• ID: ev033
  • Number of appearances: 1
  • Mentioned on:

  • ID: ev032
  • Number of appearances: 1
  • Mentioned on:
  • Notes: Lady Abercorn (pe066) hosted two balls in March 1801 (on the 18th and the 24th) at her home in Grovesnor square (pl090). Lord Holland (pe029) attended the second of these. The balls appear to be in honour of the wedding of the Abercorns the previous year. A description of the ball is available in the Morning Post for the 30 March 1801.

  • ID: ev009
  • Number of appearances: 1
  • Mentioned on:
  • Notes: The party attended a benefit night for Mrs Dorothy Jordan (pe275) at Drury Lane (pl006). Benefit nights were given to actors for a contractually agreed number of performances in a given season, and were nights on which a named single actor took all (or a large proportion) of that night's takings. She performed in each part of a triple bill: 1) Nina (presumably an English version of Marsolier's French play Nina; ou la folle par amour of 1787) 2) Three Weeks After Marriage (1764) by Arthur Murphy 3) Lovers' Quarrels (1790) a farce by Thomas King based on The Mistake by Vanbrugh.

  • ID: ev034
  • Number of appearances: 1
  • Mentioned on:

  • ID: ev027
  • Number of appearances: 1
  • Mentioned on:

  • ID: ev026
  • Number of appearances: 2
  • Mentioned on:

  • ID: ev030
  • Number of appearances: 1
  • Mentioned on:
  • Notes: It is unclear which of their 11 children this reference refers to, but it is not to Henry (b. 1793) or William (b. 1797).

  • ID: ev024
  • Number of appearances: 1
  • Mentioned on:
  • Notes: William Pitt [known as Pitt the younger] (1759–1806), see ODNB entry.

  • ID: ev005
  • Number of appearances: 1
  • Mentioned on:
  • Notes: In the Dinner Book Lady Holland (pe001) notes that on this night the party went to see the "Young Roscius", a pseudonym of the child actor William Henry West Betty (pe118). Betty was performing for the first time that season, he played Norval in John Home's Douglas (1756).

  • ID: ev029
  • Number of appearances: 3
  • Mentioned on:
  • Notes: A visit to Astley's Amphitheatre (pl016) or Sadler's Wells (pl057). See Index of Places for detailed information on these venues. Sadly, records of what was perfromed at either house only exist after 1804.

  • ID: ev013
  • Number of appearances: 1
  • Mentioned on:
  • Notes: Eton Anniversary Dinners, i.e. annual dinners for Eton alumni, began in around 1787 and took place at the Star and Garter on Pall Mall. They moved to the Crown and Anchor (pl037) in 1799, and Lord Holland (pe029) is listed as an attendee in 1801. For an incomplete list of attendees from 1799 to 1806 see Etoniana (1910) pp. 175–76.

  • ID: ev037
  • Number of appearances: 1
  • Mentioned on:
  • Notes: Nelson’s funeral was an elaborate affair. His body lay in the Painted Hall at Greenwich from 5th to 7th January 1806, and then went to the admiralty on the 8th. The next day it was placed in a funeral car modelled on HMS Victory and taken through the streets to St Paul's Cathedral. Thousands gathered around the cathedral for the formal funeral.

  • ID: ev016
  • Number of appearances: 13
  • Mentioned on:
  • Notes: On the dates below a visit to the House of Commons (pl004) is mentioned in the Dinner Book. This means either Lord Holland (pe029) visited the House of Commons (as a spectator) or some guests at Holland House (pl082) came from or left for the Commons. Parliamentary debates began at around 2pm and often went on until the next morning. In the list below, the major debates on the evening of each days are given. All information is taken from Journals of the House of Commons vols. 54–60. On two occasions the Dinner Book notes which debate Holland was attending (see 11 and 12 June 1805). Holland often brought back parliamentarians to Holland House for supper at the close of proceedings.

