While wandering around Vauxhall I popped into 'The Jolly Gardeners' for a drink. While chatting with the barmaid she told me that the piano, standing forlorn in the corner, was played regularly by Charles Chaplin Senior.
I have to say that I was a bit disbelieving about this titbit of information, considering the state of the instrument and the lack of a plaque. Still, it was something that I would research later, just to see if there was any truth in it.
Although Charles Chaplin Senior was a music hall entertainer, beginning his career as a mimic, at the age of 24. Soon after he changed his act to that of a 'dramatic and descriptive singer'.
He was never inclined to learn an instrument, and I can find no evidence that he could play the piano.
He toured the United States of America, in 1890, and continued to pull in the crowds until 1897. His last appearance was at the Granville Theatre, Waltham Green, in 1900.
So far there is no information that suggests that this piano was played by him.
But... hang on.
Many of those in the music hall industry became alcoholics, as they were expected to encourage customers to purchase drinks. This was what happened to Charles.
His son, Charlie Spencer Chaplin, wrote in his memoirs that he would often wait outside public houses, where his father, being an alcoholic, could always be found.
