By Christine Swan
T. B. Brydge began his career in the Music Hall business in 1863 as a solo comic and clever instrumentalist. However, he achieved more success in partnership than he ever did alone. Performing with Will Gilbert as Gilbert and Brydge, brought a successful pairing and many popular performances. Having suffered the tragedy of losing his young wife Elizabeth, when she was just eighteen, Tom became a single father in a profession where he could not lead a settled life in one place. Although he often returned to Manchester specifically, and Lancashire and Yorkshire more generally, there were also performances in London, Southampton, Portsmouth and Aldershot. When performing in Norwich, in 1869, I conclude that Tom met Matilda Fairhead, a stock-dealer’s daughter, eleven years his junior, and at some point, she joined him on his professional travels.
All Saints church, Chedgrave, Norfolk, baptism place of Matilda Mary Fairhead – By John Salmon, CC BY-SA 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=8270929
The 1871 England census was taken on 2nd April and it seems to have been at a time when Tom was taking a break from performing and was staying at 6 Dawson Street, Manchester, the home of Thomas and Hannah Hayes. The census shows Tom Bridge, Matilda Bridge and “their” daughter Elizabeth Amy, as visitors of the Hayes. Despite a large number of hours searching, the only marriage record that I have been able to find is an index record from 1873. Maybe Tom and Matilda were not married at all in 1871? Tom does seem to have taken some time out in the first half of 1871 and he appears to have restarted in July. Little Lizzie was just three years old at this time and had already had quite a lot happen in her short life. I’m not sure if in my mind I had imagined that that they would stay together as a family unit but, I would imagine, that touring the country, performing in the evening until late into the night, would not have been beneficial for Lizzie’s development. Perhaps I thought that Matilda may have chosen to stay with Lizzie, but I am not sure that that happened either. Instead, it appears that Lizzie remained with Thomas and Hannah Hayes in Dawson Street, Manchester.
1871 England census showing Thomas B Bridge and Matilda M Bridge living at 6 Dawson Street, Manchester. Elizabeth Amy Bridge is shown on the subsequent page
The latter part of 1871 saw Tom Bridge, performing as Gilbert and Brydge, in Aldershot, Manchester, Sheffield, Ashton under Lyne, Portsmouth, Southampton and Aldershot again for the pantomime season. 1872 saw the pair perform in a number of London Music Halls, including multiple performances each evening. The rest of the year saw the pair exceedingly busy performing across England and Scotland. Intriguingly, in the Era on the 15th December, the following message was posted: “Mr R Snowden’s kind regards to Messers Gilbert and Brydge, C. Oswald, and old, old friends, and begs to remind them of No. 14 rule – it is still in existence.” What does this mean? I really have no idea.
Holmfirth Civic Hall – one of the venues where Brown and Brydge performed in 1876 – By Betty Longbottom, CC BY-SA 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=13028798
Over the next couple of years, Gilbert and Brydge toured Northern cities until the latter announced that the partnership would be dissolved on 12th December 1874. The two parted but Tom was soon working with a new partner. William Brown and Tom Bridge formed the Brown and Brydge act and appeared to take some rehearsal time in 1875 before beginning their gruelling schedule of performances. Again the focus was very much on the Northern circuit including dates in Scotland. Described in the press as the: “Princes of their profession”, this appeared to have been a successful pairing. February 1880 saw them performing in the Museum Music Hall, Bullring, Birmingham, which is a city that I know well. Unfortunately, this particular entertainment venue, was demolished in 2018 so has been lost. It is currently still a building site awaiting yet another office building to be constructed. On the other side of the road is the rear of the futuristic Selfridges building. Originally opened as the London Museum Music Hall in 1863, the lost entertainment venue is yet another example of land value being worth more than history. Brown and Brydge did venture as far south as Brighton in March 1880 but then returned North again and, apart from a couple of dates in South Wales, this was where their main business was conducted.
In April 1881, Matilda and Tom were lodging in Howe Street, Duddeston, which is about fifteen minutes walk from the music hall venue. Lizzie, now aged fourteen, was not with the couple but was still living in Dawson Street with Thomas and Hannah Hayes in Manchester. In the census she is listed as a relative but no detail is given of the actual relationship.
1881 England census showing Thomas B Bridge and Matilda M Bridge lodging in 5 Howe Street, Duddeston, Birmingham
1881 England census showing Elizabeth Amy Bridge living at 6 Dawson Street, Manchester, with Thomas and Hannah Hayes
1882 bought further tragedy to Tom as Matilda died of typhoid in Leeds, where he had been performing at the Princess’ Palace and they had been renting lodgings. One may have expected to see a break in Tom’s performing schedule but this wasn’t the case. Brown and Brydge continued performing until they announced that their partnership was also dissolving after seven years together.
Trafalgar Street, Leeds street sign, death place of Matilda Mary Bridge in 1882. – By Chemical Engineer – Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=57093641
One can only wonder how Tom was coping. He had lost two wives and had one daughter who he would only have seen infrequently due to his constant touring. In August 1882 he started a new act, this time with Tom Rice, as England v America. However, they quickly appear to have rebranded as Rice and Brydge, perhaps as a more straightforward identity.
December 1882 brought Rice and Brydge to the same billing as one Nellie Estelle and, as I have documented in a previous post, they were married in March 1883, slightly less than one year after the loss of Tom’s previous wife. Brydge and Estelle, and all of the other incarnations of their act, was to be Tom’s most enduring partnership. Tom was forty one when they married, and had been performing continuously for twenty years.
The Greenwich Theatre – where Tom met Nellie in December 1882 – By Burnley at the English-language Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=15597108
Further information
An amazingly useful resource for researching theatre history http://www.arthurlloyd.co.uk/
Comprehensive reference resource for Victorian music hall and theatrical history https://www.vam.ac.uk/articles/music-hall-and-variety-theatre#slideshow=15664669&slide=0
Awful Rigours and Wretched Pay 