Sir George Alexander was a stage actor, theatre producer and theatre manager.

He built Tollgate Cottage in Chorleywood and lived there for much of his life.

He began his theatrical career in amateur performances. After four years, he embarked on a professional acting career and made his London debut in 1881.

In the nineteenth century, the theatre business in London was booming. Audiences played an important part in the theatre experience; unlike today, when we sit back in the dark, the auditorium was well-lit and viewers wanted to be involved in the goings-on onstage.

A night at the theatre could last for up to five hours with a variety of acts and performers. People would often come to the theatre after starting their night elsewhere, and so would need to be instantly involved in the performance.

This meant that a more exciting, visual style took over from the 18th century emphasis on the spoken word. Advances in technology – including electric lighting and hydraulics – allowed for an increase in the scale of on-stage battles, storms and explosions.

Having become an actor rather than a financier, as his family wished, Alexander devoted himself to the development of the modern drawing room comedy. With an impressive comic flair, Alexander excelled in his roles and brought many an audience member to tears of laughter.

He appeared in The Second Mrs Tanqueray by Sir Arthur Wing Pinero, in a performance which was lauded as “sensationally successful”. This was also the play that made Mrs Patrick Campbell a theatrical star.

In 1890, Alexander turned his hand to producing. His first play was shown at the Avenue Theatre and, shortly after, he became the actor-manager of St James’s Theatre.

Under Alexander, the St James’s Theatre was said to be modern in both outlook and attire. The walls in the foyer were covered with embossed paper of green and gold. On the floor were rich rugs and Indian carpets. A flight of stairs made of Siena marble led to the upper floors of the theatre.

Alexander was closely supported by his wife, Florence Jane, who undertook much of the set-dressing and wardrobe organisation of St James’s. This included selecting props and costumes, attending fittings and working with a host of scenic artists.

Alexander produced several major plays of the day at St James’s, including Oscar Wilde’s Lady Windermere’s Fan and The Importance of Being Earnest.

One of the most famous nights in Victorian theatre occurred in 1895 when Oscar Wilde’s The Importance of Being Earnest had its debut performance. The Prince of Wales was in attendance and a crowd of policemen patrolled the streets outside. A tip-off had warned Alexander and Wilde that the Marquess of Queensberry, angered by his son’s homosexual relationship with Wilde, was hoping to get into the theatre and create havoc during the play. He was ushered from the premises before he could carry out his plan.

Queensberry wasn’t satisfied, however, and shortly after he left his calling card at Wilde’s club, inscribed with the message: ‘For Oscar Wilde, posing sodomite’.

Against the advice of his friends, Wilde initiated a prosecution against Queensberry for libel. In retaliation, Queensberry’s lawyers hired private detectives to find evidence of Wilde’s homosexual liaisons.

The trial opened on April 3, 1895, amid scenes of hysteria both in the press and the public galleries. The extent of the evidence massed against Wilde forced him to declare meekly, “I am the prosecutor in this case”.

Wilde was left bankrupt by the trial and subsequently arrested on charges of sodomy and gross indecency. He spent two years in prison.

Upon his release, Wilde moved to the continent. He felt indebted to Alexander as a result of his artistic integrity in producing two of Wilde’s plays so successfully. They met again in 1900, and Wilde reflected on the meeting: “It was really a great pleasure to see you again, and to receive your friendly grasp of the hand after so many years.”

Alexander bought the rights to both Lady Windermere’s Fan and The Importance of Being Earnest after Wilde was declared bankrupt.

Alexander was knighted for his services to the theatre in 1911.

He died at his home in Chorleywood in 1918.