Siddons, Henry

1774

1815

Born at Wolverhampton on 4 October 1774, Henry Siddons was the eldest child of the actress Sarah Siddons and her husband William Siddons. Henry’s birth occurred while his parents were touring the provinces, before his mother became famous. After some schooling in Croyden and at Dr Barrow’s Academy in Soho, Henry was sent to the seminary at Charterhouse, intended for the priesthood. But while at school, he acted some children’s roles in his parents’ productions, and he played the Child to his mother’s Isabella at her re-appearance at Drury Lane on 10 October 1782; he is pictured in that role in Hamilton’s painting in the Garrick Club (G0749). In the 1790s he strolled the northern provincial towns, acted with his uncle Stephen Kemble’s company in Edinburgh for a while, and finally, on October 1801, returned to London to play Herman in “Integrity” at Covent Garden. In the cast was his future wife, Harriet Murray. He acted Hamlet on 12 October 1801 and Othello on 28 October; he was favourably received and the reviews were encouraging. At the end of the season, for his benefit on 21 May 1802, his mother joined him to act Lady Randolph to his Douglas. After remaining at Covent Garden through 1804-5, Siddons left Covent Garden and went over to Drury Lane, where he acted until the end of 1808-9; he then left the London stage for good. In 1809 he became patentee of the Edinburgh Theatre; that theatre opened under his management on 14 November with “The Honeymoon”, in which he acted the Duke and his wife was Juliana. He enjoyed a six-year stint as manager at Edinburgh and appeared in some 80 roles, including Captain Absolute in “The Rivals”, Charles Surface in “The School for Scandal”, Don Felix in “The Wonder”, Posthumus in “Cymbeline”, Puff in “The Critic” and Shylock. Three comedies written by him were produced during that time, and several of his entertainments had been performed earlier in London. Henry Siddons died of tuberculosis in Edinburgh on 12 April 1815, the third of Mrs Siddons’s children to be so afflicted. He was buried in Greyfriars Churchyard. Information on his widow and four children is given in his notice in the BDA 13: 390-391.