Anne Humby (born Anne Ayre) (flourished 1817–1863) was a British

actress An actor (masculine/gender-neutral), or actress (feminine), is a person who portrays a character in a production. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. ...

and singer frequently called "Mrs Humby".

Early career and time in Bath (1817-1820)

She studied under

Domenico Corri Domenico Corri (4 October 1746 – 22 May 1825) was an Italian composer, impresario, music publisher, and voice teacher. Career Corri was born in Rome and studied voice with Nicola Porpora in Naples. The son of a confectioner in a religious h ...

. She debuted in '' Rosina'' in

Kingston upon Hull Kingston upon Hull, usually shortened to Hull, is a historic maritime city and unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area in the East Riding of Yorkshire, England. It lies upon the River Hull at its confluence with the Humber Est ...

. She married a man with the surname Humby. He was a

dentist A dentist, also known as a dental doctor, dental physician, dental surgeon, is a health care professional who specializes in dentistry, the branch of medicine focused on the teeth, gums, and mouth. The dentist's supporting team aids in provi ...

. The two married during her debut season. Next, Humby performed in

Bath, Somerset Bath (Received Pronunciation, RP: , ) is a city in Somerset, England, known for and named after its Roman Baths (Bath), Roman-built baths. At the 2021 census, the population was 94,092. Bath is in the valley of the River Avon, Bristol, River A ...

, on 4 November 1818. She played Rosetta in ''

Love in a Village ''Love in a Village'' is a ballad opera in three acts that was composed and arranged by Thomas Arne. A pastiche, the work contains 42 musical numbers of which only five were newly composed works by Arne. The other music is made up of 13 pieces bo ...

''. Between 1818 and 1819 she played Euphrosyne in ''

Comus In Greek mythology, Comus (; , ''Kōmos'') is the god of festivity, revels and nocturnal dalliances. Cup-bearer of the god Dionysus, he was represented as a winged youth or a child-like satyr. His mythology occurs only in later antiquity. Duri ...

''. Luciana in ''

The Comedy of Errors ''The Comedy of Errors'' is one of William Shakespeare's early plays. It is his shortest and one of his most farcical comedies, with a major part of the humour coming from slapstick and mistaken identity, in addition to puns and word play ...

'', Araminta in ''Young Quaker'', Audrey in ''

As You Like It ''As You Like It'' is a pastoral Shakespearean comedy, comedy by William Shakespeare believed to have been written in 1599 and first published in the First Folio in 1623. The play's first performance is uncertain, though a performance at Wil ...

'', Dorinda in an adaptation of ''

The Tempest ''The Tempest'' is a Shakespeare's plays, play by William Shakespeare, probably written in 1610–1611, and thought to be one of the last plays that he wrote alone. After the first scene, which takes place on a ship at sea during a tempest, th ...

''.

Dublin and London (1820-1830)

Humby left Bath in 1820 to relocate to

Dublin Dublin is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Situated on Dublin Bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, and is bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, pa ...

by 1821. She had a child by her husband. On 5 January 1822 she performed as Rosa in ''Rendezvous''. On 29 January the same year she performed as Lucy in ''

The Beggar's Opera ''The Beggar's Opera'' is a ballad opera in three acts written in 1728 by John Gay with music arranged by Johann Christoph Pepusch. It is one of the watershed plays in Augustan drama and is the only example of the once thriving genre of sati ...

''. On 18 April 1825 she played Cowslip in '' The Agreeable Surprise''. That same year, she also played Dollalolla in ''

Tom Thumb Tom Thumb is a character of English folklore. ''The History of Tom Thumb'' was published in 1621 and was the first known fairy tale printed in English. Tom is no bigger than his father's thumb, and his adventures include being swallowed by a cow, ...

'', Maud in ''Peeping Tom'', Jenny in ''

The Provoked Husband ''The Provoked Husband'' is a 1728 comedy play by the British writer and actor Colley Cibber, based on a fragment of play written by John Vanbrugh. It is also known by the longer title ''The Provok'd Husband: or, a Journey to London''. Vanbrugh ...

'', and Cicely in ''

The Heir at Law ''The Heir at Law'' (1797) is a comedic play in five acts by George Colman the Younger that remained popular through the 19th century. It and ''John Bull'' (1803) were Colman's best known comedies.Dabundo, Laura (ed.Encyclopedia of Romanticis ...

''. She moved to London and performed at the

Haymarket Theatre The Theatre Royal Haymarket (also known as Haymarket Theatre or the Little Theatre) is a West End theatre in Haymarket, London, Haymarket in the City of Westminster which dates back to 1720, making it the third-oldest London playhouse still in ...

and at

Theatre Royal, Drury Lane The Theatre Royal, Drury Lane, commonly known as Drury Lane, is a West End theatre and listed building, Grade I listed building in Covent Garden, London, England. The building faces Catherine Street (earlier named Bridges or Brydges Street) an ...

. She became popular for her performance as

maid A maid, housemaid, or maidservant is a female domestic worker. In the Victorian era, domestic service was the second-largest category of employment in England and Wales, after agricultural work. In developed Western nations, full-time maids a ...

s. This includes playing the maid Patch in ''Busy Body'' and Kitty in ''

High Life Below Stairs ''High Life Below Stairs'' is a 1759 comedy play by the British writer James Townley.Worrall p. 30 An afterpiece, it premiered at Drury Lane on a double bill with a revival of Dryden's ''The Mourning Bride''. A popular hit, it was frequently revi ...

''. She was described, by ''The Dramatic Magazine'', as being a quality maid or hatmaker, but, lacking "refined and delicate manners" needed for other roles.

Later life

In 1837,

William Macready William Charles Macready (3 March 179327 April 1873) was an English stage actor. The son of Irish actor-manager William Macready the Elder he emerged as a leading West End performer during the Regency era. Career Macready was born in London ...

committed to employ her at over six pounds a week but a dispute with another actor made her withdraw. Humby was still performing in the 1840s and in 1849, she was performing at the Lyceum Theatre. Her husband practiced dentistry in the

Strand Strand or The Strand may refer to: Topography *The flat area of land bordering a body of water, a: ** Beach ** Shoreline * Strand swamp, a type of swamp habitat in Florida Places Africa * Strand, Western Cape, a seaside town in South Africa * ...

neighborhood of London. He died in

Guernsey Guernsey ( ; Guernésiais: ''Guernési''; ) is the second-largest island in the Channel Islands, located west of the Cotentin Peninsula, Normandy. It is the largest island in the Bailiwick of Guernsey, which includes five other inhabited isl ...

. Humby eventually married Joseph Hammond and they settled in

Barnes Barnes may refer to: People *Barnes (name), a family name and a given name (includes lists of people with that name) Places United Kingdom * Barnes, London, England ** Barnes railway station **Barnes Bridge railway station ** Barnes High Stree ...

in London. She is thought to have died on 29 September 1863.Joseph Knight, ‘Humby , Anne (1800–1863?)’, rev. J. Gilliland, Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, 200
accessed 28 Jan 2015
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References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Humby, Anne 18th-century English actresses 19th-century English actresses English stage actresses British Shakespearean actresses English women singers 18th-century English singers Actresses from London Singers from London 1863 deaths