The clergy encouraged the staging of mystery plays from around 1350. Performed in English these taught the Christian stories to the people who could not read, nor understand the Latin used in church. The plays were locally written and produced and those from only four towns survive: Wakefield, Chester, Coventry and York.
The plays were suppressed in the Reformation but in recent years some have been resurrected.
This section lists the memorials where the subject on this page is commemorated:
Chester Players
Actor. Born 7 Gledhow Gardens, South Kensington as Arthur John Gielgud, great nephew to Ellen Terry. The name indicates his Lithuanian descent. A great Shakespearean actor, he is possibly best know...
Born Joyce Phipps in Montpelier Square, London. Her mother was sister to Nancy Astor, MP, so she was "well brought up". Aged 19 she married Reggie, her husband until her death. The picture is a se...
Actress. Born Beatrice Stella Tanner in Forest House, Kensington. Her stage name was derived from her marriage to Patrick Campbell in 1890. She made her theatrical debut in 1888 and achieved fame i...
This theatre designed by the German architect Rudolphe Cabanel, began life in 1818 as the Royal Coburg Theatre under the patronage of Princess Charlotte of Wales and her husband Prince Leopold of C...
1854 - 1931 This library is dedicated to Sir Charles Parsons, scientist and engineer who in the XIX century invented and perfected the c...
Trumpeter. Born in New Orleans, Louisiana. Nicknamed 'Satchmo' (short for satchel mouth). Brought up in extreme poverty, his musical career started when he learned to play the cornet. He went on to...
Cookery writer. Born as Elizabeth Gwynne into a wealthy family. Travelled in Europe and around the Mediterranean, spending some years in Cairo, where she married in 1944. Returned to England in 194...
The plaque can be seen in our photo, above the left-most car.
Unusually, this park was created out of land which had previously been built on. It is one of the largest parks in south London, and is still unfinished. The area was developed in the 19th century ...
