Comments on: Music Hall Artistes Of Abney Park https://spitalfieldslife.com/2023/06/03/music-hall-artistes-of-abney-park-i/ In the midst of life I woke to find myself living in an old house beside Brick Lane in the East End of London Sat, 03 Jun 2023 20:11:07 +0000 hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=7.0 By: Cathie Joy https://spitalfieldslife.com/2023/06/03/music-hall-artistes-of-abney-park-i/#comment-1511080 Sat, 03 Jun 2023 20:11:07 +0000 https://spitalfieldslife.com/?p=195970#comment-1511080 My great grandparents were music hall artists. John and Florence McMurray – stage names Dale and Vale. It was a dance act. John also did a solo comedy act under the name John Kennedy. I have some of the play bills. They were on the same bill as Chung Ling Soo – the American who accidentally got shot and died during his act in stage.

]]> By: Linda Granfield https://spitalfieldslife.com/2023/06/03/music-hall-artistes-of-abney-park-i/#comment-1511056 Sat, 03 Jun 2023 14:59:26 +0000 https://spitalfieldslife.com/?p=195970#comment-1511056 It’s a ‘rabbit hole’ for sure (I just spent over an hour reading various parts and watching videos) but some of your readers might like to follow the Abney Park Restoration project online.

https://abneypark.org/restoring-abney

Biodiversity, renewal, and a means to bring the larger community into a revitalized spot. If the restored park opens this summer, as proposed, it will be a ‘must-visit’ item on any travel list.

]]> By: Jim Keltz https://spitalfieldslife.com/2023/06/03/music-hall-artistes-of-abney-park-i/#comment-1511031 Sat, 03 Jun 2023 09:42:28 +0000 https://spitalfieldslife.com/?p=195970#comment-1511031 Why did they all die so young?

]]> By: Richard Cleaver https://spitalfieldslife.com/2023/06/03/music-hall-artistes-of-abney-park-i/#comment-1511026 Sat, 03 Jun 2023 08:12:04 +0000 https://spitalfieldslife.com/?p=195970#comment-1511026 Fascinating. What tales these characters must keep with them, gaiety and adventure intertwined with economic hardship and the struggles of life in Victorian London. I find Nelly Power’s portrait particularly haunting, her smile and gaze suggesting she has much to tell, secrets only she keeps forever now.

]]> By: katrina burton https://spitalfieldslife.com/2023/06/03/music-hall-artistes-of-abney-park-i/#comment-1511025 Sat, 03 Jun 2023 08:08:55 +0000 https://spitalfieldslife.com/?p=195970#comment-1511025 Smashing post, thank you.

]]> By: Christine Swan https://spitalfieldslife.com/2023/06/03/music-hall-artistes-of-abney-park-i/#comment-1511022 Sat, 03 Jun 2023 07:38:16 +0000 https://spitalfieldslife.com/?p=195970#comment-1511022 A great selection of performers but sad to see that so many passed away young. They would have been contemporaries of my great, great aunt and uncle who were performing around the same time. Their lives were fascinating and the theatre lifted them out of poverty and provided regular employment. I do hope that other readers with Music Hall ancestry research their family tree too. Although my aunt and uncle were well-known, it was their granddaughter, known as Esta Stella, who became most prolific of all. It has been my honour to keep their memory alive although sources focusing on this period of theatre history do not appear to be as numerous as I would have hoped. I find the lives of these highly individual performers fascinating as well as their contribution to popular entertainment and theatre. Thank you GA for another interesting post.

]]> By: Annie S https://spitalfieldslife.com/2023/06/03/music-hall-artistes-of-abney-park-i/#comment-1511017 Sat, 03 Jun 2023 06:47:11 +0000 https://spitalfieldslife.com/?p=195970#comment-1511017 I live just up the hill from Abney Park Cemetery, it’s a very interesting place.
Did you see the tomb of Frank Bostock and his wife with the lion sitting on top? Not exactly Music Hall but certainly an entertainer and showman who worked with animals and quite a character!
For anyone interested … https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frank_C._Bostock

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