Richard Wroughton

He was born in 1748, and came to London, followed by a young milliner who had fallen in love with him, who nursed him through a severe illness, and whom he married. His first appearance was made at Covent Garden on 24 September 1768 as Zaphna in ‘Mahomet,’ and not apparently in Altamont in ‘The Fair Penitent’ (acted on the 12th), as all his biographers say. He was seen during the season as Tressel in ‘Richard III,’ Nerestan in ‘Zara,’ Creon in ‘Medea,’ Altamont, for his benefit, on 4 May 1769, and George Barnwell.

He was slow in ripening, and his early performances gave little promise. By dint of sheer hard work he developed, however, into a good actor. During the seventeen years in which he remained at Covent Garden he played the principal parts in comedy and many important characters in tragedy and romantic drama. These included Dick in the ‘Miller of Mansfield,’ Frederick in ‘The Miser,’ Polydore in the ‘Orphan,’ Cyrus, Moneses in ‘Tamerlane,’ Claudio in ‘Measure for Measure,’ Guiderius, Colonel Briton in the ‘Wonder,’ Marcus in ‘Cato,’ Theodosius, Colonel Tamper in ‘Deuce is in him,’ Florizel in ‘The Winter's Tale,’ Bonario in ‘Volpone,’ Sebastian in ‘Twelfth Night,’ Buckingham in ‘Henry VIII,’ Bellamy in ‘Suspicious Husband,’ Richmond in ‘Richard III,’ Younger Worthy in ‘Love's Last Shift,’ Lord Hardy in ‘Funeral,’ Poins, Dolabella in ‘All for Love,’ Myrtle in ‘The Conscious Lovers.’

In 1786–7 Wroughton disappeared from the bills, his parts at Covent Garden being assigned to Farren, and on 29 September 1787, as Douglas in ‘Percy,’ he made his first appearance at Drury Lane. For the time being he replaced John Palmer (1742?–1798), but he practically remained at Drury Lane for the rest of his career. He played with the Drury Lane company at the Haymarket in 1792–3 Charles Surface, Clerimont, and other parts, and at Drury Lane enlarged his repertory by many new characters, including the Ghost in ‘Hamlet’ and Hamlet himself, King in ‘Henry IV’ and in ‘Richard III,’ Antonio in ‘The Merchant of Venice,’ the Stranger in ‘Douglas,’ Leontes, Jaques, Careless in ‘The Double Dealer,’ Jaques, Tullus Aufidius, Macduff, Moody in ‘Country Girl,’ Sciolto, Belarius, Kent and Edgar in ‘Lear,’ Sir Peter Teazle, and Leonato. Most conspicuous among his original characters were Gomez in Bertie Greathead's ‘Regent,’ 1 April 1788; Polycarp in Richard Cumberland's ‘Impostors,’ 26 January 1789; Periander to the Ariadne of Mrs. Siddons in Arthur Murphy's ‘Rival Sisters,’ 18 March 1793; Charles Ratcliffe in Cumberland's ‘Jew,’ 8 April 1794; Odoarto Galotti in ‘Emilia Galotti’ translated by Thompson from Lessing, 28 October; Lord Sensitive in Cumberland's ‘First Love,’ 12 May 1795; Fitzharding in George Colman's ‘Iron Chest,’ 12 March 1796; Orasmyn in Miss Lee's ‘Almeyda,’ 20 April, Mandeville in Reynolds's ‘Will,’ 19 April 1797; and Earl Reginald in ‘Monk’ Lewis's ‘Castle Spectre,’ 14 December.

In 1798 he retired from the stage and settled in Bath, but in 1800, on the death of John Palmer and the illness of Aikin, in answer to an invitation of the Drury Lane management he came back, and was seen in a new series of parts including: Don Pedro in William Godwin's Antonio, 13 December 1800; Provost in William Sotheby's ‘Julian and Agnes,’ 25 April 1801; Casimir Rubenski in Dimond's ‘Hero of the North,’ 19 February 1803; Maurice in Cobb's ‘Wife of Two Husbands,’ 1 November; Sir Rowland English in Francis Ludlow Holt's The Land We Live In, 29 December 1804; Balthazar in John Tobin's ‘Honeymoon,’ 31 January 1805; Conrad in Theodore Hook's ‘Tekeli,’ 24 November 1806; and Cœlestino in ‘Monk’ Lewis's ‘Venoni,’ 1 December 1808. His return did little good to his reputation, and before he finally quit the stage he was completely worn out.

