James Bartleman - Regency Celebrity

My first indication of the existence of James Bartleman, "the finest singer that the English school has produced", came from The Picture of London for 1809, and more particularly its column "An Almanac of the Exhibitions and Amusements of London" where he appears in the May entry under

20   Bartleman's Annual Concert, New Rooms, Hanover-square

Morning Post Thursday May 16 1805

 James Bartleman was born in 1769 and by the 1790s after a career in the choir of Westminster Abbey, he was well-known in the musical circles of London. While we still know the names of Signora Catalani and Mrs. Billington, that of Bartleman except in musical history is largely unknown.

James Bartleman

by James Thomson (Thompson), after Thomas Hargreaves
stipple engraving, published 1830
Courtesy of National Portrait Gallery

But in The Musical Times of 1853 he was still remembered:

In the 1790s he was a performer at the 'Ancient Concerts' (an abbreviated version of the title for the Concerts of Ancient Music hosted by the Academy of Ancient Music), The Madrigal Society, the Catch Club, and many music festivals and benefit concerts around the country. Eventually he joined the Vocal Concerts, which he later managed and produced.

Morning Post Monday 20 February 1815

London Courier and Evening Gazette Sat  May 6 1815

Such was the popularity of the Vocal Concerts that the songs that were sung there were reproduced as sheet music and were widely sold at the time.

Courtesy of www.sheetmusicwarehouse.co.uk

By 1819 Bartleman was very ill. He had suffered many years in pain (I have not been able to discover what his illness was) and it had at times interrupted his performing career. Note the last sentence of the article below:

Morning Post Monday May 10 1819

He did not however attain a 'perfect recovery'. He died April 15, 1821 and was buried in Westminster Abbey. The tablet there is inscribed:

"To the memory of James Bartleman, formerly a chorister and lay-clerk of Westminster Abbey, and Gentleman of His Majesty's Royal Chapel. Educated by Dr Cooke he caught all the taste and science of that great master, which he augmented and adorned with the peculiar powers of his native genius. He possessed qualities which are seldom united, a lively enthusiasm, with an exact judgment, and exhibited a perfect model of a correct stile, and a commanding voice; simple, and powerful; tender and dignified; solemn, chaste, and purely English, his social and domestick virtues corresponded with these rare endowments: affectionate and liberal; sincere, and open hearted; he was not less beloved by his family and friends, than admired by all for his preeminence in his profession. He was born 19th September 1769, Died 15th April 1821, and was buried in this cloister, near his beloved master".

A fitting monument, surely, for a true celebrity of the Regency era, and a great musician.

'Til next time,

Lesley-Anne

An Almanac of the Exhibitions and Amusements of London:

Today, we are returning to The Picture of London for 1809; (being a Correct Guide to all the Curiosities, Amusements, Exhibits, Public Establishments, and Remarkable Objects, in and near London; with a Collection of Appropriate Tables; Two Large Maps, and several other engravings.)

On February 22 of this year, we looked at The Picture for January and February. Now we'll see what March held, and what delights April will bring.

March seemed to be the month for anniversary dinners:

1   Saint David's-day, Anniversary of the Welch Charity, which after service at St. Andrew's church, Holborn, dines at the Crown and Anchor.

1   Anniversary of the Westmoreland Society

4   Ditto of the Marine Society, at the London Tavern.

17 Ditto of the Benevolent Society of St. Patrick at the Crown and Anchor.

30 Ditto of the Asylum, for Female Orphans, at the Freemason's Tavern.

Three notes accompanied the March listings:

 Maunday Thursday. His Majesty's bounty is distributed to the poor at Whitehall-chapel, by His Majesty's Almoner.

 Towards the end of this month, and during most of the spring and summer, are to be seen reviews, and other military spectacles, in Hyde Park, generally two or three mornings in the week. Notice of these may be had at the offices of the Commander-in-Chief, or of the Adjutant-general, at the Horse-guards, Whitehall.

