Fake news How there was right royal confusion over actor’s visit
WILLIAM Terriss (18471897). Ever heard of him? No, me neither, but apparently he was a household name in Victorian Britain. He was a very popular actor, specialising in heroic roles.
Before his successful stage career, he was said to have tried his hand unsuccessfully at a number of other careers. Expelled from school ‘for pushing another boy into a ditch’ he had been a medical student, a tea planter, an apprentice engineer and was briefly in the Royal Navy as a midshipman.
There’s a strange story about him when he was in the Navy, one I only came across recently and which only served to reinforce my belief that the history of Weston-superMare offers very rich pickings for aficionados of weird tales.
It would be fair to suspect that the story is not trustworthy. If years of being a hack have taught me anything it’s that showbiz people are bigger liars than politicians. Or at least they used to be until Boris Johnson came along.
But it turns out – I’ve checked – that it’s completely true … It was written up in the local and national papers at the time, but let’s stick with Terriss’s own account.
In this, he explains that he was invited by a wealthy and somewhat eccentric uncle to go on a trip to Weston. Terriss gladly accepted the invitation.
For the journey from Paddington, his rich uncle had hired a special train carriage, one which was occasionally used by members of the royal family. It looked very smart and bore the royal coat-ofarms.
“I was wearing my uniform of a midshipman and was at first delighted with the excitement caused by our carriage whenever we entered a station – every hat being raised, and sounds of cheering heard as we moved off.”
By the time they got to Weston word had gone on ahead and they were met by large crowds at the station. A carriage was laid on to take them to the Bath Hotel on South Parade and they were followed by a large crowd.
“As I bowed frequently in acknowledgement of this mysterious and unaccountable greeting, the cheers and shouting were redoubled, and I sank back in blushing confusion, wondering what on earth my uncle or myself had done to merit such a princely reception.”
The following morning, someone at the hotel enlightened them. The royal train carriage.
“Carrying as it did a young midshipman in uniform, rumour at once proclaimed him to be no other than His Royal Highness Prince Alfred, travelling, of course, with his tutor.”
Prince Alfred, Queen Victoria’s second son, was the same age as Terriss and was indeed a junior naval officer at the time, so perhaps the confusion was understandable.
“A large crowd surrounded the hotel and cries were raised for ‘the prince!,’ and I appeared on the balcony and bowed.”
Terriss’s uncle’s valet had accompanied the pair and now had to fend off inquiries and invitations sent to the hotel. He flatly denied that the young officer was royalty, assured everyone that they were mistaken, but the denials only had the effect of convincing everyone that the young prince wished to remain incognito.
As church bells were now being rung all over town, Terriss’s uncle decided there was nothing for it but to leave, and a carriage was ordered
to take them to the station. The carriage owner, though, thinking he was transporting royalty, sent his best carriage, drawn by four splendid grey horses, along with two smartly-dressed postillions. All of which only confirmed the crowd’s belief. As the carriage passed through the town, an enterprising high street chemist forced a gift upon the prince – a bottle of scent of his own concoction, which he called ‘Weston Nosegay.’
Their ordeal was not over. At the station, a gentleman claimed he had received a telegram from London claiming that the older man in the party – Terriss’s uncle – had only recently been released from an insane asylum and was of unsound mind. While his valet was purchasing train tickets, the uncle was detained in the waiting room, threatening dire legal action if he was not released forthwith. He was freed in time to catch the train.
“Since then,” Terriss later wrote, “I have played many parts, but none of them have left such an abiding impression on my memory.”
Vaulting ambitions
Blimey! It says here that it’s 20 years since the discovery of the vast vaults in the abutment holding up the Somerset side of the Clifton Suspension Bridge.
Now’s your chance to take a look at them for yourself if you’ve not already done so, thanks to a programme of family-friendly ‘Vaults Visits’ which will run alongside the CSB Visitor Centre’s popular Hard Hat Tours.
Visitors will now be able to access a new platform installed in the largest and most significant of the 12 stone chambers – an impressive echo chamber, 11 metres high, and covered in stalactites that have been growing, undisturbed, since the first half of the 19th century.
Tickets for April and May are now available from www.cliftonbridge. org.uk/whats-happening, and new slots will be becoming available until the end of the season on October 31.
Museums re-open
Spring has sprung, and Bristol’s seasonal museums are now all open for business for some of the week. The Red Lodge is open Saturday-Tuesday, 11am-4pm; Blaise Museum opens Thursday-Sunday, 11am-4pm; and the Georgian House is open Saturday-Tuesday 11am-4pm.
There are occasional events at all of them. This Saturday, the Red Lodge is hosting the Bristol Waites, performing Tudor-era music. And this Friday is ‘Bring Your Finds to Blaise’ day, at which the public can drop in with stuff they’ve found while walking, gardening or metaldetecting and (hopefully) have it identified. Blaise is also hosting family Easter holiday fun days on April 13 and 20.
The museums are still asking visitors to book in advance to protect staff and vulnerable visitors, but you may be able to just drop in at quiet times.
As we noted recently, the council is making massive cuts to museum budgets, while at the same time many families are going to be feeling the pinch financially in the months to come. These museums offer free educational and fun days out for all ages, so turn up and show the council how much you value them. And donate a couple of quid, if you can afford it.
More details, plus information on exhibitions and events at M Shed and Bristol Museum & Art Gallery are at www.bristolmuseums.org.uk
Cheers then!