Heslewood, Tom, 1868-1959

Tom Heslewood, born in 1868, was a British actor and costume designer. His fist stage appearance was at London's Shaftesbury Theatre, 1893, as Wilton Ken in Sheridan Le Fanu's Uncle Silas .

During his career as a designer he designed such costumes and scenery as those for Where the Rainbow Ends, General John Regan and Anthony in Wonderland for Charles Hawtrey and Princess Clementina, The Grand Seigneur and Hamlet for H.B Irving.

Heslewood knew the great actor Henry Irving personally, and was also well aquianted with both of Irving's sons; Harry Brodribb (H.B) and Laurence Irving. He was eventually to acquire most of Irving's stage costumes after his death. Upon the 50th anniversary of Irving's death (1938) he presented a selection of the costumes to the Museum of London, the bulk having previously gone to the Royal Shakespeare Company at Stratford. In 1955 it was decided that the costumes at Stratford would also be moved to London on a permanent loan. In 2011 all of Heslewood's Irving costumes were acquired by the V&A's Theatre and Performance department.

In the latter part of his career Heslewood acted in films including Peg of Old Drury (1935) and Victoria the Great (1937).

Tom Heslewood died in 1959.

From the guide to the Tom Heslewood Collection, undated, (V&A Theatre and Performance)