Thomas Fairman Ordish

Thomas Fairman Ordish (1855-1924), sometimes also referred to as T. Fairman Ordish was a British folklorist, noted for his interest in traditional drama and folk play, early theatre (especially the plays of William Shakespeare) and the history of London. He is credited as having undertaken "the first major investigation of British traditional drama".

Interests in early theatre Ordish developed an interest in early theatre and Shakespeare. He published two books on the topic: Early London Theatres (In the Fields) (1894), and Shakespeare’s London: A Study of London in the Reign of Queen Elizabeth (1897). The former developed from a number of articles Ordish wrote for The Antiquary and has been described as "the first systematic critical study of the evidence relating to the old playhouses" and establishing the groundwork for a number of later studies.

In 1902 Ordish formed the London Shakespeare League, which has been credited with reviving the performance of Shakespeare's plays.

Ordish was also a founder member of the London Topographical Society, edited the Society's Record from 1901 to 1906.

As Ordish's interests in these fields grew, he joined the Folklore Society in 1886. Ordish was also moving in the same social circles as members of the Folklore Society - particularly the Gomme family - through his membership of the London Topographical Society and other organisations. For Ordish, it was these folk plays which lay behind the flourishing of drama which took place in Elizabethan England. This reading was counter to the then prevailing view of historians of the theatre who framed their arguments around surviving literary texts of medieval miracle and mystery plays. Whilst Ordish's 'survivals' argument is no longer accepted by historians, his interest and ideas on folk play - and the collection he put together - were a major inspiration for later researchers.

Later life After retirement from the Patent Office, Ordish and his family moved from London to live in Herne Bay, Kent. He died on 5 December 1924 in a nursing home in Leytonstone, Essex.

Collection Ordish assembled a sizeable collection of materials relating to folk plays, primarily through appeals for assistance to fellow folklorists, but also through his own collecting. Helms's work on this collection was directly responsible for his further work on the topic and the rise in profile during the 1960s of research into folk play.

Ordish's original collection is now deposited with the other archives of the Folklore Society in the Special Collections of University College London.

A typescript of Oridish's collection was made by Alex Helm in the 1950s. Copies of this typescript are held in archives of the Folklore Society and at the Vaughan Williams Memorial Library (VWML) of the English Folk Dance and Song Society.

Selected publications Ordish, T. Fairman (1889). "Morris Dance at Revesby". The Folk-Lore Journal. 7 (5): 331–356. ISSN 1744-2524.

Ordish, T. Fairman (1891-09-01). "Folk-Drama". Folklore. 2 (3): 314–335. . ISSN 0015-587X.

Ordish, T. Fairman (1893-06-01). "English Folk-Drama". Folklore. 4 (2): 149–175. . ISSN 0015-587X.

Ordish, T. Fairman (1894). Early London theatres. London: E. Stock. OCLC 932837552.

Ordish, T. Fairman (1897). Shakespeare's London; a study of London in the reign of Queen Elizabeth. London: J.M. Dent & Co. OCLC 1358664.