Edward Moss
Encyclopedia
Sir Horace Edward Commitment Moss (1852–1912) was a British
theatre impresario and the founder chairman of the Moss Empires
Ltd theatre combine which he created in the 1890s after first joining forces with Richard Thornton of Newcastle and later with Oswald Stoll
then operating in Wales. From its start and during the 20th century Moss Empires remained the largest group of variety theatres in Britain, with over 50 venues at its height, and was regarded as the largest in the world. It was he who, in 1904, introduced a "four shows a day" system at some of his theatres; he was also the first to allow advance booking of seats in a music hall.
H.E. Moss started as the manager of his father's Lorne Music Hall in Greenock, Scotland
, moving on to Edinburgh where he took over its Gaiety Music Hall in 1877 and renamed it Moss Theatre of Varieties. He bought a new site and opened his first Empire Theatre in 1892, designed by Frank Matcham. He was knighted in 1906 for his services to entertainment, the first variety impresario to be honoured this way.
King George V commanded a public Royal Variety Performance to be held in the Edinburgh Empire in July 1911 as part of the Coronation celebrations that year. This would be the first such production in Britain, confirming the new respectability of Music Hall. However the theatre burned down a few months before the Performance, and a Royal Variety Performance was arranged for the following year, being held in the London Palace Theatre under Alfred Butt
.
He married twice: first to Ellen Bramwell, and later to Florence Craig née Crawford, daughter of Robert Crawford one of the founders of Howard & Wyndham Ltd
. He and Florence had one daughter. He died on 25 November 1912 at his home in Gorebridge
, near Edinburgh
.
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
theatre impresario and the founder chairman of the Moss Empires
Moss Empires
Moss Empires was a British company formed in Edinburgh from the merger of the theatre companies owned by Sir Edward Moss and Sir Oswald Stoll in 1898. This created the largest British chain of music halls...
Ltd theatre combine which he created in the 1890s after first joining forces with Richard Thornton of Newcastle and later with Oswald Stoll
Oswald Stoll
Sir Oswald Stoll was an Australian-born British theatre manager and the co-founder of the Stoll Moss Group theatre company...
then operating in Wales. From its start and during the 20th century Moss Empires remained the largest group of variety theatres in Britain, with over 50 venues at its height, and was regarded as the largest in the world. It was he who, in 1904, introduced a "four shows a day" system at some of his theatres; he was also the first to allow advance booking of seats in a music hall.
H.E. Moss started as the manager of his father's Lorne Music Hall in Greenock, Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
, moving on to Edinburgh where he took over its Gaiety Music Hall in 1877 and renamed it Moss Theatre of Varieties. He bought a new site and opened his first Empire Theatre in 1892, designed by Frank Matcham. He was knighted in 1906 for his services to entertainment, the first variety impresario to be honoured this way.
King George V commanded a public Royal Variety Performance to be held in the Edinburgh Empire in July 1911 as part of the Coronation celebrations that year. This would be the first such production in Britain, confirming the new respectability of Music Hall. However the theatre burned down a few months before the Performance, and a Royal Variety Performance was arranged for the following year, being held in the London Palace Theatre under Alfred Butt
Alfred Butt
Sir Alfred Butt, 1st Baronet was a British theatre entrepreneur, Conservative politician and racehorse owner and breeder...
.
He married twice: first to Ellen Bramwell, and later to Florence Craig née Crawford, daughter of Robert Crawford one of the founders of Howard & Wyndham Ltd
Howard & Wyndham Ltd
Howard & Wyndham Ltd was a theatre owning, production and management company, founded in 1895 by Baillie Michael Simons of Glasgow to formalise and extend an 1883 partnership between Irish born John B. Howard and Edinburgh born Frederick WP Wyndham which had first formed in order to run the Royal...
. He and Florence had one daughter. He died on 25 November 1912 at his home in Gorebridge
Gorebridge
Gorebridge is a former mining village in Midlothian, Scotland. The village gets its name from the bridge across the River Gore, a tributary of the South Esk. It was once the home of Scotland's first gunpowder mill, at the Gore Water, commencing operation in 1794.Gorebridge has an annual gala day....
, near Edinburgh
Edinburgh
Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland, the second largest city in Scotland, and the eighth most populous in the United Kingdom. The City of Edinburgh Council governs one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas. The council area includes urban Edinburgh and a rural area...
.