Well, my husband and I moved to Brecon in 2004. But our families have connections with Brecon going back generations. And he uncovered an old Breconshire Handbook, which the nearest I can date it is from the earliest 1950s.
And I love this piece. This particular sentence, it says few, if any of the older towns of Wales can compare with Brecon in the quality of its domestic architecture. Excellent examples of houses belonging to periods ranging from Tudor to early Victorian, may be seen in its winding streets, serving as a reminder of the opulence and respectability of bygone days. Indeed, such is the present appearance, the town that it requires, but a small stretch of imagination to visualize the splendor of the days, not so long ago, when many of the present buildings served as town residences for the local gentry.
Reading that started me on a journey of discovery. I wanted to uncover Brecon's history. A very important date for me in Brecon's history is 1775. For two reasons I'm from a farming family and the Brecon Agricultural Society, which today is the oldest surviving agricultural society in the United Kingdom was founded in that year. But also in that year, Sarah Siddons was born in Brecon at what was then the Shoulder of Mutton Inn, but today is called the Sarah Siddons. The Kemble family, her parents, Roger and Sarah Kemble. Were a touring group, of actors and they came to Brecon from the 1750s to the 1780s. And in fact, Sarah Siddons' younger brother Charles Kemble, was also born in Brecon 20 years later in 1775.
Uncovering the story of Sarah Siddons has been absolutely fascinating. It's a story that embraces success, failure, triumph, disaster scandal. But she ultimately enjoyed public infatuation for 50 years. She was painted by all the great 18th century painters, Thomas Lawrence, Joshua Reynolds, Thomas Gainsborough, Gilbert Stewart, the list is endless, endless and maybe it's because of those portraits that she is still being talked about today. But during the course of her career, she became a great favourite of Georgia third and Queen Charlotte. She became a reader to the Royal children. Her great triumph and she's still today recognized as probably one of the greatest Lady Macbeth's. And she started her London seasons at Drury Lane first under Garrick, and then under Sheridan, but the Kemble family and Sheridan had quite a difficult relationship. He didn't pay them. And in the end, they walked out on him, and they bought shares in Covent Garden, and the Kemble family went on to own Covent Garden for 30 years.
The scandal around Sarah Siddons was to do with Thomas Lawrence and there was always questions as to whether she had an affair with him. But then there's never any they've never found any evidence of that. But he actually wooed both two of her daughters. And one of them he wanted to get engaged with but they refused Sarah and Roger Kemble no William Siddons refused for them. He then fell in love with the other daughter, Maria. But sadly and this is the tragedy. Both daughters died of consumption. But the one that had been refused, the one that he finally fell in love with, was the first to die. And on her deathbed, she made her sister promise that she would never marry Thomas Lawrence. And so the sister did survive her. She never married him.
Who's Thomas Lawrence? He's a very famous 18th century and I think the founder of the Royal Academy.
So, she she continued performing right up until 1812. She died from the stage in 1812. But she proceeded to be the main breadwinner for her family. I consider her because she had seven children during her career on the stage. And her brother john Philip Kemble, died in about 1817. Thomas Lawrence died in the 1820s. And she finally died in 1831. And 5000 people attended her funeral in London. And then Charles Dickens started the subscription to get a statue designed and built for her. And Sarah Siddons' statue is in Westminster Abbey and on her statue, at the base, it says Sara Siddons, born Brecon 1755 died London 1831.
I've said that her fame goes on to this day, because in 1998, the Getty Museum in America, there are Reynolds did two of those portraits and there's the better one is in America, but the second one is in the Dulwich Art Gallery in London. And the Getty Museum put on an exhibition in 1998, where they bought the two portraits together for the first time, did some reclamation, repair work on them, and also others of her exhibition. And actually, if you go on to the Getty Museum website, you can download the exhibition programme, which is called a passion for performance.
In the 20th century, she was she's she that statue also achieved fame because it featured in the film All About Eve, which won an Oscar with Bet Davis in the route, where they competed for the Sarah Siddons Award. In the film, at the time of the film that was an a fictitious award. But after the success of the film, a society called the Sarah Siddons award. Was it serious in society were set up in America, which they give to a distinguished actress each year, the Sarah Siddons award and many of the great American actresses and British actresses. Deborah Kerr has won it, Bet Davis has won it Angela Lansbury has won it. Lauren Bacall has won it. Julie Andrews. So her fame continues. Of course, just this year, the National Theatre have redone the play All About Eve and I went to watch it in the theatre here in Brecon. And there again, the the Sarah Siddons award, which is a replica of that Joshua Reynolds portrayed featured in the story.
And that all started in Brecon.