William Thomas Moncrieff papers

William Thomas Moncrieff was born in 1794, the son of a London tradesman. About 1804 he became a clerk in a solicitor's office, where he spent the next several years. He wrote one or two popular songs, but his actual entrance into the theatrical world was as the manager of the Regency Theatre, London, for which he wrote Moscow, or The Cossack's Daughter in 1810. When the theatre closed he wrote articles and criticism for magazines until he was introduced to Robert William Elliston about 1815. Moncrieff wrote many of his plays for theatres under Elliston's management: the Royal Surrey, the Olympic, and Drury Lane. At the same time, Moncrieff was managing Astley's, for which he wrote a successful equestrian drama, The Dandy Family, and then the Coburg Theatre, where he brought out several plays in rapid succession. In 1820, he joined Elliston at the Theatre Royal Drury Lane, where Elliston produced his pieces ranging from farces such as The Spectre Bridegroom, or A Ghost in Spite of Himself, to melodramas such as The Cataract of the Ganges, or The Rajah's Daughters. Elliston retired from Drury Lane bankrupt in 1826, but leased the Surrey Theatre in 1827, for which Moncrieff continued to supply dramas. Moncrieff took over management of the Vauxhall Gardens in 1827, and opened a music shop in Regent Street with John Barnett in 1828. He leased the City Theatre in 1833. About 1835 his sight began to fail, and by 1843 he was totally blind. He continued to write however, and besides the 170 theatrical pieces which he produced during his career he wrote articles on Elliston, theatrical reminiscences and miscellaneous poetry. He also edited Richardson's New Minor Drama, with Remarks Biographical and Critical published in 4 volumes, 1828-30. Moncrieff spent his last thirteen years in the Charterhouse, London, where he died in 1857.