Charles Herbert Mayo (1845–1929) was a

Dorset Dorset ( ; Archaism, archaically: Dorsetshire , ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by Somerset to the north-west, Wiltshire to the north and the north-east, Hampshire to the east, t ...

clergyman and

antiquarian An antiquarian or antiquary () is an aficionado or student of antiquities or things of the past. More specifically, the term is used for those who study history with particular attention to ancient artefacts, archaeological and historic si ...

Life

Mayo was born in 1845, the third of three children of William Mayo, the rector of Folke, and his wife Charlotte (née Dyer). He received a Master of Arts degree from

Lincoln College, Oxford Lincoln College (formally, The College of the Blessed Mary and All Saints, Lincoln) is a Colleges of the University of Oxford, constituent college of the University of Oxford, in the United Kingdom. Lincoln was founded in 1427 by Richard Flemin ...

. s:Alumni Oxonienses: the Members of the University of Oxford, 1715-1886/Mayo, Charles Herbert He was appointed

Rural Dean In the Roman Catholic Church and the Anglican Communion as well as some Lutheran denominations, a rural dean is a member of clergy who presides over a "rural deanery" (often referred to as a deanery); "ruridecanal" is the corresponding adjective ...

and Non-Residentiary

Canon Canon or Canons may refer to: Arts and entertainment * Canon (fiction), the material accepted as officially written by an author or an ascribed author * Literary canon, an accepted body of works considered as high culture ** Western canon, th ...

Salisbury Salisbury ( , ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and civil parish in Wiltshire, England with a population of 41,820, at the confluence of the rivers River Avon, Hampshire, Avon, River Nadder, Nadder and River Bourne, Wi ...

and was vicar of Longburton from 1872 to 1912. Whilst there he lived at Longburton Rectory. His great enthusiasm was local history and he promoted its study by publishing many books and articles on the subject, of which 34 are held in the

British Library The British Library is the national library of the United Kingdom. Based in London, it is one of the largest libraries in the world, with an estimated collection of between 170 and 200 million items from multiple countries. As a legal deposit li ...

. His greatest work was the Bibliotheca Dorsetiensis published in 1885, which has yet to be supplanted as the standard Dorset antiquarian

bibliography Bibliography (from and ), as a discipline, is traditionally the academic study of books as physical, cultural objects; in this sense, it is also known as bibliology (from ). English author and bibliographer John Carter describes ''bibliograph ...

. This was derived from his large personal collection of Dorset ephemera and publications. From 1888 until 1921 Canon Mayo was the Dorset Editor of the journal 'Somerset and Dorset Notes and Queries'. He also transcribed many of the registers of local parishes, the municipal records of the Borough of

Shaftesbury Shaftesbury () is a town and civil parish in Dorset, England. It is on the A30 road, west of Salisbury, Wiltshire, Salisbury and north-northeast of Dorchester, Dorset, Dorchester, near the border with Wiltshire. It is the only significant hi ...

and the Civil War Minutes of the Dorset

Standing Committee A committee or commission is a body of one or more persons subordinate to a deliberative assembly or other form of organization. A committee may not itself be considered to be a form of assembly or a decision-making body. Usually, an assembly o ...

, 1646–50. He wrote ''A Genealogical Account of the Mayo and Elton Families'' originally published as a limited edition of 50 copies in 1882 but enlarged for a new edition in 1908. Mayo supported

women's suffrage Women's suffrage is the women's rights, right of women to Suffrage, vote in elections. Several instances occurred in recent centuries where women were selectively given, then stripped of, the right to vote. In Sweden, conditional women's suffra ...

. He died unmarried in 1929.

Legacy

Mayo's correspondence and research papers are now held by the Dorset History Centre, except for a collection of typewritten notes about the Mayo family held by the

Bodleian Library The Bodleian Library () is the main research library of the University of Oxford. Founded in 1602 by Sir Thomas Bodley, it is one of the oldest libraries in Europe. With over 13 million printed items, it is the second-largest library in ...

, and two volumes of notes about

Bristol Bristol () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city, unitary authority area and ceremonial county in South West England, the most populous city in the region. Built around the River Avon, Bristol, River Avon, it is bordered by t ...

and

Gloucestershire Gloucestershire ( , ; abbreviated Glos.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by Herefordshire to the north-west, Worcestershire to the north, Warwickshire to the north-east, Oxfordshire ...

families held by the Gloucestershire Record Office.

Bibliography

*Charles Herbert Mayo, ''A Genealogical Account of the Mayo and Elton Families of the Counties of Wiltshire and Hereford; with an Appendix Containing Genealogies for the Most Part Not Hitherto Published of Certain Families By Marriage to the Family of Mayo'', (London: Chiswick Press, 1882) *Charles Herbert Mayo, Bibliotheca Dorsetiensis, (Chiswick: C. Whittingham and Co., 1885) *Charles Herbert Mayo, ''The municipal records of the borough of Shaftesbury : a contribution to Shastonian history'', (Sherborne: J.C. & A.T. Sawtell, 1889) *Frederic William Weaver and Charles Herbert Mayo (eds.), ''Somerset and Dorset Notes and Queries'', Volumes 1–16 (Sherborne: J.C. & A.T. Sawtell, 1889–1920) *Charles Herbert Mayo, ''The Registers of Lydlinch, Dorset 1559–1812'' (London: Parish Record Society, 1899) *Charles Herbert Mayo (ed.), ''The minute books of the Dorset Standing Committee 23 September 1646, to 8 May 1650'', (Exeter: William Pollard, 1902) *Charles Herbert Mayo, ''A Plea for Female Suffrage in the Election of a Representative Church Council'', (Sherborne: J. C. and A. T. Sawtell, 1903) *Charles Herbert Mayo, ''A Genealogical Account of the Mayo & Elton Families of Wiltshire and Herefordshire and Some Other Adjoining Counties, Together with Numerous Biographical Sketches'', (London: Chiswick Press, 1908) 2nd edition. *Charles Herbert Mayo (ed.), ''The municipal records of the borough of Dorchester'', (Exeter: William Pollard, 1908) *Charles Herbert Mayo, ''Our Bit'', a record of the Mayo family's contribution to World War I (privately published; a copy resides in the

Bodleian The Bodleian Library () is the main research library of the University of Oxford. Founded in 1602 by Sir Thomas Bodley, it is one of the oldest libraries in Europe. With over 13 million printed items, it is the second-largest library in ...

, complete with handwritten note, and copies remain with present-day descendants as well) *Charles Herbert Mayo, ''The official guide to the Abbey Church of St. Mary the Virgin, Sherborne'', (Sherborne: F.Bennett & Co., 1925) *Charles Herbert Mayo, ''A historic guide to the almshouse of St. John Baptist and St. John the Evangelist, Sherborne'', (Oxford: University Press, 1926)

Notes

External links

"Charles Herbert Mayo, Dorset Editor of SDNQ"
on the SDNQ website {{DEFAULTSORT:Mayo, Charles Herbert English antiquarians 19th-century English Anglican priests 20th-century English Anglican priests English non-fiction writers Alumni of Lincoln College, Oxford People from North Dorset District 1845 births 1929 deaths English male non-fiction writers