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Edward Moss (impresario)

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112: 79:, moving on in 1877 to Edinburgh where he tried a number of ventures including its Gaiety Music Hall and renaming it Moss's Theatre of Varieties. For 27 years he presented the Annual Carnival at Waverley Market. He bought a new site and opened his first Empire Palace Theatre in 1892, designed by Frank Matcham who designed many of the group's theatres, as did Bertie Crewe. He was knighted in 1905 for his services to charity and entertainment, the first variety impresario to be honoured this way. 103:
Empire Holloway, London, Empire New Cross, London, Empire Stratford, London, Empire Shepherd's Bush, London, Empire Dublin, Empire Belfast, Empire Coventry, Empire Sunderland, Palace Hull, Palace Leicester, Palace Bordesley, Palace Camberwell, Granville Walham Green, Manchester Hippodrome, Glasgow Coliseum, Olympia Liverpool, HM Theatre of Varieties Walsall, Reading Theatre, Richmond Theatre, Philharmonic Hall Cardiff, Zoo and Hippodrome Glasgow.
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then operating in Wales. From its start and during the 20th century Moss Empires remained the largest group of variety theatres in Britain, with over 50 venues at its height, and was regarded as the largest in the world. It was he who, in 1904, introduced a "four shows a day" system at some of his
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London Hippodrome, Empire Glasgow, Empire Edinburgh, Empire Newcastle, Empire Leeds, Empire Bradford, Empire Sheffield, Empire Birmingham, Empire Liverpool, Empire Cardiff, Empire Swansea, Empire Newport, Empire Nottingham, Empire Ardwick, Manchester, Empire South Shields, Empire Hackney, London,
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King George V commanded a public Royal Variety Performance to be directed by Sir Edward and held in the Edinburgh Empire in July 1911 as part of the Coronation celebrations that year. This would be the first such production in Britain, confirming the new respectability of Music Hall. However the
71:, the son of James and Martha Moss. His father James Moss was a fiddler and character singer in singing saloons. He was educated in Edinburgh and Glasgow, where he received his own musical training. In 1872 he became the pianist and manager of his father's Lorne Music Hall in 122:
He married twice: firstly to Ellen Alice Bramwell (1856–1892), with whom he had two sons: James Edward Moss (1880–1904), and Charles Sommerville Moss (1883–1931). On Ellen's death he married Florence Craig née Crawford, daughter of Robert Crawford one of the founders of
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theatre burned down a few months before the Performance, and Sir Edward's health deteriorated. Instead, a Royal Variety Performance was arranged for the following year, being held in the
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Ltd theatre combine which he created in 1899, and floated on the Stock Exchange, after first joining forces with Richard Thornton of Newcastle and later with
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In 1905 the Moss combine had 37 variety theatres of which the flagship was London Hippodrome. The company advertised its list as follows:-
164: 146:, close to the cemetery entrance. Sir Edward was succeeded by Frank Allen as chairman and managing director of Moss Empires Ltd. 38:(12 April 1852 – 25 November 1912) was a British theatre impresario and the founder chairman and joint managing director of the 320:
Twentieth-Century British Theatre: Industry, Art and Empire, by Claire Cochrane published by Cambridge University Press, 2011
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Arthur Lloyd website and its full display of the Moss Empires Jubilee 1899–1949 publication
