A BECKETT, GILBERT ABBOTT, brother of Sir William à Beckett (qv); b. 17 Feb 1811; adm. 10 Jan 1820; left Aug 1828; adm. Gray’s Inn 25 Apr 1828, called to bar 27 Jan 1841; a Metropolitan Police Magistrate from Feb 1849, sitting first at Greenwich and Woolwich, but at Southwark from 31 Dec 1849; while at school he started, with his brother William, the Censor and the Literary Beacon, two papers which attracted much attention; founder and first editor of Figaro in London, the immediate precursor of Punch; subsequently one of the original staff of Punch, and for many years leader writer for the Times and Morning Herald; author of The Comic History of England, 1848, some fifty or sixty plays, and numerous other works; m. 21 Jan 1835 Mary Anne, eldest dau. of Joseph Glossop, Royal Coburg Theatre, Clerk of the Cheque to the Hon. Corps of Gentlemen at Arms; d. at Boulogne 30 Aug 1856. DNB.
Published
Partial
Final
WS-GRE-VII/v/4
GB 2014
Frontispiece by M. Van der Gucht. 101 plates engraved by W. Hollar and P. Lombart
* Revised by Elizabeth.Wells in 2014
* Imported to AtoM by Elizabeth.Wells 07/01/2018
Access to rare books is granted to bona-fide researchers, by prior appointment, in cases where the item in unavailable at another UK repository.
A reprographics service is available to researchers subject to the access restrictions outlined above. Copying will not be undertaken if there is any risk of damage to the item. Copies are supplied in accordance with Westminster School's Policy on Archive and Heritage Collections, and under provisions of any relevant copyright legislation. Permission to reproduce images of items in the custody of Westminster School must be sought from its Governing Body.