Harlowe, Sarah

1765

1852

Sarah Harlowe was the stage name of an actress who was born in 1765 and whose real name was apparently Wilson. Sarah’s first appearance on stage in London was on 19 July 1786 at the Windsor Castle Inn in Hammersmith, as Kitty Sprightly in “All the World’s a Stage”. And sprightly she was as an actress, according to critics of the time, who referred to her as spirited, even impudent on stage, where she was seen over the years as a singer, dancer and actress – especially in breeches parts, such as Adeline in “The Battle of Hexham” (G0289) and male characters, like William in “Rosina”. In London Sarah was seen frequently at the Haymarket in both summer and winter and at Drury Lane, Covent Garden, Sadler’s Wells and the Royalty, and she was on the road often, acting at Richmond, Brighton, Margate, Birmingham, Wolverhampton and Weymouth. She seems clearly to have been a capable actress who could play a variety of secondary and tertiary roles in comedy, and she was not unwilling to try more serious parts, such as Gertrude in “Hamlet” and Emilia in “Othello” (both at the Haymarket). Not until fairly late in her career, at the turn of the century, did she settle down: at Drury Lane, for £3 weekly, and there she remained for some 26 years. Mrs Harlowe, in 1786 at Hammersmith, had acted in a troupe led by Francis Godolphin Waldron, and at some point they became lovers – perhaps in 1788, when Waldron’s wife seems to have either left him or died. Sarah’s relationship with Waldron continued until his death in 1818. She acted until 1826 and died in 1852. In her later years she depended on an annuity from the Drury Lane Theatrical Fund, and at her death she was identified as Sarah Waldron.