Hippodrome Gallery

Page from The Sketch reporting on the birthday party of Belita

Page from The Sketch reporting on the birthday party of Belita (Maria Belita Jepson-Turner) at the London Hippodrome, at the time she was starring the show Champagne on Ice'. The HIppodrome's old arena area was turned into a rink for the show, and the party took place on the ice, with various celebrities including Frankie Howerd, Lizbeth Webb, Terry Thomas and Bernard Delfont tackling the challenge of skating with various degrees of success. Date: 1953

© Illustrated London News Ltd/Mary Evans

A Day in the Life of the Debutante - Miss Margaret Whigham

A scene from a number of tableaux staged at the London Hippodrome in May 1931 in aid of the Highway Club for Boys and Girls in the east end of London - it was attended by the Duchess of York. The theme in this scene was A Day in the Life of a Debutante. On the left, Miss Cynthia Pratt wears the crinoline of the Victorian deb whereas on the right, Miss Margaret Whigham played the modern deb. Margaret Whigham was hailed deb of the year in 1930 and was the darling of the society columns both before and after her marriage when she became Mrs Charles Sweeney. She subsequently married the 11th Duke of Argyll and gained notoriety during their scandalous 1963 divorce case. Date: 1931

© Illustrated London News Ltd/Mary Evans

Caricature of (Sir) Edward Moss, chairman of Moss Empires

Caricature of (Sir) Edward Moss, chairman of Moss Empires and the man behind the London Hippodrome, talking to his stage director Frank Parker, who seems dissatisfied with his production of the pantomime Dick Whittington - more a comment on Parker's perfectionism, than any problems with the panto. Date: 1903

© Illustrated London News Ltd/Mary Evans