An unsung she-ro of Bristol Old Vic

Bristol author and all-round theatre mega-fan Jane Duffus is about the launch her third volume of The Women Who Built Bristol at the start of this month and we're lucky enough to be hosting the event at Bristol Old Vic. 

We can't wait to see what gems she's kept for Book 3, but as a special treat for us, Jane shared the story of a special woman form the theatre's past to mark International Women's Day.

Gather round and let's find out about Julia Bartlett....

When we think about some of the women linked to Bristol Old Vic’s long past, we usually think of the likes of theatre manager Sarah MacReady, actor Sarah Siddons or maybe manager Mazzarina Macready-Chute. But of course, there were hundreds of other historical women with a link to this incredible theatre. So, for Women’s History Month, let’s look at Julia Harris and her daughter Julia Pillinger.

Londoner Julia Bartlett (1797-1880) married her sweetheart George Pillinger in Bath and their daughter Julia Maria Pillinger  (1823-1876) was born the following year. But their happiness was not to last because George died in 1829. In order to keep herself and her daughter, Julia trained to become a music teacher and relocated to 6 Queen Square, Bristol, in 1839 where she set up a music school and titled herself a professor of music.

In 1840, she married for a second time, to carver and gilder Richard Harris and the family lived at Julia’s home and music school on Queen Square. As she grew older, daughter Julia took after her musical mother and trained at the Royal Academy of Music in London with Queen Victoria’s very own pianist as her teacher. She then returned to Bristol where she became a piano teacher at her mother’s school. 

Given their musical connections and location on Queen Square, it should not come as a big surprise that the Harris/Pillinger family forged strong connections with the nearby Theatre Royal (as the Bristol Old Vic used to be known) on King Street. Richard was a carver and gilder, which suggests he may well have been involved with set building and decoration at the theatre. Daughter Julia became such good friends with the Macready-Chute family who ran the theatre at the time that lived with them for a number of years. While mother Julia must have had a great deal in common with theatre manager Sarah Macready, who was herself a musical woman and also a widow.