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Episode 6: Through the Door: Loughborough Road – Bella Burge at Glenwood House
Through The Door is a mini-series in which historian Tracey Gregory talks with Naomi Clifford about the inhabitants of Loughborough Road in Brixton, South London. Tracey’s blog, Loughborough Road Stories, explores the people and buildings of Loughborough Road and surrounding streets over the past 180 years.
This is a collaborative project between Morley Radio and The Door history podcast
Loughborough Road – Bella Burge at Glenwood House
The First Woman Boxing Promoter
Bella Burge aka Ella Lane, Bell Lloyd and Bella of Blackfriars, lived at Glenwood House in Loughborough Road South (where all the houses have been replaced by the Loughborough Estate).
As a young woman she performed on the music-hall stage but went on to become the first female boxing promoter. Born in New York in 1877 to English parents Leah Belle (Bella) Orchard came to London with her mother and older sister in 1882, following the death of her father.
Bella first appeared on stage at the age of 11 as Ella Lane. It wasn’t long before (B)Ella met the famous music-hall star Marie Lloyd who, only 18 herself, unofficially adopted her.
Ella worked as Marie Lloyd’s dresser and performed with Marie’s sister Rosie as The Sisters Lloyd. Bella’s friendship and the Lloyd sisters endured throughout their lives. In the mid 1890s Bella moved with Marie to Glenwood House on Loughborough Road. They travelled round Britain and to South Africa together.
In 1901, at the age of 24, Bella married boxer Dick Burge at Brixton Registry Office. However, three weeks later, Dick was arrested for forging cheques and served time. After Dick was released seven years later Bella suggested he build a career as a boxing promoter. They identified an octagonal former chapel on Blackfriars Road as a venue for their enterprise.
The Ring opened in May 1910 and successfully attracted a new audience of working-class people, including women. Dick served in the First World War but died of pneumonia in 1918. Bella ran The Ring alone, becoming the first female boxing promoter.
The building was destroyed by an enemy bomb in The Blitz. Bella retired and lived out her life in a flat on the Finchley Road in north-west London. She died in 1962 at the age of 85.