    • 20 June 1799

      “Exchequer Bills” and “Report from Committee respecting Middlesex Milita”

    • 10 February 1800

      Major debates on “Reduction of National Debt”

    • 25 April 1800

      “Committee on King’s Message Respecting an Union with Ireland”

    • 30 April 1800

      “Account of Slaveships”, “East India Company’s Revenue Accounts Ordered”, “Committee on King’s Message”

    • 11 November 1800

      King’s Speech

    • 16 February 1801

      Army and Navy estimates

    • 19 February 1801

      Budget debates on new duty on Wood, Paper, Lead, Pepper, Tea Stamps etc.

    • 25 March 1801

      “Account respecting Ireland presented” and “Motion for Committee on the State of the Nation”

    • 14 April 1801

      Numerous financial debates.

    • 10 November 1801

      Debates on duties and reports on interference of Peers in elections.

    • 7 May 1802

      “Accounts of Ireland presented”, “Irish Elections Bill”, and Militia pay bills.

    • 11 June 1805

      “Lord Melville admitted in, and heard, motion for his impeachment” — noted in Dinner Book as “Debate on Ld Melville”.

    • 12 June 1805

      “Debate on Amendment respecting Lord Melville, resumed” — noted in Dinner Book as “"Adj[ourne]d debate Ld Hd returned [?unwell]".

    • 14 June 1805

      “Militia Pay Bill”, “Ireland—Paper duties collection bill”.

  • ID: ev015
  • Number of appearances: 32
  • Mentioned on:
  • Notes: On the dates below Lord Holland (pe029) visited the House of Lords (pl003) during dinner and often stayed there until late in the night. In the period, debates began at around 2pm and often went on until the next morning. In the list below, the debates on the evening of each day are given. All information is taken from Journals of the House of Lords vols. 42–45. On one occasion the Dinner Book notes which debate Holland was attending (see 10 May 1805). Holland took his seat in the Lords in October 1796 and made his maiden speech in January 1798. He was not a remarkable orator, but he became a leading Whig voice in the House. As can be seen in notes to individual entries, Holland often brought back fellow Lords to Holland House (pl082) for supper at the close of proceedings.

    • 03 June 1799

      “Seditious Societies Suppression Bill” Second Reading.

    • 20 June 1799

      “Seditious Societies Suppression Bill” Third Reading. Holland noted as the dissentiente against the Bill.

    • 28 June 1799

      “Slave Trade Limiting Bill” Second Reading.

    • 4 July 1799

      “Forfeiture for High Treason Bill” Second Reading. Holland noted as dissentiente against the Bill, and makes a speech.

    • 28 January 1800

      “Prohibited East India Goods” and “Address on King’s Message relative to further Supplies” Holland noted as dissentiente in protest against message.

    • 21 April 1800

      Numerous matters including “Poor Relief Bill” and “Union with Ireland, Committee on King’s Message Respecting”.

    • 28 April 1800

      Numerous matters including “Union with Ireland, Committee on King’s Message Respecting”.

    • 30 April 1800

      Three debates on “Union with Ireland”.

    • 05 May 1800

      “Union with Ireland, Committee on King’s Message Respecting”.

    • 11 November 1800

      King’s Speech.

    • 19 December 1800

      Numerous matters including “Habeas Corpus Suspension Bill” and “Maintenance of the Poor Bill”.

    • 10 February 1801

      Debates on “Poor Rates”.

    • 23 March 1801

      “Suppression of Rebellion [Ireland] Bill”, Holland listed among those dissentient.

    • 31 March 1801

      “Suppression of Rebellion [Ireland] Bill”, successful attempt to suppress previous dissent of Holland and others.

    • 17 April 1801

      "Papers referred to Secret Committee" and response to Commons on Secret Committee [re London Corresponding Society].

    • 27 April 1801

      “Report from Secret Committee” [re London Corresponding Society] and the associated “Seditious Meetings Prevention Bill”.

    • 15 June 1801

      “Habeas Corpus Suspension Bill” and “Third Report of Secret Committee” (regarding Irish “Rebellion”).

