Alfred Butt
Encyclopedia
Sir Alfred Butt, 1st Baronet (20 March 1878 - 8 December 1962) was a British
theatre entrepreneur, Conservative
politician and racehorse owner and breeder. During a fourteen-year tenure as manager of the Palace Theatre
, beginning in 1904, Butt built a theatre empire, expanding firstly with the Alhambra Theatre
Glasgow in 1910, followed by the London Victoria Palace a year later, to rival that of Edward Moss and others. He became managing director of several London West End Theatre
s beginning in 1914, including The Adelphi Theatre
, the Empire Theatre
, the Gaiety Theatre, London
and the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane
, as well as theatres outside London. He continued as a theatre impresario until 1931.
During World War I
, also, Butt was the Director of Food Rationing at the Ministry of Food. He was knighted
for his services to the ministry, and for his work for war charities, in 1918. He was elected as Member of Parliament
(MP) for Balham and Tooting
in 1922. In 1929, he was created a Baronet "of Westminster in the County of London"
for his services to political and public life. He was forced to resign from the Commons in June 1936 over a financial scandal. After this, Butt concentrated on horse racing.
before entering employment as a clerk at Harrod's Department Store. He subsequently went to work at the Palace Theatre
, a music hall
in Cambridge Circus
, London. He became company secretary of the Palace Theatre Limited in 1898, at the young age of 19. He quickly advanced to the position of assistant manager, and when Charles Morton
died in 1904, he became manager of the Palace. In 1906 he became managing director, a position he held for 14 years.
He developed close links with the Orpheum Vaudeville Circuit and its associates in the United States
, and brought numerous American stars to London. He also introduced British audiences to continental performers such as Anna Pavlova and Yvette Guilbert
. In 1910 he greatly expanded his theatre business when he took control of Thomas Barrasford
's music halls and formed a joint company, the "Variety Theatres Controlling Company Limited", with Walter de Frece
. VTCC became the second largest chain of music halls in the United Kingdom, second only to Moss Empires
. Among their London theatres managed by Butt were the Globe and Queen's Theatre
s.
Outside London Butt opened two new theatres, firstly, the Alhambra Theatre Glasgow
in 1910, designed by Sir John James Burnet and, secondly, the Theatre Mogador
Paris in 1919 (delayed by the World War I
), designed by Bertie Crewe
. Butt became managing director of three West End Theatre
s during the war: the Adelphi Theatre
(1915 - 1919), the Empire Theatre
(1914 - 1928) and the Gaiety Theatre
(1915 - 1919). He became joint owner and managing director of London's Theatre Royal, Drury Lane
from 1925 - 1931.
Also during the First World War, he worked for the Ministry of Food, becoming Director of Food Rationing in 1917. He was knighted
for his services to the ministry, and for his work for war charities, in 1918.
Butt was a supporter of the Conservative & Unionist Party. After standing unsuccessfully for the party at parliamentary elections at Walworth and Paddington North
, he was elected as member of parliament
for Balham and Tooting
at the 1922 general election
. In 1929 he was created a Baronet "of Westminster in the County of London"
for his services to political and public life. He held the seat at successive elections until he was forced to resign from the Commons in June 1936 over a scandal concerning a leak of budget details from which he was believed to have benefitted financially.
With the end of his political career, Butt concentrated on his interest in the horse-racing industry. He purchased the Brook Stud near Newmarket. His two most successful horses were Steady Aim, winner of the Epsom Oaks
, and Petition, winner of the Ascot New Stakes, both in 1946.
He was married twice. The first marriage in 1908 was to Georgina Mary Say, who died in 1960. His second marriage was to Wilhelmine Wahl alter in 1960. He had one son, (Alfred) Kenneth Dudley Butt, from his first marriage.
Sir Alfred Butt died at his Newmarket home in December 1962, aged 84. He was cremated at Cambridge Crematorium.
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 entrepreneur, Conservative
Conservative Party (UK)
The Conservative Party, formally the Conservative and Unionist Party, is a centre-right political party in the United Kingdom that adheres to the philosophies of conservatism and British unionism. It is the largest political party in the UK, and is currently the largest single party in the House...
politician and racehorse owner and breeder. During a fourteen-year tenure as manager of the Palace Theatre
Palace Theatre, London
The Palace Theatre is a West End theatre in the City of Westminster in London. It is an imposing red-brick building that dominates the west side of Cambridge Circus and is located near the intersection of Shaftesbury Avenue and Charing Cross Road...
, beginning in 1904, Butt built a theatre empire, expanding firstly with the Alhambra Theatre
Alhambra Theatre
The Alhambra was a popular theatre and music hall located on the east side of Leicester Square, in the West End of London. It was built originally as The Royal Panopticon of Science and Arts opening on 18 March 1854. It was closed after two years and reopened as the Alhambra. The building was...
Glasgow in 1910, followed by the London Victoria Palace a year later, to rival that of Edward Moss and others. He became managing director of several London West End Theatre
West End theatre
West End theatre is a popular term for mainstream professional theatre staged in the large theatres of London's 'Theatreland', the West End. Along with New York's Broadway theatre, West End theatre is usually considered to represent the highest level of commercial theatre in the English speaking...
s beginning in 1914, including The Adelphi Theatre
Adelphi Theatre
The Adelphi Theatre is a 1500-seat West End theatre, located on the Strand in the City of Westminster. The present building is the fourth on the site. The theatre has specialised in comedy and musical theatre, and today it is a receiving house for a variety of productions, including many musicals...
, the Empire Theatre
Empire Theatre
Empire Theatre or Empire Theater may refer to:In the United Kingdom:*Empire Theatre of Varieties, now the Empire, Leicester Square, City of Westminster, London*Glasgow Empire Theatre, Glasgow*Hackney Empire, in Hackney...
, the Gaiety Theatre, London
Gaiety Theatre, London
The Gaiety Theatre, London was a West End theatre in London, located on Aldwych at the eastern end of the Strand. The theatre was established as the Strand Musick Hall , in 1864 on the former site of the Lyceum Theatre. It was rebuilt several times, but closed from the beginning of World War II...
and the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane
Theatre Royal, Drury Lane
The Theatre Royal, Drury Lane is a West End theatre in Covent Garden, in the City of Westminster, a borough of London. The building faces Catherine Street and backs onto Drury Lane. The building standing today is the most recent in a line of four theatres at the same location dating back to 1663,...
, as well as theatres outside London. He continued as a theatre impresario until 1931.
During World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
, also, Butt was the Director of Food Rationing at the Ministry of Food. He was knighted
Knight Bachelor
The rank of Knight Bachelor is a part of the British honours system. It is the most basic rank of a man who has been knighted by the monarch but not as a member of one of the organised Orders of Chivalry...
for his services to the ministry, and for his work for war charities, in 1918. He was elected as Member of Parliament
Member of Parliament
A Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a :parliament. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a different title, such as senate, and thus also have different titles for its members,...
(MP) for Balham and Tooting
Balham and Tooting (UK Parliament constituency)
Balham and Tooting was a constituency in South London, which returned one Member of Parliament to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom...
in 1922. In 1929, he was created a Baronet "of Westminster in the County of London"
Butt Baronets
The Butt Baronetcy, of Westminster in the County of London, was a title in the Baronetage of the United Kingdom. It was created on 25 July 1929 for Alfred Butt, who represented Balham and Tooting in the House of Commons as a Unionist between 1922 and 1936...
for his services to political and public life. He was forced to resign from the Commons in June 1936 over a financial scandal. After this, Butt concentrated on horse racing.
Life and career
Alfred was born in London, the son of a servant in a wealthy London household. He was educated at Emanuel SchoolEmanuel School
Emanuel School is a co-educational independent school in Battersea, south-west London. The school was founded by Lady Dacre and Elizabeth I in 1594. Today it has some 710 pupils, aged between ten and eighteen.-History:...
before entering employment as a clerk at Harrod's Department Store. He subsequently went to work at the Palace Theatre
Palace Theatre, London
The Palace Theatre is a West End theatre in the City of Westminster in London. It is an imposing red-brick building that dominates the west side of Cambridge Circus and is located near the intersection of Shaftesbury Avenue and Charing Cross Road...