Every morning a pleasing spectacle is displayed on the Parade, behind the Horse-guards, about ten o'clock, where the stranger will likewise be entertained with a charming concert of martial music.

 from Walks Through London 1817

April shows the beginnings of the social season, and hints of the spring and summer activities to come. There are still anniversary dinners:

1   Anniversary Dinner of the Literary Fund for the relief of authors in distress, at the Freemasons Tavern.
7   Ditto of the Freemason's Charity, for educating Female Children, at the Crown and Anchor.
5   Ditto of the Society for the Refuge of the Destitute.
10 Ditto of the Institution at Bermondsey, for the Education of the Deaf and Dumb, where they are taught to speak and read articulately, write, etc., held at the London tavern.
27 Anniversary of the Society of Friends of Foreigners in Distress, City of London Tavern.

Easter, with its variable dates, brings a variety of events.

Easter Monday and Tuesday, are days of great frolic and revelry, in Greenwich-park, and there are scenes deserving of notice.

On Easter Monday and Tuesday, the Lord-mayor, Aldermen, etc. go in state to Christ-church, and attend divine service; after which on Monday, a grand dinner is given at the Mansion-house, and a splendid and numerously attended ball in the evening Tickets to be had of the Lord-mayor.

"Easter Term begins the third Wednesday after Easter Sunday, and lasts twenty-six days." and again there is celebration:

In the first Sunday of Easter Term, the Lord-mayor, Sheriffs, and Judges, go in state to St. Paul's Church, and afterwards partake of a grand dinner.

But the arts are stirring:

Easter Monday, the following Summer Theatres open: Sadler's Wells, Ampitheatre of Arts (Astley's), The Royal Circus.

From the 18th of April:

Exhibition of the Painters in Water Colours, Old Bond-street.
Ditto of the Associated Artists in Water Colours, No. 20, Lower Brook-street.

And finally, the great display of the Beau Monde is underway:

In this month, and during the summer, every day, but particularly on Sunday, from two o'clock till five, Hyde Park is a great resort of persons on foot, on horse-back, and in carriages. Kensington-gardens form also, during the same time, a great fashionable promenade, unequalled in any part of the world.

Kensington Garden Promenade Dresses June 1806

Happy Spring!
'Til next time,

Lesley-Anne

The Picture of London for 1809

The Picture of London, a remarkably long-running guidebook to the greatest of Regency cities, is a fount of information. Each edition is a little different, and articles are dropped or continued according to the public's interest in them.

In the 1809 edition, one fascinating item is "An Almanac of the Exhibitions and Amusements of London: indicating all the Objects deserving of Notice throughout the Year, in the order in which they occur."

January includes:

6  Twelfth-Day; the Bishop of London makes an offering of gold, frankincense, and myrrh, at the Chapel Royal, St. James's.

    The Confectioners and Pastry-cooks shops furnish an interesting exhibition of cakes, especially in the evening.

18  The Queen's birth-day kept---A grand drawing-room at St. James's, and the streets and windows filled with spectators, to see the company pass---Ode for the New Year performed---Illuminations at public places, and at the houses of the royal tradesmen, take place in the evening.

20+  The lectures commence at the Royal Institution---Mr. Davy on Chemistry, Galvanism etc. with various lectures in different branches of Sciences and the arts.

Royal Institution, Albemarle Street, from Microcosm of London

23+  Every Sunday evening, from Christmas to Easter, the boy's[sic] at Christ-church Hospital sing an anthem, and sup in public at six o'clock. Tickets to this interesting sight may be had of any of the numerous governors, or at the Hospital.

In time of frost, the Canal in St. James's park, and the Serpentine River in Hyde-park, are covered with skaiters[sic]; here a stranger will find much amusement.

Skating, from 'British Manly Exercises'

February was no less entertaining, according to the "Almanac":

1+  Concert of ancient Music commences in the Great Room, in the King's Theatre, Haymarket.

6+  Anniversary of the Society for discharging Persons confined for Small Debts, Craven-street, Strand.

7+  Concert for the Benefit of the Choral Fund, Theatre-Royal, Haymarket.

