Herbert Gardner

Caricature of Herbert Gardner by Spy, published in Vanity Fair in 1886 with the caption "amateur theatricals".

Herbert Colstoun Gardner, 1st Baron Burghclere (9 June 1846 – 6 May 1921) was a British Liberal politician who sat in the House of Commons from 1885 until he was raised to the peerage in 1895. He went to the University of Cambridge where he was involved in the Cambridge Amateur Dramatic Club (A.D.C.) and later was a member of the Canterbury Old Stagers. His caricature by Spy, published in Vanity Fair in 1886, was captioned "amateur theatricals".

He went on to write plays, including a three act comedy Time Will Tell. In January 1885 he performed the lead male role in his own play at Sir Percy Florence Shelley's private theatre at Boscombe Manor, which the playbill notes was 'produced under the personal supervision of the Author'. This was alongside other well-known amateurs such as Carlotta Addison, Arthur Bourchier, Captain Arthur Gooch, Augustus Spalding, Claude Ponsonby, Cecil Clay and Sir Charles Young.