    • 17 June 1801

      “Habeas Corpus Suspension Bill” and “Suppression of Rebellion [Ireland] Bill”.

    • 29 October 1801

      Unclear.

    • 03 November 1801

      “Address on Preliminaries of Peace with France”.

    • 13 November 1801

      “Address on Convention with Russia”.

    • 4 May 1802

      Debate on “Definitive Treaty of Peace” [i.e. Treaty of Amiens].

    • 10 May 1802

      “Notification of the Formation of the Italian Republic”.

    • 13 May 1802

      “Motion for Address on Definitive Treaty of Peace”, and “Motion Relative to the Delay in negotiating a peace” (which was resolved in the negatve, but which Holland dissented from the rejection of).

    • 21 June 1802

      “Aliens Bill” “National Debt Bill” and “Militia Bill”.

    • 22 June 1802

      “Irish Controverted Elections Bill” and “Militia Bill”.

    • 10 May 1805

      “Petition of the Roman Catholics of Ireland” (in Dinner Book as "Catholick Petition").

    • 13 May 1805

      “Petition of the Roman Catholics of Ireland” Second Reading and “Conference respecting Lord Melville” (pe176).

    • 19 June 1805

      "King’s Message Respecting a Vote of Credit”, “Irish Fees Commissioners Bill” and “Milita Pay (Ireland) Bill”.

    • 4 July 1805

      “Motion for Address Respecting Jamaica Suspended”.

    • 9 July 1805

      “Message from HC with Article of Impeachment against Viscount Melville” (pe176).

  • ID: ev006
  • Number of appearances: 1
  • Mentioned on:
  • Notes: Lord Holland (pe029) and Lady Holland (pe001) attended hustings for the Westminster election of 1802 in support of Lord Holland's uncle, Charles James Fox (pe034). The election took place on 15 July 1802. Charles James Fox was elected first with 2671 votes, followed by the Tory Sir Alan Gardner with 2431.

  • ID: ev020
  • Number of appearances: 8
  • Mentioned on:

  • ID: ev035
  • Number of appearances: 1
  • Mentioned on:

  • ID: ev022
  • Number of appearances: 2
  • Mentioned on:

  • ID: ev018
  • Number of appearances: 23
  • Mentioned on:

  • ID: ev019
  • Number of appearances: 1
  • Mentioned on:

  • ID: ev021
  • Number of appearances: 3
  • Mentioned on:

  • ID: ev023
  • Number of appearances: 1
  • Mentioned on:
  • Notes: See 'Index of People' for details of his illness and death.

  • ID: ev014
  • Number of appearances: 6
  • Mentioned on:
  • Notes: Lady Holland (pe001) records the rapid decline in health and death of Francis Russell, 5th Duke of Bedford (pe053) over the course of three days at Woburn Abbey (pl069). The Duke died from a strangulated hernia, sustained when playing tennis. All mentions of Bedford's illness, death, and aftermath can be found under this event code.

  • ID: ev008
  • Number of appearances: 2
  • Mentioned on:
  • Notes: Lady Holland (pe001) records going to see "lights" in what seems to be a reference to visiting illuminations. In Georgian Britain, illuminations were held to celebrate special events such as martial victories and royal birthdays. Public and private buildings in a specific part, or across the whole, of a city would light their outsides with lanterns and 'transparencies' (large painted sheets designed to interact with the lantern light). It has not been possible to ascertain exactly what event was being celebrated with illuminations on this date, possibly the birthday of George III on the 4th June.

  • ID: ev011
  • Number of appearances: 3
  • Mentioned on:
  • Notes: The King of Clubs was a Whig dining club which ran from 1798 to 1823. An appendix to Whishaw The Pope of Holland House (1906) by T. W. Courtenay (pp. 333-340) claims the club was initiated on February 1798 at the house of James Mackintosh (pe018) [15 Langham Place, W1B 3DE]. Most of the members of the King of Clubs were also attendees at Holland House, and Lord Holland (pe029) became a member on the 12 December 1799. Those diners at Holland House who are also members of the Club are noted as such in the Index of People, and for a full list of members see Courtenay’s appendix pp. 333–356. The Club began weekly meetings around the turn of the century at the Crown and Anchor in Arundel Street off the Strand (pl037). The entry in the Dinner Book of Lord Holland dining at the “Foolish Weekly Club” (19 December 1800) appears to be a reference to the King of Clubs.

