Thorne, Sarah

ACTOR, THEATRE MANAGER (ENGLAND)
BORN 10 May 1836, London - DIED 27 Feb 1899, Chatham, Kent: 3 New Road Avenue
GRAVE LOCATION London: Brompton Cemetery, Old Brompton Road, West Brompton (7)

Sarah Thorne was the daughter of the actor and theatre manager Robert Thorne. Her mother was Sarah Rogers. She debuted on the stage in 1848 and she started her acting career in Sunderland, Newcastle upon Tine, Sheffield and other places. In the late 1850s she worked for several seasons at the Theatre Royal in Dublin where she played Desdemona next to Charles Kean.

Around 1856 she married Thomas Macknight (1829-1899), an author who had written an anonymous book in which he attacked Benjamin Disraeli. They had two children, Edmund (1860) and Elizabeth (1862). But they had trouble combining their careers and they separated soon after the birth of their daughter.

In 1863 she worked in Brighton and in 1865 in Edinburgh. In 1867 she succeeded her father as the manager of the Theatre Royal in Margate. In 1873 this ended when the theatre was sold. In 1876 she became the manager of the Theatre Royal in Worcester, but it burnt down on 24 Nov 1877.

In 1885 she started an acting school and Adelaide Neilson and Irene and Violet Vanbrugh were among her pupils. Her last performance was in 1898 at her benefit performance in Margate. She died in 1899 in Chatham.

Related persons
• was teacher of Neilson, Adelaide

Images

The grave of Sarah Thorne at Brompton Cemetery, London.
Picture by Androom (13 Aug 2016)

 


Thorwald, Jürgen

Published: 22 Apr 2018
Last update: 20 Apr 2022