F. M. Mayor and Batman's Butler

The actor Alan Napier, best remembered for portraying Bruce Wayne's butler in the 1960s Batman series, was a student at Clifton College, Bristol, from 1916 to 1921. ‘What has that got to do with the price of eggs?’ I hear you say. Well, in January 1916, Henry Mayor—brother of Flora Macdonald Mayor, writer of supernatural short stories—was made Housemaster of Watson’s House, Clifton College, and, as he was unmarried (and also hopeless as a hotel-keeper), Flora and her twin sister, Alice, had to take it in turns standing in as Housemaster’s wife. That’s how Flora met Alan Napier.

There were entertainments at Watson’s House every Saturday evening, and at the end of one term someone suggested that the boys should celebrate with a theatrical performance. Flora directed the resulting play and cast Napier, who was a tall, thin sixteen-year-old at the time, as a lovesick housemaid. Flora recognised Napier’s potential, she coached him and gave him the encouragement he needed to perform well, and on the night he stole the show. It was in acting that Alan Napier found himself. And who knows, if it hadn’t been for Flora’s encouragement, we may never have had the pleasure of seeing him play Alfred Pennyworth.

You can read more about F. M. Mayor's life in my introduction to The Room Opposite: And Other Tales of Mystery and Imagination.

Nezu Press, 1 April 2023. ISBN-13: 978-1739392109. Hardback with dust jacket, 406 pages. Available at:

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