London walk · Stop 12 of 14
Oscar Wilde — Bram, Florence and Constance
Later memorial: Maggi Hambling, 1998
Maggi Hambling’s A Conversation with Oscar Wilde on Adelaide Street offers a place to recall the connections between two Dublin writers and their families. This is a modern memorial, not a place where the Stokers and Wildes are known to have met.
Before marrying Bram, Florence Balcombe was courted by Oscar Wilde. In September 1876 he gave her a watercolour of the view from Moytura House, the Wilde family’s retreat beside Lough Corrib, inscribed for “Florrie”. Florence married Bram at St Ann’s Church in Dublin on 4 December 1878; they moved to London as he began work with Henry Irving.
Oscar married Constance Lloyd on 29 May 1884. Constance was a writer of children’s stories and a campaigner for women’s rights and practical dress. She deserves a place in this story in her own right, alongside the two celebrated authors and Florence.
A surviving, undated note in the Shakespeare Birthplace Trust’s Lyceum Collection makes the later social connection tangible. Addressing “My Dear Bram”, Oscar explains that Constance is unwell and has gone to Brighton for ten days’ rest. She cannot attend supper with Bram, but Oscar can. This small domestic message takes the story beyond the earlier courtship and into the families’ London lives.
Outdoor memorial on Adelaide Street. View from the public pedestrian space and keep the pavement clear.
Shakespeare Birthplace Trust: Oscar’s supper note to Bram ↗
Florence and Oscar’s watercolour ↗
Constance Lloyd: National Portrait Gallery biography ↗
The Wildes’ marriage: Whistler correspondence archive ↗
Historic England: the Wilde memorial ↗
Next: Continue towards the Strand, then turn east along its north-side pavement to Coutts at No. 440. Use marked crossings.
