Adeline Billington

Adeline Billington
Adeline Billington
Born	Adeline Mortimer (1826-01-03)3 January 1826 England
Died	23 January 1917(1917-01-23) (aged 91) London, England
Nationality	British
Other names	Mrs. John Billington
Spouse	John Billington

Adeline Billington (3 January 1826 – 23 January 1917), was an English actress and teacher.[1]

Biography

Adeline Mortimer was born 3 January 1826, in England.[2] She married John Billington, a fellow actor.[3][4] Billington made her London debut in Cupid and Psyche at the Adelphi Theatre.[2] She worked in that theatre for 16 years. She often worked with her husband.[5] Billington was popular with Charles Dickens for several of her performances in the theatrical performances of his works.[6] Billington was friends with Vaughan Williams as well.[7][8] Billington also worked as an acting teacher, knowns as "Mother of the stage".[9][10]

She died in London on 23 January 1917 and was buried with her husband in Highgate Cemetery.[2][11] The grave, which is unmarked, is immediately behind the grave of the comedian George Honey.

Sources

1. "Sixty Years an Actress". The Bendigo Independent. 13 August 1908. p. 6. Retrieved 18 October 2023 – via Trove.
2. "Obituary". The Sydney Morning Herald. 24 January 1917. p. 11. Retrieved 18 October 2023 – via Trove.
3. "Mr. John Billington". Table Talk. Melbourne. 6 June 1890. p. 5. Retrieved 18 October 2023 – via Trove.
4. "John Billington, Actor". Otago Witness. Vol. 21, no. 2636. 21 September 1904. p. 61. Retrieved 18 October 2023 – via Papers Past.
5. Wearing, J. P. (5 December 2013). The London Stage 1900-1909: A Calendar of Productions, Performers, and Personnel. Scarecrow Press. ISBN 978-0-8108-9294-1.
6. Dickens, Charles (14 March 2002). The British Academy/The Pilgrim Edition of the Letters of Charles Dickens: Volume 12: 1868-1870. Clarendon Press. ISBN 978-0-19-159027-6.
7. Savage, Roger (2014). Masques, Mayings and Music-dramas: Vaughan Williams and the Early Twentieth-century Stage. Boydell & Brewer Ltd. ISBN 978-1-84383-919-4.
8. "Transcript of The Plimsoll Sensation podcast". National Museums Liverpool.
9. Heim, Caroline (30 July 2015). Audience as Performer: The changing role of theatre audiences in the twenty-first century. Routledge. ISBN 978-1-317-63354-9.
10. "'Mother of the Stage.'". Telegraph. Brisbane. 17 April 1917. p. 3. Retrieved 18 October 2023 – via Trove.
11. "Mrs John Billiington". The Times Archive. Retrieved 25 September 2024.