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theatres; he was also the first to allow advance booking of seats in a music hall.
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He died on 25 November 1912 at his mansion and estate of Middleton Hall,
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H. E. Moss, known as Ted to family and friends, was born in
174:(online ed.). Oxford University Press. 2004. 163: 59:Edward Moss standing, and Richard Thornton seated 341: 276:"Theatres and Halls in Greenock, Scotland" 110: 54: 50: 20: 16:British theatre impresario (1852 - 1912) 360:Scottish theatre managers and producers 171:Oxford Dictionary of National Biography 342: 375:19th-century Scottish businesspeople 127:. He and Florence had one daughter. 156: 13: 14: 386: 326:"Moss, Sir (Horace) Edward"  309: 94: 106: 293: 282: 268: 257: 237:"'Napoleon of the Music Hall'" 229: 217:. 26 November 1912. p. 11 201: 117:Portobello Cemetery, Edinburgh 115:The grave of Sir Edward Moss, 1: 245:. 26 November 1912. p. 4 149: 195:UK public library membership 7: 253:– via Newspapers.com. 225:– via Newspapers.com. 10: 391: 209:"Death of Sir Edward Moss" 302:, 26 November 1912 page 6 289:Royal Variety Performance 125:Howard & Wyndham Ltd 332:Encyclopædia Britannica 335:(12th ed.). 1922. 180:10.1093/ref:odnb/51457 119: 85:Palace Theatre, London 60: 36:Sir Horace Edward Moss 32: 300:Western Daily Mercury 114: 58: 51:Career and management 24: 365:British impresarios 264:1901 England Census 140:Portobello Cemetery 138:, and is buried in 214:Manchester Courier 120: 61: 33: 193:(Subscription or 31:, 17 January 1900 382: 370:Knights Bachelor 336: 328: 303: 297: 291: 286: 280: 279: 272: 266: 261: 255: 254: 252: 250: 233: 227: 226: 224: 222: 205: 199: 198: 190: 188: 186: 167: 160: 390: 389: 385: 384: 383: 381: 380: 379: 340: 339: 323: 312: 307: 306: 298: 294: 287: 283: 274: 273: 269: 262: 258: 248: 246: 242:Hull Daily Mail 235: 234: 230: 220: 218: 207: 206: 202: 192: 184: 182: 162: 161: 157: 152: 109: 97: 53: 17: 12: 11: 5: 388: 378: 377: 372: 367: 362: 357: 352: 338: 337: 321: 318: 311: 310:External links 308: 305: 304: 292: 281: 267: 256: 228: 200: 154: 153: 151: 148: 108: 105: 96: 95:Early theatres 93: 52: 49: 15: 9: 6: 4: 3: 2: 387: 376: 373: 371: 368: 366: 363: 361: 358: 356: 353: 351: 348: 347: 345: 334: 333: 327: 322: 319: 317: 314: 313: 301: 296: 290: 285: 277: 271: 265: 260: 244: 243: 238: 232: 216: 215: 210: 204: 196: 181: 177: 173: 172: 166: 159: 155: 147: 145: 141: 137: 133: 128: 126: 118: 113: 107:Personal life 104: 100: 92: 90: 86: 80: 78: 74: 70: 66: 57: 48: 45: 41: 37: 30: 29: 23: 19: 330: 299: 295: 284: 270: 263: 259: 247:. Retrieved 240: 231: 219:. Retrieved 212: 203: 183:. Retrieved 169: 158: 129: 121: 101: 98: 81: 62: 44:Oswald Stoll 40:Moss Empires 35: 34: 26: 18: 355:1912 deaths 350:1852 births 142:in eastern 89:Alfred Butt 344:Categories 249:20 October 221:20 October 197:required.) 150:References 132:Gorebridge 69:Lancashire 28:The Sketch 144:Edinburgh 136:Edinburgh 65:Droylsden 185:18 April 87:, under 77:Scotland 73:Greenock 134:, near 191: 251:2023 223:2023 187:2019 176:doi 25:In 346:: 329:. 239:. 211:. 168:. 91:. 75:, 67:, 278:. 189:. 178::

Index


The Sketch
Moss Empires
Oswald Stoll

Droylsden
Lancashire
Greenock
Scotland
Palace Theatre, London
Alfred Butt

Portobello Cemetery, Edinburgh
Howard & Wyndham Ltd
Gorebridge
Edinburgh
Portobello Cemetery
Edinburgh
"Moss, Sir Horace Edward (1852–1912), theatre and music-hall manager"
Oxford Dictionary of National Biography
doi
10.1093/ref:odnb/51457
UK public library membership
"Death of Sir Edward Moss"
Manchester Courier
"'Napoleon of the Music Hall'"
Hull Daily Mail
"Theatres and Halls in Greenock, Scotland"
Royal Variety Performance
Arthur Lloyd website and its full display of the Moss Empires Jubilee 1899–1949 publication

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