On 9 March 1815 Wroughton gave to the stage an alteration of ‘Richard II’ with additions from other plays of Shakespeare, in which he did not act. On 10 July 1815 he acted his old part of Withers in Kenney's ‘World.’ This was his last performance.

Wroughton was what Michael Kelly calls him, ‘a sterling, sound, and sensible performer.’ His person was bad, he was knock-kneed, his face was round and inexpressive, and his voice was not good. He had, however, an easy and unembarrassed carriage and deportment, was never offensive, and, though he rarely reached greatness, seldom sank into insipidity or dulness. He was always perfect in his parts, indefatigable in industry, and wholly free from affectation. Wroughton was a close friend of Bannister; they were spoken of as Pylades and Orestes.

A portrait of Wroughton by Samuel De Wilde, as Sir John Restless in All in the Wrong, was in the Mathews collection in the Garrick Club. A mezzotint portrait by Robert Laurie after Robert Dighton was published in 1779, and there are several portraits in character in John Bell's British Theatre.

On 7 February 1822, at the reputed age of seventy-four, he died in Howland Street, London, leaving behind him a widow, and was buried in St. George's, Bloomsbury.

• Knight, John Joseph (1900). "Wroughton, Richard" . In Lee, Sidney (ed.). Dictionary of National Biography. Vol. 63. London: Smith, Elder & Co.
• "Deaths, "The Gentleman's magazine, Volume 92, page 284
• Russell, William Clark, 1844-1911, Representative actors: a collection of criticisms, anecdotes, personal descriptions, etc., page 427
• Kelly, Michael, 1762-1826, Reminiscences of Michael Kelly, of the King's Theatre, and Theatre Royal Drury Lane, including a period of nearly half a century Volume: 2, publisher: London, H. Colburn, pages 161, 202, 254 and 304
• Munden, Thomas Shepherd, 1800?-1850, Memoirs of Joseph Shepherd Munden, comedian (1844), Publisher: London : R. Bentley, page 239
• The Thespian dictionary: or, Dramatic biography of the present age; containing sketches of the lives, lists of the productions ... of all the principal dramatists, composers, commentators, managers, actors, and actresses of the United kingdom, Publisher J. Cundee, 1805, Wroughton, Mr
• "Wroughton, Richard, Esq.", The Annual biography and obituary, Volume 9, Publisher Longman, Hurst, Rees, Orme, and Brown, 1825, page 469
• "Richard Wroughton", Professor Kalman A Burnim, PhD, Professor Philip H Highfill, Jr PhD, John Bell-Patron of British Theatrical Portraiture: A Catalog of the Theatrical Portraits in His Editions of Bell's Shakespeare and Bell's British Theatre, Publisher SIU Press, 1998, ISBN 0809321238, 9780809321230, page 252
• "Deaths", The European magazine, and London review, Volume 81, publ. Philological Society (Great Britain), 1822, page 182
• Genest's Account of the English Stage
• Theatrical Observer, Dublin, 1822
• Boaden's Life of Kemble
• Munden's Life of Munden
• Candid and Impartial Strictures on the Performers belonging to Drury Lane, Covent Garden, and the Haymarket, 1795
• Secret History of the Green Room
• Era Almanack, various years

Attribution

 This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: "Wroughton, Richard". Dictionary of National Biography. London: Smith, Elder & Co. 1885–1900.

• 1776 tile by John Sadler, (1720 - 1789) Richard Wroughton (1748-1822) as George Barnwell in The London Merchant, at the V&A museum
• 1779 Mounted portrait of Richard Wroughton, by Robert Laurie (1755-1836) (engraver), Robert Dighton (1747-1814) (artist), at the V&A museum
• "Richard Wroughton", Portraits of Actors, 1720-1920, University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign