Nathaniel Newnham-Davis
Encyclopedia
Nathaniel Newnham-Davis (6 November 1854 – 28 May 1917), generally known as Lieutenant Colonel Newnham-Davis, was a food writer and gourmet. After a military career, he took up journalism, and was chiefly known for his restaurant reports from London establishments of the last decade of the 19th century and the first decade of the 20th. He was also active in the theatre as an occasional playwright and amateur performer.
, and joined The Buffs, a leading infantry regiment of the British army. He served in the south African colonial campaigns with the Imperial Mounted Infantry, and was decorated and twice mentioned in dispatches. He later served in the Straits Settlements
, China and India. For three years he was attached to the Intelligence Department at Simla
.
In 1894, Newnham-Davis retired from the army with the rank of Lieutenant Colonel, and joined the staff of The Sporting Times
, remaining with the publication until 1912. From 1894 to 1900 he was also editor of The Man of the World. He wrote fiction, Three Men and a God, and other stories (1896), Jadoo (1898) and "Baby" Wilkinson's V.C., and other stories (1899).
The Times
described Newnham-Davis as a playwright in addition to his military and journalistic career. While still in the army he made a version of A Midsummer Night's Dream
"adapted to pastoral representation", published in Calcutta. He published a play, A Charitable Bequest – A comedietta (1900). He wrote the story for several ballets, and was co-author of a show, Lady Madcap, in collaboration with Paul Rubens
and Percy Greenbank
, produced in London in 1904. In the same year he joined W.S. Gilbert, F.C. Burnand
, Bernard Shaw
and others in a charity matinée performance of Gilbert's Rosencrantz and Guildenstern
at the Garrick Theatre
.
wrote of him: "He is not of a domestic turn. The people of the gay world he affects breakfast at a café, lunch at a club, dine in the palm room, or the ivory room, or the gold room of a 'swell' hotel." The Gourmet's Guide to Europe was published in an American edition in 1908, when The New York Times called it "a veritable masterwork of its own genre". In 1914 Newnham-Davis published The Gourmet's Guide to London.
Newnham-Davis is chiefly remembered as the gastronomic correspondent of The Pall Mall Gazette. A lifelong bachelor, he regularly dined at London's great hotels and restaurants in company with a succession of companions given discreet pseudonyms in his restaurant reviews. Among them were "the Colleen", who "prattled incessantly of horses", "the Little Prima Donna", "the Dean's Daughter," and "Miss Brighteyes", a débutante who distressed her host by drinking lemonade with caviare.
In a 1952 article about Newnham-Davis, entitled "A Gourmet in Edwardian London", Elizabeth David
detailed some of the menus presented to the Colonel and his companions in the last years of the Victorian era
and the first decade of the 20th century. A fairly typical example was "oysters, soup, sole, a fillet of beef cooked with truffles and accompanied by pommes de terre souflées, wild duck à la presse, a pudding and an ice-cream (bombe Midland)". David notes that with a bottle of wine, this dinner cost 28 shillings for the two of them. Newnham-Davis was strictly fair in his reports, and seldom expressed a preference for one establishment over others. He rarely condemned a restaurant, instead conveying his disapproval by omission. He said that he did not "think it fair to a restaurant to condemn it upon one trial, or fair to himself to give it another." Despite Newnham-Davis's efforts to remain impartial, Elizabeth David concluded that his personal favourite was the Savoy Hotel
. There, in the 1890s, Escoffier
's mousse de jambon, "served on a great block of ice and melting like snow in the mouth", was declared a masterpiece, and his bortsch was held by Newnham-Davis to be the best soup in the world.
. He died on 28 May 1917 at his house near Regent's Park
, London, aged 62. He was buried at Silchester
, Hampshire
with full military honours.
Early years, army and journalism
Newnham-Davis was born in London on 6 November 1854, the eldest son of Henry Newnham-Davis and his wife, Mary. He was educated at Harrow SchoolHarrow School
Harrow School, commonly known simply as "Harrow", is an English independent school for boys situated in the town of Harrow, in north-west London.. The school is of worldwide renown. There is some evidence that there has been a school on the site since 1243 but the Harrow School we know today was...
, and joined The Buffs, a leading infantry regiment of the British army. He served in the south African colonial campaigns with the Imperial Mounted Infantry, and was decorated and twice mentioned in dispatches. He later served in the Straits Settlements
Straits Settlements
The Straits Settlements were a group of British territories located in Southeast Asia.Originally established in 1826 as part of the territories controlled by the British East India Company, the Straits Settlements came under direct British control as a crown colony on 1 April 1867...
, China and India. For three years he was attached to the Intelligence Department at Simla
Shimla
Shimla , formerly known as Simla, is the capital city of Himachal Pradesh. In 1864, Shimla was declared the summer capital of the British Raj in India. A popular tourist destination, Shimla is often referred to as the "Queen of Hills," a term coined by the British...
.
In 1894, Newnham-Davis retired from the army with the rank of Lieutenant Colonel, and joined the staff of The Sporting Times
The Sporting Times
The Sporting Times was a weekly British newspaper devoted chiefly to sport, and in particular to horse racing...
, remaining with the publication until 1912. From 1894 to 1900 he was also editor of The Man of the World. He wrote fiction, Three Men and a God, and other stories (1896), Jadoo (1898) and "Baby" Wilkinson's V.C., and other stories (1899).
The Times
The Times
The Times is a British daily national newspaper, first published in London in 1785 under the title The Daily Universal Register . The Times and its sister paper The Sunday Times are published by Times Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary since 1981 of News International...
described Newnham-Davis as a playwright in addition to his military and journalistic career. While still in the army he made a version of A Midsummer Night's Dream
A Midsummer Night's Dream
A Midsummer Night's Dream is a play that was written by William Shakespeare. It is believed to have been written between 1590 and 1596. It portrays the events surrounding the marriage of the Duke of Athens, Theseus, and the Queen of the Amazons, Hippolyta...
"adapted to pastoral representation", published in Calcutta. He published a play, A Charitable Bequest – A comedietta (1900). He wrote the story for several ballets, and was co-author of a show, Lady Madcap, in collaboration with Paul Rubens
Paul Rubens (composer)
Paul Alfred Rubens was an English songwriter and librettist who wrote some of the most popular Edwardian musical comedies of the early twentieth century. He contributed to the success of dozens of musicals....
and Percy Greenbank
Percy Greenbank
Percy Greenbank was an English lyricist, best known for his contribution of lyrics to a number of successful Edwardian musical comedies in the early years of the 20th century. His older brother, lyricist Harry Greenbank, had a brilliant career in the 1890s that was cut short by his death at the...
, produced in London in 1904. In the same year he joined W.S. Gilbert, F.C. Burnand
Francis Burnand
Sir Francis Cowley Burnand , often credited as F. C. Burnand, was an English comic writer and dramatist....
, Bernard Shaw
George Bernard Shaw
George Bernard Shaw was an Irish playwright and a co-founder of the London School of Economics. Although his first profitable writing was music and literary criticism, in which capacity he wrote many highly articulate pieces of journalism, his main talent was for drama, and he wrote more than 60...
and others in a charity matinée performance of Gilbert's Rosencrantz and Guildenstern
Rosencrantz and Guildenstern (Gilbert)
Rosencrantz and Guildenstern, A Tragic Episode, in Three Tabloids is a short comic play by W. S. Gilbert, a parody of Hamlet by William Shakespeare...
at the Garrick Theatre
Garrick Theatre
The Garrick Theatre is a West End theatre, located on Charing Cross Road, in the City of Westminster. It opened on 24 April 1889 with The Profligate, a play by Arthur Wing Pinero. In its early years, it appears to have specialised in the performance of melodrama, and today the theatre is a...
.
