From the Archives: George August Polgreen Bridgtower (Bridgetower)
(Biala, Poland, 11 October 1778 – London, 29 February 1860)
Bridgtower made his debut as a violinist in Paris at the age of ten and then moved to England with a London debut on 19 February 1790. The Prince of Wales gave him patronage and Bridgtower’s supplied teachers were two Members of the RSM, namely François Hippolyte Barthélemon (1741-1808) for the violin, and Thomas Attwood (1765-1838) for composition; both Attwood and his father, Thomas Attwood, were pages to the Prince of Wales.
Bridgtower’s application form of 5 July 1807
Bridgtower is listed in Doane’s A Musical Directory For the Year 1794 as living at No.20 Eaton-Street, Pimlico and as playing in the Oratorios at Drury Lane (meaning the oratorios in Lent on Wednesdays and Fridays) and in the Grand Musical Festivals in Westminster Abbey. Various playbills of the period attest to his playing in the orchestra at such performances, amongst many Members of the Society, although it is not until 1807 that he makes an application, endorsed by William Dance (1775-1840) who also worked in Court circles, to join the RSM. The application notes that Bridgtower “is in the service of H.R.H. the Prince of Wales”.
Minutes of 5 June 1808
The three readings of the application took place on 5 July, 2 August and 6 September at which point he formally became a Member. In accordance with obligations in that period Members, when requested, were to perform in the orchestra at the annual Service for the Sons of the Clergy at St Paul’s Cathedral. According to a minute on 5 June 1808 it seems that Bridgtower supplied a deputy in his place for the event and he was therefore requested to appear before the Governors to explain his absence – many Members did supply deputies although generally they had to give the reasoning in advance (i.e. they had better or longer-term employment which might otherwise have been jeopardised). There are no further minutes or references to this and any animosity was obviously short-lived as Bridgtower is next seen in the minutes as a Governor in the years 1809-1811, being chair on two of those occasions.
Minutes of 4 March 1810 where Bridgtower is “in the Chair” and signs the proceedings
We have used the spelling ‘Bridgtower’ as this accords with his signature on the application and in the various signed documents in the RSM archive.
Further reading:
Betty Matthews, ‘George Polgreen Bridgtower’, in Music Review, vol.29 (1968), pp.22-26
Josephine R.B. Wright, ‘George Polgreen Bridgetower: an African Prodigy in England, 1789–99’, in The Musical Quarterly, vol.66 (1980), pp.65-82.