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Back to article: WILLIAM SYDNEY PENLEY (1852– )

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PENLEY, WILLIAM SYDNEY (1852– ), English actor, was born at Broadstairs, and educated in London, where his father had a school. He first made his mark as a comedian by his exceedingly amusing performance as the curate in The Private Secretary, a part in which he succeeded Beerbohrn Tree; but he is even more associated with the title role in Brandon Thomas's Charley's Aunt (1892), a farce which had an unprecedentedly long run and was acted all over the world.
PENMARC'H, a village of western France in the department of Finistere, 18 m. S.W. of Quimper by road. Pop. (r906), of the village, 387; of the commune, 5702. On the extremity of the peninsula on which it is situated are fortified remains of a town which was of considerable importance from the 14th to the 16th centuries and included, besides Penmarc 'h, St Guenole and Kerity. It owed its prosperity to its cod-banks, the disappearance of which together with the discovery of the Newfoundland cod-banks and the pillage of the place by the bandit La Fontenelle in 1595 contributed to its decadence. The church of St Nouna, a Gothic building of the early 16th century at Penmarc 'h, and the church of St Guenole, an unfinished tower of the 15th century and the church of Kerity (15th century) are of interest. The coast is very dangerous. On the Point de Penmarc 'h stands the Phare d'Eckmuhl, with a light visible for 6o miles. There are numerous megalithic monuments in the vicinity.