Food writer
Newnham-Davis was best known for his writings about food and wine. His Dinners and Diners – Where and How to Dine in London was published in 1899, with a second edition in 1901. In 1903 he published The Gourmet's Guide to Europe, written in collaboration with Algernon Bastard. A second edition was published in 1908 and a third in 1911. The New York TimesThe New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
wrote of him: "He is not of a domestic turn. The people of the gay world he affects breakfast at a café, lunch at a club, dine in the palm room, or the ivory room, or the gold room of a 'swell' hotel." The Gourmet's Guide to Europe was published in an American edition in 1908, when The New York Times called it "a veritable masterwork of its own genre". In 1914 Newnham-Davis published The Gourmet's Guide to London.
Newnham-Davis is chiefly remembered as the gastronomic correspondent of The Pall Mall Gazette. A lifelong bachelor, he regularly dined at London's great hotels and restaurants in company with a succession of companions given discreet pseudonyms in his restaurant reviews. Among them were "the Colleen", who "prattled incessantly of horses", "the Little Prima Donna", "the Dean's Daughter," and "Miss Brighteyes", a débutante who distressed her host by drinking lemonade with caviare.
In a 1952 article about Newnham-Davis, entitled "A Gourmet in Edwardian London", Elizabeth David
Elizabeth David
Elizabeth David CBE was a British cookery writer who, in the mid-20th century, strongly influenced the revitalisation of the art of home cookery with articles and books about European cuisines and traditional British dishes.Born to an upper-class family, David rebelled against social norms of the...
detailed some of the menus presented to the Colonel and his companions in the last years of the Victorian era
Victorian era
The Victorian era of British history was the period of Queen Victoria's reign from 20 June 1837 until her death on 22 January 1901. It was a long period of peace, prosperity, refined sensibilities and national self-confidence...
and the first decade of the 20th century. A fairly typical example was "oysters, soup, sole, a fillet of beef cooked with truffles and accompanied by pommes de terre souflées, wild duck à la presse, a pudding and an ice-cream (bombe Midland)". David notes that with a bottle of wine, this dinner cost 28 shillings for the two of them. Newnham-Davis was strictly fair in his reports, and seldom expressed a preference for one establishment over others. He rarely condemned a restaurant, instead conveying his disapproval by omission. He said that he did not "think it fair to a restaurant to condemn it upon one trial, or fair to himself to give it another." Despite Newnham-Davis's efforts to remain impartial, Elizabeth David concluded that his personal favourite was the Savoy Hotel
Savoy Hotel
The Savoy Hotel is a hotel located on the Strand, in the City of Westminster in central London. Built by impresario Richard D'Oyly Carte with profits from his Gilbert and Sullivan operas, the hotel opened on 6 August 1889. It was the first in the Savoy group of hotels and restaurants owned by...
. There, in the 1890s, Escoffier
Auguste Escoffier
Georges Auguste Escoffier was a French chef, restaurateur and culinary writer who popularized and updated traditional French cooking methods. He is a legendary figure among chefs and gourmands, and was one of the most important leaders in the development of modern French cuisine...
's mousse de jambon, "served on a great block of ice and melting like snow in the mouth", was declared a masterpiece, and his bortsch was held by Newnham-Davis to be the best soup in the world.
Last years
In 1915, during the First World War, Newnham-Davis applied for re-engagement by the army and was put in charge of prisoners of war held at Alexandra PalaceAlexandra Palace
Alexandra Palace is a building in North London, England. It stands in Alexandra Park, in an area between Hornsey, Muswell Hill and Wood Green...
. He died on 28 May 1917 at his house near Regent's Park
Regent's Park
Regent's Park is one of the Royal Parks of London. It is in the north-western part of central London, partly in the City of Westminster and partly in the London Borough of Camden...
, London, aged 62. He was buried at Silchester
Silchester
Silchester is a village and civil parish about north of Basingstoke in Hampshire. It is adjacent to the county boundary with Berkshire and about south-west of Reading....
, Hampshire
Hampshire
Hampshire is a county on the southern coast of England in the United Kingdom. The county town of Hampshire is Winchester, a historic cathedral city that was once the capital of England. Hampshire is notable for housing the original birthplaces of the Royal Navy, British Army, and Royal Air Force...
with full military honours.