Brinsworth House
Brinsworth House is a residential and nursing retirement home for theatre and entertainment professionals on Staines Road, Twickenham, in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames, England. The house is owned and run by the Royal Variety Charity and has 36 bedrooms, six living rooms, a library, an in-house bar and stage, and a staff of 64. It is set in of land.
History
Brinsworth House was built in 1850; it opened as a retirement home in 1911.The theatre architect Frank Matcham, in 1912, designed a wing at the house free of charge in aid of the fund. Work commenced in June and was completed in October.
The house is owned and maintained by the Royal Variety Charity, which was founded in 1908 to care for members of, what was at that time, the variety and music hall profession. The charity and the house are funded by the Royal Variety Performance, by voluntary donations and, since 2007, by part-proceeds from phone voting from ITV Network's Britain's Got Talent.
Residents
Previous celebrity residents have included:- Hylda Baker
- Penny Calvert, dancer and first wife of Sir Bruce Forsyth
- Pearl Carr
- Derek Cooper, journalist, broadcaster and food specialist
- Charlie Drake
- Roy Fox, British dance band leader
- Alan Freeman
- Mona Hammond
- John Hewer, best known for his role as Captain Birdseye
- Dame Thora Hird
- Renée Houston
- Teddy Johnson
- Kathy Kirby
- Mick McManus
- Alf Pearson
- Emily Perry
- Ronnie Ronalde, music hall singer and siffleur
- Ben Warriss
- Jack Wilson, of Wilson, Keppel and Betty fame
- Mike Yarwood