  • ID: ev025
  • Number of appearances: 3
  • Mentioned on:
  • Notes: The absence of apostrophes from the Dinner Book make it hard to determine what the "Lawyers Club" is. Lord Holland (pe029) could be attending the club of his lawyer or a meeting of lawyers (hosted at a public house), or at a place called the "Lawyers Club". If the latter it may have been one of the numerous clubs associated with the Inns of Court or, if referring to civil lawyers, the Doctors' Commons.

  • ID: ev017
  • Number of appearances: 3
  • Mentioned on:
  • Notes: Masquerade balls were regular events in the social calendar of London fashionable society from the early-eighteenth century into the Regency. In the list below each of the three masquerades attended by the Hollands is described.

    • 1 June 1801

      “Mrs Walker's Masquerade” Alethea Walker organised masked balls for around 300 people at her house on George Street (pl126) from 1800 to her death in 1805. These balls were widely reports in newspapers of the period, and the Prince Regent (pe231) was a regular attendee. The Oracle and the Daily Advertiser 15 May 1801, p. 3 reports: “The Dancing commenced about twelve o’clock, supper at two; Dances resumed at three, and the Company dispersed about five o’clock.”

    • 14 May 1802

      “Play & masquerade at Martindales” See pl041 for more information on Henry Martindale’s gambling club. As there were no plays performed in London on this evening, it appears that there were also theatrical performances at the venue. No records can be found of this specific event but some idea of the popularity of these masquerades can be found in a letter of Thomas Moore to his Mother of 13 May 1803: “I go to-morrow night to Martindale's; there are twenty guineas offered on every side for a ticket for this, which is a fête given by one of the Clubs. I am going as Lingo.” Memoirs, journal, and correspondence of Thomas Moore (1853) I 126.

    • 31 May 1802

      “Union Masquerade” On this date the Union Club (pl061) put on a spectacular masquerade to honour the Peace of Amiens. Newspaper reports claim that around 1400 tickets were sold, but that more than three-thousand people attempted attendance with revellers spilling out and blocking the streets around Pall Mall. The Morning Chronicle 2 June 1802 pp. 2–3, reports that there were elaborate transparencies and illuminations, and comments on the fancy dress, including the report that: “Lord Holland was a Quaker, whose spirit was questioned by the Priestess of the Sun, in which character Lady Holland was most beautifully drest”.

  • ID: ev001
  • Number of appearances: 1
  • Mentioned on:
  • Notes: In the period, Italian opera was performed at the King's Theatre, Haymarket (pl049). The works perfromed on the visit to the Opera recorded in the Dinner Book are as follows:

    • 13 July 1805
      La Cosa Rara, opera composed by Martini La Fille Sauvage; ou, La Pouvoir de la Musique, ballet composed by Mr D'Egville; the music by Martellari.

  • ID: ev003
  • Number of appearances: 1
  • Mentioned on:
  • Notes: This is a rare occasion in which Lady Holland (pe001) notes the play the party attended, Richard Brinsley Sheridan's Pizarro (1799). The play was based on Kotzebue's Die Spanier in Peru. Sheridan's play premiered at Drury Lane (pl006) in May 1799. On the evening attended by the Hollands the main roles were played by Powell, Kemble, C. Kemble, and Barrymore.

