Renton Nicholson

Renton Nicholson (4 April 1809 – 18 May 1861) was an English impresario, businessman, actor, and writer. He is best known for his Judge and Jury Society performances and for his ownership of the newspaper The Town.

After being orphaned at a young age, Nicholson was raised by his sisters, and became an apprentice to a pawnbroker. He then opened a series of unsuccessful businesses that often catered to the lower classes of London, selling cigars, wine and jewels. These ventures were frequently unsuccessful, and he often faced insolvency.

After a stint in the gambling industry, he began serving as the editor of The Town newspaper. It typically covered scandals in London high society. A public feud later erupted between Nicholson and another editor, Barnard Gregory, who published a competing paper. Nicholson also published other periodicals and several literary works, including an autobiography. After leaving the newspaper industry, Nicholson began operating a hotel. There Nicholson began his Judge and Jury Society performances, which lasted for two decades. These acts mocked and satirised members of London society and the preoccupations of the popular press. Though his acts were derided by some for their crudeness, they were attended by many aristocrats, politicians, and other prominent citizens. He hosted the performances at other venues in London and around England, producing the Judge and Jury Society for almost two decades.

Nicholson also staged poses plastiques performances at his establishments. These acts consisted of barely clothed women posing in imitation of well-known works of art. Nicholson catered beverages to a number of racecourses outside of London. He was briefly the owner of Cremorne Gardens. The changes that he made to the pleasure gardens there had a lasting influence on the park's reputation. Though he often encountered financial difficulties, by the time of his death he was known for his frequent acts of generosity to the poor.

Childhood and early career Nicholson was born in suburban East London and lived on Hackney Road as a child. He was orphaned at a young age, and moved to Islington to be raised by his two sisters, who ran a school there.

After working in Shadwell for several years, Nicholson moved to Kensington. There he continued working as a pawnbroker until 1830. This occupation exposed him to many lower-class residents of London. He was sometimes homeless after being released.

The Town was later targeted by Barnard Gregory, the publisher of The Satirist. Gregory was notorious for publishing reports of scandals or blackmailing people. He published several articles attacking The Town. Nicholson retaliated in The Town, with a series of scathing attacks on Gregory and his paper.

In 1838 Nicholson and Last began publishing a more expensive paper known as The Crown. It took a very different focus from The Town, with a more serious tone, and support of Whig politics and the Church of England. Its first issue carried an editorial written by Nicholson under the pseudonym of "Censor", which attacked The Town for its immorality. This caused some to believe that the serious tone of The Crown was not entirely sincere. The Crown ceased publication in 1840.

During the performances, Nicholson wore a judge's wig and robe and was referred to as "my lord" by the cast. He sat at a raised desk next to boxes for the prosecutor, witness, and jury. The testimonies that were delivered during the performances were generally filled with of innuendos and double entendres. The audiences often included well known citizens and occasionally members of Parliament. Nicholson added refreshment booths and tables so guests could sit and eat at the gardens. While most of the contemporary pleasure gardens were exclusive venues, Nicholson envisioned Cremorne Gardens as a popular amusement park for common people.

Poses plastiques

In 1846 Nicholson began showing poses plastiques, At Nicholson's hotel, the models often stood on a revolving stage that overlooked the audience. The stage was illuminated by blue lights, and the room was covered in mirrors. Nicholson stood near the models as they posed and delivered a lecture on art to the audience, most of whom drank and smoked cigars during the performance. He advertised the events as "representing Pictures from the Manchester Art Galleries and scenes from all the Principal Tragedies, Dramas, Operas". The women were purported to be a musical group known as the "Female American Serenaders". Many of the titles of the acts suggested that nudity would be on display, such as "The Sultan's Favourite returning from the bath" or "Cupid and Psyche". One of the few existing depictions of an event shows two women onstage, unclothed except for a loose skirt below the waist of one, and a sash wrapped between the legs and over the shoulder of the other.

Although the poses plastiques were never considered a serious form of art, Nicholson's version has been described as the most low brow form that it took. A writer visiting from France published a critical account of the show, characterising it as a pretentious form of entertainment. It was also criticised by English social reformers, who characterized the acts as a form of prostitution. After Nicholson moved his events to the Coal Hole tavern, the management officially stopped allowing women into the audience in order to fight this perception. However, some women were still able to gain entry to the events.

Later life and family In 1860 Nicholson wrote an autobiography titled Rogue's Progress: The Autobiography of 'Lord Chief Baron' Nicholson. The book covered a variety of events in his life, describing debtors' prisons as well as the Judge and Jury Society. and was republished in 1965 by Houghton Mifflin.

Late in his life he curtailed some of his activities because of ailments such as dropsy and heart disease. Though he often struggled to stay solvent, Nicholson frequently gave charitably to many poor residents of London. Nicholson died in 1861 while staying at his daughters' house in London. He was buried in Brompton Cemetery in South West London.