11+ British Gallery, Pall-mall, for the Exhibition and Sale of the Works of British Artists.

22+ The Lectures on Painting commence at the Royal Academy, Somerset-place; admission gratis, by tickets to be had of the Academicians.

An exhibition at the Royal Academy

Two notes are added to the February Almanac entries:

During Lent, on Wednesday and Friday evenings Oratorios are performed at Covent-garden Theatre.

During the winter season, there are generally a variety of occasional exhibitions, particularly at the Lyceum in the Strand.

I find it wonderful to read of the activities available to Regency people and to imagine them choosing among the delights that London offered.

We'll revisit the Almanac of The Picture of London for 1809 throughout this year of 2013!

'Til next time,

Lesley-Anne

N.B. The + following dates indicates a date that was not firmly fixed.

Shopping in the Regency Period

I do wish there was a book about shopping--the retail trade--during the Regency, and in particular, shopping in London in the early 1800s. It would make research so much easier. As far as I can find, there is no definitive work. If you have come across one, please let me know. I'm researching for my 2010 release, The Harmless Deception. The heroine is a lady milliner and I want to have a feel for retailing in the Regency. Some things I have discovered:

'The Picture of London', a guidebook published in 1803, has the following widely cited quote. I think it's worth repeating:
"…two sets of streets running nearly parallel, almost from the Eastern extremity of the town to the Western, forming (with the exception of a very few houses) a line of shops. One. lying to the South, nearer the river, extends from Mile End to Parliament Street, including Whitechapel, Leadenhall Street, Cornhill, Cheapside, St. Paul's Churchyard, Ludgate Street, Fleet Street, the Strand and Charing Cross. The other, to the North, reaches from Shoreditch Church almost to the end of Oxford Street, including Shoreditch, Bishopsgate Street, Threadneedle Street, Cheapside, Newgate Street, Snow-hill, Holborn, Broad Street, St. Giles and Oxford Street. The Southern line, which is the most splendid, is more than three miles in length, and the other about four miles,…"

A great deal of shopping, indeed, and we know so little about it all. The impression I have gained is that the retail trade up until about 1815 was dominated by the independent merchant. They set up shop in the best premises available to their pocketbook and sold their goods. A fascinating exhibit from 2001 at the Bodleian Library, University of Oxford, still has its catalogue online. This is the 'John Johnson Collection Exhibition 2001 A Nation of Shopkeepers - Trade Ephemera from 1654 to the 1860'. There are literally hundreds of trade cards on-line for viewing. They tell us more about retailing during those 200 years than anything else I have found.

The best author I have found specializing in shopping history is Alison Adburgham. Her book 'Shopping in Style' is very useful, though it emphasizes the more accessible Victorian period. She also has 'Shops and Shopping, 1800-1914', which has a valuable chapter titled 'Shopping During the Napoleonic Wars'.

Regency novels lean heavily on the first department store in London, Harding, Howell & Co, for their characters' shopping needs. I did so myself in The Rake's Reflection, only I called it by the name of its location--Schomberg House in Pall Mall. The bazaars also figure large in Regency fiction--the Western Exchange, Soho Bazaar and the Pantheon Bazaar--but it is difficult to pin down their operating dates, so it can be wiser to create a fictional bazaar rather than risk an error. I have seen the Burlington Arcade has been wrongly used; it was late in opening, 1819. In fact, Adburgham gives the date of the Pantheon's re-creation as a bazaar as 1834. I used a nameless, unfashionable, bazaar for a scene in The Beggarmaid, and enjoyed creating it.

Individual well-known shops are fascinating to research and invaluable settings for writers. I'm thinking of the plumassier Botobol, Ackermann's for art, the perfumery of Floris, Hatchard's for books, and Bedford House and Grafton House which Jane Austen patronized. In fact, Jane's letters are a treasure trove of shopping details.

So the study continues. But as shopping and research are both among my favourite things to do, I don't mind a bit!

Til next time,

Lesley-Anne