  • ID: ev002
  • Number of appearances: 57
  • Mentioned on:
  • Notes: Below is a list of dinners after which Lady Holland (pe001) and some of her guests went to see a play but where no theatre name is given. Below each date the play showing on these evenings at Drury Lane (DL) and Covent Garden (CG) is given. It is highly likely that these theatre visits were to see one or the other of these performances. On certain occasions we know which play the party saw from notes in the Dinner Book (for these events see ev003, ev005, ev009, ev036). The fact that when the Hollands go to see a performance at a place which is not at CG or DL the name of that theatre or type of play is explicitly stated (e.g. ev001 and ev029) suggests that the simple phrase 'went to a play' refers to plays at CG and DL. All information on performances is taken from The London Stage Calendar 1800–1844 Entry ed. Michael Burden, and further information can be found on this resource on actors and funding for each performance.

    • 22 Dec 1800
      The Stranger, play
      Harlequin-Amulet; or, The Magick of Mona, pantomime (DL)
      Jane Shore, play
      Harlequin's Tour; or, The Dominion of Fancy, pantomime (CG)

    • 26 Dec 1800
      George Barnwell
      Harlequin-Amulet; or, The Magick of Mona, pantomime (DL)
      Life, play
      Harlequin's Tour; or, The Dominion of Fancy, pantomime (CG)

    • 14 Jan 1801
      King John; or, England Invaded
      Harlequin Amulet; or, The Magick of Mona (DL)
      Every Man in his Humour
      Harlequin's Tour; or, The Dominion of Fancy, pantomime (CG)

    • 22 Jan 1801
      King John; or, England Invaded
      Harlequin Amulet; or, The Magick of Mona, pantomime (DL)
      Speed the Plough
      The Poor Soldier (CG)

    • 24 Jan 1801
      King Lear
      Harlequin Amulet; or, The Magick of Mona, pantomime (DL)
      Life
      Harlequin's Tour; or, The Dominion of Fancy, pantomime (CG)

    • 10 Feb 1801
      Othello, Moor of Venice
      Paul and Virginia (CG)
      The Stranger
      Harlequin-Amulet; or, The Magick of Mona, pantomime (DL)

    • 21 Feb 1801
      Macbeth, play
      The Veteran Tar (CG)
      Every Man in his Humour
      Il Bondocani, serio-comic musical drama (DL)

    • 7 Mar 1801
      Deaf and Dumb; or, The Orphan Protected, drama
      Blue Beard (CG)
      The Merchant of Venice
      Perouse; or, The Desolate Island, grand historic pantomime drama (DL)

    • 12 Mar 1801
      The Country Girl
      Of Age To-morrow (DL) Othello, Moor of Venice
      Perouse; or, The Desolate Island, grand historic pantomime drama (CG)

    • 17 April 1801
      She Wou'd and She Wou'd Not
      The Prize; or, 2, 5, 3, 8 (DL)
      The Poor Gentleman, comedy in 5 acts
      Perouse; or, The Desolate Island, grand historic pantomime drama (CG)

    • 18 April 1801
      Deaf and Dumb; or, The Orphan Protected
      The Wedding Day (DL)
      The Merchant of Venice
      Love a-la-mode (CG)

    • 15 May 1801
      The School for Scandal
      Dr Last's Examination
      The Shipwreck (DL)
      The Castle of Andalusia
      Who's the Rogue?
      Sprigs of Laurel (CG)

    • 11 November 1801
      Artaxerxes
      "bravura song"
      High Life Below Stairs (DL)
      Every Man in his Humour
      Love a-la Mode (CG)

    • 16 November 1801
      King Richard the Third
      The Son in Law (DL)
      King Richard the Third
      Perouse; or, The Desolate Island (CG)

    • 18 November 1801
      Pizarro
      The Apprentice (DL)
      Folly as it Flies
      Oscar and Malvina; or, The Hall of Fingall (CG)

    • 19 November 1801
      The Duenna
      The Citizen (DL)
      Macbeth
      The Review; or, The Wags of Windsor (CG)

    • 14 December 1801
      King Henry the Fifth; or, The Battle of Agincourt
      Don Juan (DL)
      Chains of the Heart; or, The Slave by Choice
      Perouse; or, The Desolate Island (CG)

