HE was the biggest star of his day - a theatrical thoroughbred with Bournemouth connections who became the first-ever actor to be knighted.

Now a panel dedicated to his memory has been uncovered in the town's Russell Cotes Museum, which has a room devoted to Sir Henry Irving memorabilia.

The wall panel is thought to date from around 1910-20, but had been concealed following a redecoration job 45 years ago.

Thanks to a grant from the Heritage Lottery Fund and more than eight weeks of painstaking work, conservators have removed a layer of 1959 pink emulsion to reveal and restore the original panel.

Museum director Shaun Garner explained that Sir Merton Russell Cotes had taken over the Royal Bath Hotel after being advised by a doctor to move to the seaside in 1876.

He built East Cliff Hall - now the museum - as a birthday present for his wife Annie in 1898.

"Russell Cotes claimed friendship with Sir Henry, who stayed at the Royal Bath.

"His manager was Bram Stoker (author of Dracula) and he was the first actor to be knighted," he added.

The museum plans to hold an exhibition in November to mark the centenary of the actor's death.

Among the many Irving-related items in its collection are the trowel used by Sir Henry to lay the foundation stone of a fountain in the grounds of the Royal Bath in 1905 and the key he used to switch it on.

He died later the same year after collapsing on stage in Bradford, Yorkshire.

First published: February 9