Queer Places:
St. Mary Magdalene Churchyard
Richmond, London Borough of Richmond upon Thames, Greater London, England
Mary Ann Yates (1728 – May 5, 1787) was an English tragic actress
at the Drury Lane theatre. The daughter of William Graham, a ship's steward and his wife, Mary, she married Richard Yates (c. 1706-1796), a well-known comedian of the time.[1]
In 1754, aged 25, she appeared at Drury Lane as Marcia in Samuel Crisp's Virginia. David Garrick played the part of Virginius. Yates was gradually entrusted with all the leading parts and succeeded the then famous actress Mrs Cibber as the leading tragedienne of the English stage. She was in turn succeeded and eclipsed by the famous Sarah Siddons.[1]
A German traveller, Johann von Archenholz, published a book of his travels
in 1787 in which he commented that in London ‘there are females who avoid
all intimate intercourse with the opposite sex, confining themselves to
their own sex. These females are called lesbians. They have small
societies, known as Anandrinic Societies, of which Mrs Y, formerly a
famous London actress, was one of the presidents.’ Mrs Y was Mary Anne
Yates, about whom strange
rumours circulated. She was considered to be stately, haughty and hard. She was known to be a forceful person, yet her life appears to be free of scandal. It comes as no surprise that
Horace Walpole was among her local admirers.
There were benefit performances for Yates in 1797 at The Haymarket which included an appearance by Harriett Litchfield.[2]
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