Lily Hanbury was an English

England

England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

 stage performer.

Hanbury was born Lily Alcock, the daughter of Elizabeth (née Davis) and Matthew Alcock. Educated in London, her début was in 1888's W. S. Gilbert

W. S. Gilbert

Sir William Schwenck Gilbert was an English dramatist, librettist, poet and illustrator best known for his fourteen comic operas produced in collaboration with the composer Sir Arthur Sullivan, of which the most famous include H.M.S...

's Pygmalion and Galatea at the Savoy Theatre

Savoy Theatre

The Savoy Theatre is a West End theatre located in the Strand in the City of Westminster, London, England. The theatre opened on 10 October 1881 and was built by Richard D'Oyly Carte on the site of the old Savoy Palace as a showcase for the popular series of comic operas of Gilbert and Sullivan,...

; and later she appeared on most of the leading stages of the English metropolis. Her extensive repertory included, 'Countess Wintersen' in The Stranger; 'Hetty Preene' in G. R. Sims' Lights o' London; and 'Petra' in Ibsen's Enemy of the People'.

She reached her peak in popularity, however, by playing a number or roles in Shakespearian plays, mainly under the management of Wilson Barrett

Wilson Barrett

Wilson Barrett was an English manager, actor, and playwright.With his company, Barrett is credited with attracting the largest crowds of English theatregoers ever because of his success with melodrama, an instance being his production of The Silver King at the Princess's Theatre of London.The...

 and Beerbohm Tree.

Hanbury died of medical complications following the delivery of a still-born child. Following cremation Lily's ashes were interred at the Jewish Cemetery at Willesden, England.

Lily's younger sister Hilda, also an actress and one time member of Herbert Beerbohm Tree

Herbert Beerbohm Tree

Sir Herbert Beerbohm Tree was an English actor and theatre manager.Tree began performing in the 1870s. By 1887, he was managing the Haymarket Theatre, winning praise for adventurous programming and lavish productions, and starring in many of its productions. In 1899, he helped fund the...

's theatrical company, is the grandmother of Edward Fox

Edward Fox (actor)

Edward Charles Morice Fox, OBE is an English stage, film and television actor.He is generally associated with portraying the role of the upper-class Englishman, such as the title character in the film The Day of the Jackal and King Edward VIII in the serial Edward & Mrs...

 and great-grandmother of Emilia Fox

Emilia Fox

Emilia Rose Elizabeth Fox is an award-winning English actress, known for her role as Dr. Nikki Alexander on BBC crime drama Silent Witness, having joined the cast in 2004 following the departure of Amanda Burton. She also appears as Morgause in the BBC's Merlin beginning in the programme's second...

 and Laurence Fox

Laurence Fox

Laurence Fox is an English actor best known for his leading role as Detective Sergeant James Hathaway in the British TV drama series Lewis...

.

External links

• Shakespeare and the Players