    • 6 January 1802
      The Distressed Mother
      The Festival of Bacchus, ballet
      The Virgin Unmasked (DL)
      Folly as it Flies
      Harlequin's Almanack; or, The Four Seasons (CG)

    • 11 January 1802
      King Henry the Fourth
      Harlequin-Amulet (DL)
      The Revenge
      Harlequin's Almanack; or, The Four Seasons, pantomime (CG)

    • 15 January 1802
      Venice Preserved
      The Festival of Bacchus, pantomime ballet
      The Citizen (DL)
      Alphonso, King of Castile
      Harlequin's Almanack; or, The Four Seasons, pantomime (CG)

    • 16 January 1802
      King Henry the Fourth
      The Doctor and the Apothecary (DL)
      Alfonso, King of Castile
      Harlequin's Almanack; or, The Four Seasons, pantomime (CG)

    • 18 January 1802
      George Barnwell
      Harlequin-Amulet (DL)
      Alfonso, King of Castile
      Harlequin's Almanack; or, The Four Seasons, pantomime (CG)

    • 7 April 1802
      A grand selection of sacred music (DL)
      Redemption, sacred oratorio(CG)

    • 8 April 1802
      The Duenna
      Brazen Mask; or, Alberto and Rosabella (CG)
      The Winter's Tale
      The Devil to Pay (DL)

    • 22 April 1802
      The Cabinet
      Brazen Mask; or, Alberto and Rosabella, grand ballet (CG)
      Fashionable Friends
      The Deaf Lover (DL)

    • 6 May 1802
      Artaxerxes
      Brazen Mask; or, Alberto and Rosabella (CG)
      The Clandestine Marriage
      The Pannel (DL)

    • 7 May 1802
      Rule a Wife and Have a Wife
      Adelmorn the Outlaw, musical piece (DL)
      The Iron Chest
      The Definitive Treaty, address
      The Review; or, The Wags of Windsor (CG)

    • 10th May 1802
      The Man of the World
      Brazen Mask; or, Alberto and Rosabella (CG)
      The Way to Keep Him
      The Devil to Pay (DL)

    • 11th May 1802
      The Winter's Tale
      Adelmorn the Outlaw, musical piece (DL)
      Alfonso, King of Castile
      Paul and Virginia (CG)

    • 17th May 1802
      The Tender Husband
      The Old Maid (DL)
      The Cabinet
      Brazen Mask; or, Alberto and Rosabella (CG)

    • 8 June 1802
      The Chapter of Accidents
      The Gentle Shepherd And some operatic airs (DL)
      The Road to Ruin
      The Deserter of Naples
      The Ghost (CG)

    • 9 June 1802
      The Country Girl
      The Dairy Maids and Generous Tars, ballet
      Blue Beard (CG)

    • 10 May 1805
      The Honey Moon
      The Devil to Pay (DL)
      Zara
      Spanish Dollars; or, The Priest of the Parish, operatic sketch (CG)

    • 11 May 1805
      The Beggar's Opera
      Bon Ton (DL)
      Douglas
      Spanish Dollars; or, The Priest of the Parish, operatic sketch (CG)

    • 13 May 1805
      Hamlet Spanish Dollars; or, The Priest of the Parish, operatic sketch (CG)
      All in the Wrong
      Personation; or, Fairly Taken In, piece
      The Castle of Sorrento (DL)

    • 3 June 1805
      John Bull; or, an Englishman's Fireside
      Katharine and Petruchio (DL)
      The Surrender of Calais
      A Tale of Mystery (CG)

    • 16 September 1805
      The School of Reform
      The Padlock (CG)
      No DL play on this night, other performances at German Theatre, Leicester Square; Sadler's Wells (pl057); Theatre Royal, Haymarket (pl049); and Astley's (pl016).

    • 17 September 1805
      The Honey Moon The Spoil'd Child (DL)
      No play anywhere apart from DL play on this night.