, a music hall
Music hall
Music Hall is a type of British theatrical entertainment which was popular between 1850 and 1960. The term can refer to:# A particular form of variety entertainment involving a mixture of popular song, comedy and speciality acts...
in Cambridge Circus
Cambridge Circus
Cambridge Circus may be a reference to:* Cambridge Circus , a group of economists who worked with John Maynard Keynes* Cambridge Circus, London, the junction of Shaftesbury Avenue and Charing Cross Road in London...
, London. He became company secretary of the Palace Theatre Limited in 1898, at the young age of 19. He quickly advanced to the position of assistant manager, and when Charles Morton
Charles Morton
Charles Morton , was an American actor.-Career:Born in Illinois, Charles Morton spent his adolescence in Madison, Wisconsin; receiving his education at Madison High School and the University of Wisconsin–Madison.He made his first stage appearance at the age of seven and later appeared in vaudeville,...
died in 1904, he became manager of the Palace. In 1906 he became managing director, a position he held for 14 years.
He developed close links with the Orpheum Vaudeville Circuit and its associates in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, and brought numerous American stars to London. He also introduced British audiences to continental performers such as Anna Pavlova and Yvette Guilbert
Yvette Guilbert
Yvette Guilbert was a French cabaret singer and actress of the Belle Époque.-Biography:...
. In 1910 he greatly expanded his theatre business when he took control of Thomas Barrasford
Thomas Barrasford
Thomas Barrasford was a 19th century British entertainment impresario and business entrepreneur, who owned and built a number of theatres across the United Kingdom under the Barrasford Halls brand.-Early career:...
's music halls and formed a joint company, the "Variety Theatres Controlling Company Limited", with Walter de Frece
Walter de Frece
Sir Abraham Walter de Frece was a British theatre impresario, and later Conservative Party politician, who served as a Member of Parliament from 1920 to 1931...
. VTCC became the second largest chain of music halls in the United Kingdom, second only to 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...
. Among their London theatres managed by Butt were the Globe and Queen's Theatre
Queen's Theatre
The Queen's Theatre is a West End theatre located in Shaftesbury Avenue in the City of Westminster. It opened on 8 October 1907 as a twin to the neighbouring Gielgud Theatre which opened ten months earlier. Both theatres were designed by W.G.R...
s.
Outside London Butt opened two new theatres, firstly, the Alhambra Theatre Glasgow
Alhambra Theatre Glasgow
The Alhambra Theatre Glasgow opened on 19 December 1910 at the corner of Waterloo Street and Wellington Street, Glasgow under the direction of Sir Alfred Butt and was acknowledged as one of the best equipped theatres in Britain, planned to accommodate 2,800 people.The Theatre was designed by...
in 1910, designed by Sir John James Burnet and, secondly, the Theatre Mogador
Théâtre Mogador
Théâtre Mogador founded in 1913 and designed by Bertie Crewe, is a Parisian music hall theatre located at 25, rue de Mogador in the 9th district. It seats 1,800 people on three tiers.In 1913 financier Sir Alfred Butt rented an area in Paris...
Paris in 1919 (delayed by the World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
), designed by Bertie Crewe
Bertie Crewe
Bertie Crewe was one of the leading English theatre architects in the boom of 1885 to 1915-Biography:Born in Essex and partly trained by Frank Matcham, Crewe and his contemporaries W.G.R...
. Butt became managing director of three West End Theatre
West End theatre
West End theatre is a popular term for mainstream professional theatre staged in the large theatres of London's 'Theatreland', the West End. Along with New York's Broadway theatre, West End theatre is usually considered to represent the highest level of commercial theatre in the English speaking...
s during the war: the Adelphi Theatre
Adelphi Theatre
The Adelphi Theatre is a 1500-seat West End theatre, located on the Strand in the City of Westminster. The present building is the fourth on the site. The theatre has specialised in comedy and musical theatre, and today it is a receiving house for a variety of productions, including many musicals...
