Amy Coleridge (25 May 1864 – 4 August 1951) was a British actress who had a successful career playing in Shakespeare's plays in South Africa as well as in her home country. She acted in the companies of

Henry Irving Sir Henry Irving (6 February 1838 – 13 October 1905), christened John Henry Brodribb, sometimes known as J. H. Irving, was an English stage actor in the Victorian era, known as an actor-manager because he took complete responsibility ( ...

and John Martin-Harvey.

Biography

Early life

She was born as Amy Matilda Cowlrick at St Pancras in London in 1864, the daughter of Adelaide ''née'' Jackson (1839–) and Charles Cowlrick (1837–1922), a commercial clerk.

First marriage and acting career (1884 – 1906)

She married the English actor

William Haviland William Haviland (1718 – 16 September 1784) was an Irish-born general in the British Army. He is best known for his service in North America during the Seven Years' War. Life William Haviland was born in Ireland in 1718. He entered mili ...

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

on 1 February 1884. They had two children, the actor Frederick Alexander Irwin (1884-1924) and Ellen Winifred Irwin (1887-) but were divorced in 1904 following her adultery with the actor Percy Anstey (1876–1920). In 1886 she and her husband were at the Lyceum Theatre in the company of

for whom she played Alice in ''Faust'' (1886), Ursula in ''

Much Ado About Nothing ''Much Ado About Nothing'' is a Shakespearean comedy, comedy by William Shakespeare thought to have been written in 1598 and 1599.See textual notes to ''Much Ado About Nothing'' in ''The Norton Shakespeare'' (W. W. Norton & Company, 1997 ) p. ...

'', and Julie Lesurques in '' The Lyons Mail'' (1893). She acted in '' The Lady of Lyons'' alongside her husband in John Martin-Harvey's Lyceum Theatre Company tour of the provinces in 1888. She and Haviland returned to South Africa as members of the Holloway Theatre Company in 1895 where she played

Desdemona Desdemona () is a character in William Shakespeare's play ''Othello'' (c. 1601–1604). Shakespeare's Desdemona is a Venice, Italy, Venetian beauty who enrages and disappoints her father, a Venetian senator, when she elopes with Othello (char ...

in ''

Othello ''The Tragedy of Othello, the Moor of Venice'', often shortened to ''Othello'' (), is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare around 1603. Set in Venice and Cyprus, the play depicts the Moorish military commander Othello as he is manipulat ...

'' and Cordelia in ''

King Lear ''The Tragedy of King Lear'', often shortened to ''King Lear'', is a Shakespearean tragedy, tragedy written by William Shakespeare. It is loosely based on the mythological Leir of Britain. King Lear, in preparation for his old age, divides his ...

'' on tour. In 1897 she returned to tour South Africa with the Haviland and Lawrence Shakespearian & Dramatic Company in their season of Shakespearian plays directed by her husband

and co-starring Haviland and his co-manager

Gerald Lawrence Gerald Leslie Lawrence (23 March 1873 – 9 May 1957) was a British actor and Actor-manager, manager. Lawrence was born in London in 1873, the son of Emily Mills ''née'' Asher (1832-1912) and John Moss Lawrence (1827-1888), an investor. Lawre ...

. By 1900 she and her husband William Haviland were in London with the company of John Martin-Harvey, for whom she appeared as Marie in ''Louis XI'' at the Lyceum Theatre (1900), joining him for his sixth tour of America in 1902 in three productions: ''A Cigarette Maker's Romance'', ''The Children of Kings'' and ''The Only Way''. She appeared opposite Martin-Harvey as Margaret Hungerford in ''The Breed of the Treshams'' (1903).

Second marriage and later life (1906 – 1951)

In 1906, after her divorce from Haviland, she married the actor Percy Anstey. After divorcing Anstey she married Archibald Brough Pearce (1897–1962) in 1915.England & Wales, Civil Registration Marriage Index, 1837-1915 for Amy M Cowlrick: 1915, Q1-Jan-Feb-Mar - Ancestry.com
/ref> She is believed to have returned to South Africa to act for Leonard Rayne for some years, later becoming a speech and drama teacher. Amy Coleridge died in

Pietermaritzburg Pietermaritzburg (; ) is the capital and second-largest city in the province of KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa after Durban. It was named in 1838 and is currently governed by the Msunduzi Local Municipality. The town was named in Zulu after King ...

, South Africa on 4 August 1951.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Coleridge, Amy 1864 births 1951 deaths Actresses from London 19th-century English actresses 20th-century English actresses English stage actresses English Shakespearean actresses Women of the Victorian era Actors from the London Borough of Camden People from St Pancras, London