmondeley and chose to live as a socialite. With connections in both English and French high society, she came to have a "modest salon", and was close friends with Frances Burney and Samuel Johnson.
Early life and acting career
Mary Woffington was born in
In mid 1744, aged 15, Woffington returned to England and moved into her sister's country house at
Life as a socialite
Following her brief acting career, Mary Woffington returned to Teddington and continued to court the local gentry. By mid 1746, she courted Robert Cholmondeley, a disgraced
Historian Ethna Byrne-Costigan describes Mary Woffington as:
more beautiful than her sister ... as vivacious as she was playful in her conversation. Lively, amusing, full of life, she succeeded in attracting people. Well fitted to fascinate those she moved among, she could be serious, grave, even austere when she judged such an attitude necessary to win a good opinion for herself. Above all she excelled in subtle flattery, not going out of her way to be complimentary, but it was quite natural, quite uncalculating. On every possible occasion when she was with friends she would praise the absent.[7]
Woffington was quickly welcomed into high society, becoming close friends with
According to Byrne-Costigan, Woffington's husband "adored her and treated her like a spoiled child".[5] After leaving the army, he declared himself a "man of peace" and became a priest in the Church of England.[4][5] Through his family, he was able to acquire two church livings in Hertfordshire, which allowed the couple to financially prosper.[4] In addition, he was appointed to the lay office Auditor-General of the Revenues of America.[11] Woffington and her husband were also able to acquire wealth through their family's wills. As Peg's designated heir, Woffington received the majority of her sister's property after her death in 1760. Through Walpole's will, she and her family received £1,500 while Earl Cholmondeley, whose finances had partly recovered, made her sons residual legatees of some properties in London in his will.[10]
Children and death
Woffington and Cholmondeley had ten children together, though there are conflicting accounts of how many survived into adulthood. Byrne-Costigan states nine of the ten "made splendid marriages",
Robert Cholmondeley died on 6 June 1804. Mary Woffington died in England on 4 April 1811 following a long illness,[2][10] outliving her sister by 51 years.[5] In her will, Woffington ensured her son George was "amply provided for" and transferred all of the property she received in her sister's will to her daughter Hester.[10]
Mary Woffington is a character in the stage play Pretty Peggy, which was written in 1902 by Frances Aymar Mathews and is based on the life of Woffington's sister.[13][14] Among the actors who portrayed Mary are Lucile Gleason,[15] Mabel Van Buren,[16] Evelyn D'Alroy,[17] and Margaret Mayo.[18]
Notes
- ^ According to James Boswell, Robert "was an ensign in the guards, and at the Battle of Fontenoy (11 May 1745) fairly hid himself, for which he was disgracefully broke at the head of the army".[4]
References
Citations
- ^ a b Highfill, Burnim & Langhans 1993, p. 225.
- ^ . Retrieved 21 September 2023.
- ^ Highfill, Burnim & Langhans 1993, p. 225–226.
- ^ a b c d e f g h Highfill, Burnim & Langhans 1993, p. 226.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j Byrne-Costigan 1979, p. 19.
- ^ Molloy 1897, p. 135.
- ^ Byrne-Costigan 1979, p. 18.
- ^ Molloy 1897, p. 137.
- ^ Highfill, Burnim & Langhans 1993, p. 226–227.
- ^ a b c d e f g h Highfill, Burnim & Langhans 1993, p. 227.
- ^ Hunt 1870, p. 300.
- ^ a b Doran 1864, p. 6.
- The Dayton Herald. 11 November 1905. p. 12. Retrieved 21 September 2023.
- ^ "Plays, 'Pretty Peggy'". Museum of the City of New York. Retrieved 21 September 2023.
- ^ "'Pretty Peggy' Pleases". The Berkeley Gazette. 23 August 1905. p. 3. Retrieved 21 September 2023.
- ^ "Amusements". The Beatrice Daily Express. 22 February 1906. p. 2. Retrieved 21 September 2023.
- ^ "New Bills Draw Well at Theaters". The Evening Herald. 3 March 1914. p. 2. Retrieved 21 September 2023.
- The Indianapolis Journal. 14 March 1903. p. 3. Retrieved 21 September 2023.
Works cited
- JSTOR 30104171.
- Doran, John (1864). "Their Majesties' Servants": Annals of the English Stage, from Thomas Betterton to Edmund Kean. Vol. 2. London: W. H. Allen & Co.
- Highfill, Philip H.; Burnim, Kalman A.; Langhans, Edward A. (1993). A Biographical Dictionary of Actors, Actresses, Musicians, Dancers, Managers and Other Stage Personnel in London, 1660-1800. Vol. 16. Carbondale: ISBN 978-0-8093-1803-2.
- Hunt, Leigh (1870). Men, Women and Books: Selection of Sketches, Essays, and Critical Memoirs. London: Smith, Elder & Co.
- Molloy, J. Fitzgerald (1897). The Life and Adventures of Peg Woffington: With Pictures of the Period in which She Lived. London: Downey & Co.
Further reading
- Daly, Augustin (1891). Woffington: A Tribute to the Actress and the Woman. Troy: Nims and Knight. pp. 66–68.
- Fitzgerald, Percy (1899). The Life of David Garrick. London: Simpkin & Marshall. p. 81.
- "Mary Woffington, the Hon. Mrs. Cholmondeny". Lloyd's Weekly Newspaper. 12 September 1897. p. 17.
- Moore, F. Frankfurt (20 September 1899). "A Poor Actress". The Pacific Bee. p. 7.