Barnett Nathan

Barnett Nathan (1793, Canterbury – 6 December 1856, London), known professionally as Baron Nathan, was an English impresario, entertainer, and dancing master. He acted for many years as master of ceremonies and managing director at Rosherville Gardens.[1]

Barnett Nathan
Caricature of Nathan from the satirical magazine The Man in the Moon (1847)
Born1793 (1793)
Canterbury, Great Britain
Died6 December 1856(1856-12-06) (aged 62–63)
London, United Kingdom
Burial placeBancroft Road Jewish Cemetery, Covent Garden
NationalityBritish
Other namesBaron of Rosherville
Spouse(s)
Caroline Buckley
​
(m. 1816)​
RelativesIsaac Nathan (brother)

Biography

Barnett Nathan was born in Canterbury, the youngest child of Jewish parents Mary (née Goldsmid) and Menachem Mona (or Muna), and was given the Hebrew name Baruch ben Menachem.[2] His Polish-born father was cantor of the local synagogue.[3] Barnett's elder brother, Isaac Nathan, would come to be an accomplished musician and composer,[4] and one sister would become a professional harpist.[5] On 6 July 1816, he eloped with Caroline Buckley of Bristol, the sister of Isaac's second wife.[6][2]

A venture into music publishing with Isaac ended in bankruptcy,[7] and Nathan became a dancing instructor in Kennington. There he opened a dance academy,[8] and from 1834 he led dancing at the Tivoli Gardens in Margate.[3] In 1842, he was permanently installed as master of ceremonies and managing director at Rosherville Gardens in Gravesend, Kent,[9][10] where he spent every summer until his death.[11] On his benefit nights he would perform his famous 'egg dance', which consisted of dancing the hornpipe blindfolded on a stage covered in eggs and teaware.[12]

He died at his home on 6 December 1856 from the rupture of a blood vessel in the head,[13] and was buried at the Bancroft Road Jewish Cemetery in Covent Garden.[14]

Parodies

Nathan was a well-known personality, who was frequently parodied in the satirical magazines Diogenes,[15] The Puppet-Show,[16] The Comic Almanack,[17] and Punch.[18][19][20][21][22][23][24][25] In Robin Hood and Richard Cœur de Lion, an opera burlesque by Joachim Hayward Stocqueler, Shirley Brooks, and Charles Kenney, the titular character declares:

This ready courtesy's beyond belief.
A handsome hall! Baron, I vow you will
Eclipse your peer, the Lord of Rosherville,
The dancing nobleman, whose power we see
Makes even gents dance almost decently.[26]

References

 This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Jacobs, Joseph; Lipkind, Goodman (1905). "Nathan, Barnett (known as Baron Nathan)". In Singer, Isidore; et al. (eds.). The Jewish Encyclopedia. 9. New York: Funk & Wagnalls. p. 178.

  1.  Jacobs, Joseph; Lipkind, Goodman (1905). "Nathan, Barnett (known as Baron Nathan)". In Singer, Isidore; et al. (eds.). The Jewish Encyclopedia. 9. New York: Funk & Wagnalls. p. 178.
  2. Phillips, Olga S. (1940). Isaac Nathan, Friend of Byron. London: Minerva Publishing Company. OCLC 11569149.
  3. Lewis, David R. (2015). "Barnett 'Baron' Nathan, 1793–1856" (PDF). Canterbury Historical and Archaeological Society. Retrieved 2 February 2021. Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  4. Peacock, Jonathan (2011). "Rosherville Gardens: An Epitome of Victorian England". Garden History. 39 (1): 64–82. JSTOR 41411772.
  5. Mackerras, Catherine (1963). The Hebrew Melodist: A Life of Isaac Nathan. Sydney: Currawong. p. 9.
  6. "Register of marriages, Saint Leonard, Streatham" (April 1813–June 1837). London Borough of Lambeth, Series: Church of England Parish Registers, ID: P95/LEN/070. London: London Metropolitan Archives.
  7. Conway, David (2011). Jewry in Music: Entry to the Profession from the Enlightenment to Richard Wagner. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. p. 97. doi:10.1017/CBO9781139058483. ISBN 978-1-139-05848-3.
  8. Lightman, Bernard; Zon, Bennett, eds. (2020). Victorian Culture and the Origin of Disciplines. New York: Routledge. ISBN 978-1-000-12417-0.
  9. Rubens, Alfred (1935). Anglo-Jewish Portraits: A Biographical Catalogue of Engraved Anglo-Jewish and Colonial Portraits from the Earliest Times to the Accession of Queen Victoria. London: The Jewish Museum.
  10. Boast, Frederic (1897). "Nathan, Baron". Modern English Biography. II. Truro: Netherton & Worth. p. 1086.
  11. Smith, Lynda (2006). The Place to Spend a Happy Day: A History of Rosherville Gardens. Gravesend: Gravesend Historical Society. ISBN 978-0-9548137-4-1.
  12. Brown, Malcolm (1996–1998). "The Jews of Gravesend before 1915". Jewish Historical Studies. 35: 119–139. JSTOR 29779982.
  13. Reynolds, George W. M., ed. (21 December 1856). "Miscellaneous". Reynolds's Newspaper. London. p. 7.
  14. Rubens, Alfred (1970–1973). "Jews and the English Stage, 1667—1850". Transactions & Miscellanies. Jewish Historical Society of England. 24: 162. JSTOR 29778809.
  15. "Ode to Baron Nathan". Diogenes. London. 2: 286. 1853.
  16. "Baron Nathan Considered as a Polygamist and a Blind Man". The Puppet-Show. London. 1: 197. 1848.
  17. "Stanzas Suggested by a View of Rosherville". The Comic Almanack: An Ephemeris in Jest and Earnest, Containing Merry Tales, Humorous Poetry, Quips, and Oddities. London: Chatto and Windus. 2: 124. 1846.
  18. "Assumption of Aristocracy". Punch, or the London Charivari. London: Bradbury and Evans. IV: 204. 1843.
  19. Punch, or the London Charivari. V. London: Bradbury and Evans. 1843. p. 44, 57, 64, 114.
  20. "To a Discerning Public". Punch, or the London Charivari. London: Bradbury and Evans. X: 283. 1846.
  21. Punch, or the London Charivari. XI. London: Bradbury and Evans. 1846. pp. 45, 97.
  22. "The Opening of Parliament". Punch, or the London Charivari. London: Bradbury and Evans. XII: 49. 1847.
  23. Punch, or the London Charivari. XIII. London: Bradbury and Evans. 1847. p. 93, 142.
  24. "Baron Nathan on the Bench". Punch, or the London Charivari. London: Bradbury and Evans. XV: 156. 1848.
  25. "A Chinese Puzzle". Punch, or the London Charivari. London: Bradbury and Evans. XXI: 19. 1851.
  26. Cook, Dutton (1 November 1882). Scott, Clement (ed.). "An Old Burlesque". The Theatre: A Monthly Review and Magazine. London: Charles Dickens & Evans. VI: 270.
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