    • 19 September 1805
      The Wonder
      No Song No Supper (DL)
      No play anywhere apart from DL play on this night.

    • 24 September 1805
      Romeo and Juliet
      Matrimony (DL)
      No play anywhere apart from DL play on this night.

    • 25 September 1805
      The Wheel of Fortune
      Dermot and Kathlane; or, The Irish Wedding, dance
      The Jew and the Doctor (CG)
      No play at DL that night, only other play at the German Theatre, Leicester Square.

    • 28 September 1805
      The School for Scandal
      The Anatomist (DL)
      No play at CG that night, only other plays at the German Theatre, Leicester square, and at Sadler’s Wells (pl057).

    • 2 October 1805
      The Provok'd Husband
      The Turnpike Gate (CG)
      No play at DL that night, only other plays at the German Theatre, Leicester Square.

    • 5 October 1805
      The Constant Couple
      A House to be Sold (DL)
      No play at CG that night, only other plays at the German Theatre, Leicester Square, and at Theatre Royal, Haymarket (pl049).

    • 9 October 1805
      The Constant Couple
      The Wedding Day (DL)
      Isabella; or, The Fatal Marriage Out of Place (CG)

    • 2 November 1805
      The Siege of Belgrade
      The Pannel (DL)
      Pizarro
      Rugantino; or, The Bravo of Venice, grand romantic melo-drama (CG)

    • 4 November 1805
      A Prior Claim, comedy in 5 acts
      Terpsichore's Retur, ballet
      The Lying Valet (DL)
      The English Fleet
      Rugantino; or, The Bravo of Venice, grand romantic melo-drama (CG)

    • 6 November 1805
      The Cabinet A melo-dramatic piece
      The Mock Doctor (DL)
      The Delinquent; or, Seeing Company
      Dermot and Kathlane; or, The Irish Wedding, dance
      Out of Place (CG)

    • 9 November 1805
      The Siege of Belgrade
      The Anatomist
      Terpsichore's Return, ballet (DL)
      Pizarro Nelson's Glory, a loyal musical impromptu
      Rosina (CG)

    • 18 November 1805
      The Wheel of Fortune A melo-dramatic piece
      The Weathercock (DL)
      The Delinquent; or, Seeing Company
      Rugantino; or, The Bravo of Venice
      Out of Place (CG)

    • 23 November 1805
      The Haunted Tower
      The Weathercock, farce (DL)
      The Country Girl
      The Wild Islanders; or, The Court of Pekin, ballet
      The Miser (CG)

    • 6 December 1805
      The Beaux Stratagem
      The Sleeping Beauty, grand legendary melo-drama (DL)
      The Wheel of Fortune
      The Wild Islanders; or, The Court of Pekin, ballet
      The Follies of a Day (CG)

    • 19 December 1805
      Douglas
      The Sleeping Beauty, legendary melo-drama (DL)
      The Cabinet
      Katharine and Petruchio (CG)

    • 21 December 1805
      Lovers' Vows
      The Weathercock (DL)
      Speed the Plough
      The Wild Islanders
      Nelson's Glory (CG)

    • 28 December 1805
      The School for Friends
      The Sleeping Beauty, legendary melo-drama (DL)
      Gustavus Vasa
      Fortune's Frolic (CG)

    • 30 December 1805
      The School for Friends
      The Sleeping Beauty, legendary melo-drama (DL)
      The Man of the World
      Harlequin's Magnet; or, The Scandinavian Sorcerer, grand romantic pantomime (CG)

    • 22 January 1806
      The Travellers; or, Music's Fascination, operatic drama in 5 acts
      The Lying Valet(DL)
      No play at CG that night, only other play at the German Theatre, Leicester square.

  • ID: ev028
  • Number of appearances: 4
  • Mentioned on:
  • Notes: Two private theatricals are listed in the Dinner Book.

    • Christmas 1805

      The Hollands’ children Charles Richard Fox (pe217) Henry Edward Fox (pe218) are recorded as acting in the library of Holland House (pl082). The Dinner Book states that on Christmas day 1805 the nine-year old Charles and three-year old Henry were rehearsing the roles of Brutus and Cassius from Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar.

