Bella was married to boxer (and bank robber, see OldTimeMusicHall) Dick Burge. They took on the lease of the Surrey Chapel, an ex-chapel which had become a boxing ring in 1910. Renamed "The Ring" it became one of the first indoor venues for working class boxing. Bella and her female friends attended the boxing bouts, which was very unusual at that date. Dick died in 1919 and Bella carried on the Ring, expanding into all-in wrestling in 1932. Bombs in 1940 and 1941 destroyed the building and the site was redeveloped, most recently into the Palastra Building. This information all comes from the wonderful Nickel in the Machine, where you will find some fascinating pictures.
This section lists the memorials where the subject on this page is commemorated:
Bella Burge
Commemorated ati
Other Subjects
Horatio Myer & Co.Ltd
Horatio Myer (7 June 1850 - 1 January 1916) was born Hereford, the son of a German Jewish immigrant. He moved to London and in 1876 in Vauxhall he set up business producing metal beds and later pr...
1 memorial
Royal Arsenal Co-operative Society
Retailer. Originally established as the Royal Arsenal Supply Association, by twenty workers from the Royal Arsenal. It was renamed in 1872, and expanded from just being a food retailer, into a vast...
4 memorials
Lloyds Coffee House
Edward Lloyd first opened his coffee house on Tower Street in 1687 but had to move to larger premises in Lombard Street in 1691. It was a meeting place for businessmen where information was exchan...
1 memorial
1 memorial
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Royal Doulton / Doulton Potteries
Ceramic manufacturing company. Began with a factory at Vauxhall Walk, Lambeth. Initially a partnership of John Doulton, Martha Jones, and John Watts, Jones left in 1820 leaving the company name as ...
39 memorials
St Mary Axe Church
Its full name was the Church of St Mary, St Ursula and her 11,000 Virgins. The origin of the nick name supposedly derives either from a sign of an axe over the east end of the church or from a reli...
1 memorial
1 memorial
Queen Adelaide
As the wife of King William IV, Adelaide of Saxe-Meiningen was our queen and Queen of Hanover, 1830-7. She was married in 1818 and in 1819 the royal household moved from Germany to England and use...
3 memorials
Imperial Hotel, Russell Square
Designed by Charles Fitzroy Doll. The picture was taken in 1913 after the completion of the extension, which is the section on the left, to the north (2017: we now think the 'extension' was into t...
22 memorials
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