(1915 - 1919), the Empire Theatre
Empire Theatre
Empire Theatre or Empire Theater may refer to:In the United Kingdom:*Empire Theatre of Varieties, now the Empire, Leicester Square, City of Westminster, London*Glasgow Empire Theatre, Glasgow*Hackney Empire, in Hackney...
(1914 - 1928) and the Gaiety Theatre
Gaiety Theatre, London
The Gaiety Theatre, London was a West End theatre in London, located on Aldwych at the eastern end of the Strand. The theatre was established as the Strand Musick Hall , in 1864 on the former site of the Lyceum Theatre. It was rebuilt several times, but closed from the beginning of World War II...
(1915 - 1919). He became joint owner and managing director of London's Theatre Royal, Drury Lane
Theatre Royal, Drury Lane
The Theatre Royal, Drury Lane is a West End theatre in Covent Garden, in the City of Westminster, a borough of London. The building faces Catherine Street and backs onto Drury Lane. The building standing today is the most recent in a line of four theatres at the same location dating back to 1663,...
from 1925 - 1931.
Also during the First World War, he worked for the Ministry of Food, becoming Director of Food Rationing in 1917. He was knighted
Knight Bachelor
The rank of Knight Bachelor is a part of the British honours system. It is the most basic rank of a man who has been knighted by the monarch but not as a member of one of the organised Orders of Chivalry...
for his services to the ministry, and for his work for war charities, in 1918.
Butt was a supporter of the Conservative & Unionist Party. After standing unsuccessfully for the party at parliamentary elections at Walworth and Paddington North
Paddington North (UK Parliament constituency)
Paddington North was a borough constituency in the Metropolitan Borough of Paddington in London which returned one Member of Parliament to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, elected by the first past the post voting system...
, he was elected as member of parliament
Member of Parliament
A Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a :parliament. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a different title, such as senate, and thus also have different titles for its members,...
for Balham and Tooting
Balham and Tooting (UK Parliament constituency)
Balham and Tooting was a constituency in South London, which returned one Member of Parliament to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom...
at the 1922 general election
United Kingdom general election, 1922
The United Kingdom general election of 1922 was held on 15 November 1922. It was the first election held after most of the Irish counties left the United Kingdom to form the Irish Free State, and was won by Andrew Bonar Law's Conservatives, who gained an overall majority over Labour, led by John...
. In 1929 he was created a Baronet "of Westminster in the County of London"
Butt Baronets
The Butt Baronetcy, of Westminster in the County of London, was a title in the Baronetage of the United Kingdom. It was created on 25 July 1929 for Alfred Butt, who represented Balham and Tooting in the House of Commons as a Unionist between 1922 and 1936...
for his services to political and public life. He held the seat at successive elections until he was forced to resign from the Commons in June 1936 over a scandal concerning a leak of budget details from which he was believed to have benefitted financially.
With the end of his political career, Butt concentrated on his interest in the horse-racing industry. He purchased the Brook Stud near Newmarket. His two most successful horses were Steady Aim, winner of the Epsom Oaks
Epsom Oaks
The Oaks Stakes is a Group 1 flat horse race in Great Britain open to three-year-old thoroughbred fillies. It is run at Epsom Downs over a distance of 1 mile, 4 furlongs and 10 yards , and it is scheduled to take place each year in early June....
, and Petition, winner of the Ascot New Stakes, both in 1946.
He was married twice. The first marriage in 1908 was to Georgina Mary Say, who died in 1960. His second marriage was to Wilhelmine Wahl alter in 1960. He had one son, (Alfred) Kenneth Dudley Butt, from his first marriage.
Sir Alfred Butt died at his Newmarket home in December 1962, aged 84. He was cremated at Cambridge Crematorium.