    • 4th January 1806

      The Dinner Book records "Woburn Play – John Bull", which presumably is a reference to an amateur production or reading at Woburn Abbey (pl069) of John Bull, or, The Englishman's fire-side (1803) by George Coleman the Younger.

  • ID: ev007
  • Mentioned on:
  • Notes: The Spanish Club was founded in 1780 by Sir Alexander Munro, and in 1808 Lord Holland (pe029) is listed as a member and Vice-President in rotation (Holland may have been a member earlier than 1808). Information on the club is scarce, but an article in the Literary Panorama (September, 1808) IV 805-6, discusses a dinner held at the City of London Tavern (pl058) a well-known radcial meeting place. The 1808 article claims the purpose of club was to provide entertainment to "the Spanish Gentlemen at present in town, in testimony of the lively interest the Members take in the issue of the arduous contest in which the brave Austrians and the other Patriots of Spain have so nobly engaged, for the defence of their liberties and independence [... the] company consisted of the Foreign Ministers, several persons of the highest consideration in the State, and of the greatest respectability in the City".

  • ID: ev031
  • Number of appearances: 16
  • Mentioned on:
  • Notes: i.e a meal or a drink after the hour of dinner. Suppers at which guests were invited were quite common among this set both at Holland House and elsewhere, and these often occured after debates in the Houses of Parliament, when Lord Holland (pe020) brought persons back late in the night.

  • ID: ev036
  • Number of appearances: 1
  • Mentioned on:
  • Notes: Lady Holland (pe001) notes going to a ‘farce’ at Drury Lane (pl006) on this evening. The play she saw was The Wheel of Fortune: A Comedy (1795) in five acts written by Richard Cumberland. The second item on the bill was The Forty Thieves, an ‘operatical romance’ with music by Mr Kelly.

  • ID: ev010
  • Number of appearances: 1
  • Mentioned on:
  • Notes: Horatio Nelson died from a gunshot wound sustained on the 21 October 1805 while leading the British fleet aboard HMS Victory during the Battle of Trafalgar, a battle in which the British were victorious. Nelson’s second in command Cuthbert Collingwood sent news of both Nelson’s death and Britain’s victory back to London on the 22nd of October. Adverse weather meant it only arrived at the Admiralty on the 6th November 1805 and was reported in the newspapers on the 7th November 1805. That the Hollands were informed before wider public announcements may indicate their connections within political culture.

  • ID: ev004
  • Number of appearances: 2
  • Mentioned on:
  • Notes: From 1560 to 2010 the boys of Westminster School (pl065) performed Latin plays at Christmas. The play performed on the two occasions attended by the Hollands were Terence, Adelphi in 1800, and Terence, Phormioin 1801. A comprehensive history of these plays is given by Tom Edlin, see The Latin Play, 1560-2010.

  • ID: ev012
  • Number of appearances: 3
  • Mentioned on:
  • Notes: The Whig Club was instituted in May 1784 and described itself as “To be composed of Gentleman, who solemnly pledge themselves to support the Constitution of this Country, according to the Principles established at the Glorious Revolution”. In reality the Club existed to support the causes of Charles James Fox (pe034) and provided a power base for Fox and Foxite Whiggism for the next thirty years. Members of the Whig Club are listed in publications entitled Whig Club published in 1786, 1788, 1792, and 1799 (the latter noting Portland Whigs who had seceded from the Club). The best account of the formation, development, and various fissures in the Whig Club during its formative decade is given in F. O’Gorman The Whig Party and the French Revolution (1967). In the period covered by the Dinner Book, the Whig Club met at various London public houses such as the Crown and Anchor (pl037) the City of London Tavern (pl058), and the Freemasons’ Tavern (pl045). Its meetings were advertised a week in advance in the Morning Chronicle. Those diners at Holland House who are also members of the Club are noted as such in the Index of People.