Mackenzie 1

COMPTON MACKENZIE (1883 - 1972)

The Scottish man of letters, author of Sinister Street and Whisky Galore, is unique in having spent long periods of his life on Herm in the Channel Islands and Barra in the Outer Hebrides (where he is buried). He was born about midway between the two on 17 January 1883 at 23 Adelaide Street, West Hartlepool, in theatrical lodgings. His parents, whose theatrical circuit included Newcastle and Carlisle, were appearing at the Gaiety. The birth was difficult, and at one point the doctor considered sacrificing the baby to save the mother. Fortunately, a special pair of forceps ordered from London arrived in time.

Mackenzie was christened in Christ Church, West Hartlepool, the first major urban commission of the Victorian 'rogue' architect E.B. Lamb. Pevsner remarks that the shape of the crossing piers within 'defeats description'.

Myers Literary Guide:	The North-East
COMPTON MACKENZIE (1883 - 1972) The Scottish man of letters, author of Sinister Street and Whisky Galore, is unique in having spent long periods of his life on Herm in the Channel Islands and Barra in the Outer Hebrides (where he is buried). He was born about midway between the two on 17 January 1883 at 23 Adelaide Street, West Hartlepool, in theatrical lodgings. His parents, whose theatrical circuit included Newcastle and Carlisle, were appearing at the Gaiety. The birth was difficult, and at one point the doctor considered sacrificing the baby to save the mother. Fortunately, a special pair of forceps ordered from London arrived in time. Mackenzie was christened in Christ Church, West Hartlepool, the first major urban commission of the Victorian 'rogue' architect E.B. Lamb. Pevsner remarks that the shape of the crossing piers within 'defeats description'.
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