Henry Gally Knight, F.R.S. (2 December 1786 – 9 February 1846) was a British politician, traveller and writer.

Biography

Knight was the only son of Henry Gally (afterwards Gally Knight), barrister, of

Langold Langold is a village in the civil parish of Hodsock, in the Bassetlaw district, north Nottinghamshire, England. At the 2011 census it was defined as a ward of Bassetlaw Council with a population of 2,472. It was built to provide housing for the ...

, and was educated at Eton and

Trinity Hall, Cambridge Trinity Hall (formally The College or Hall of the Holy Trinity in the University of Cambridge) is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. It is the fifth-oldest surviving college of the university, having been founded in 1350 by ...

. He succeeded in 1808 to estates at Firbeck and Langold Park which his father had inherited in 1804 from his brother John Gally Knight. Knight was appointed

High Sheriff of Nottinghamshire This is a list of the High Sheriffs of the English county of Nottinghamshire. The High Sheriff is the oldest secular office under the Crown. Formerly the High Sheriff was the principal law enforcement officer in the county but over the centuri ...

for 1814–1815. He also held the office of deputy-lieutenant of Nottinghamshire. He was a Member of Parliament for the constituencies Aldborough (12 Augst 1814 - April 1815), Malton (1831–1832; 31 March 1835 - 9 February 1846), North Nottinghamshire (1835 and in 1837). In parliament he was a fluent but infrequent speaker. He was also a member of the commission for the advancement of the fine arts. Knight was the subject of the 1818 satirical poem "Ballad to the Tune of Salley in our Alley" by

Lord Byron George Gordon Byron, 6th Baron Byron (22 January 1788 – 19 April 1824), known simply as Lord Byron, was an English romantic poet and peer. He was one of the leading figures of the Romantic movement, and has been regarded as among the ...

, in which Byron facetiously accuses him of being not only a poetaster, but a dandy as well. Knight owned Firbeck Hall in

Rotherham Rotherham () is a large minster and market town in South Yorkshire, England. The town takes its name from the River Rother which then merges with the River Don. The River Don then flows through the town centre. It is the main settlement of ...

. Sir

Walter Scott Sir Walter Scott, 1st Baronet (15 August 1771 – 21 September 1832), was a Scottish novelist, poet, playwright and historian. Many of his works remain classics of European and Scottish literature, notably the novels '' Ivanhoe'', '' Rob Roy ...

's novel '' Ivanhoe'' is set nearby, and Knight may have been Scott's source of local information when he was writing the book. He was admitted a

Fellow of the Royal Society Fellowship of the Royal Society (FRS, ForMemRS and HonFRS) is an award granted by the judges of the Royal Society of London to individuals who have made a "substantial contribution to the improvement of natural knowledge, including mathemat ...

on 20 May 1841.

Family

Knight was the nephew of the novelist Frances Jacson. He married Henrietta, the daughter of Anthony Hardolph Eyre of Grove Park, Nottinghamshire and the widow of John Hardolph Eyre. They had no children.

Works

Trinité Caen Nave Architecturaltou00knig 0085

Knight was the author of several Oriental tales, '' Ilderim, a Syrian Tale'' (1816), '' Phrosyne, a Grecian Tale'', and '' Alashtar, an Arabian Tale'' (1817). He was also an authority on architecture, and wrote various works on the subject, including '' Hannibal in Bithynia'', ''An architectural tour in Normandy'' (1836), ''

The Normans in Sicily ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the m ...

'' (1838), and ''

The Ecclesiastical Architecture of Italy ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the m ...

'' (1842-4), described by

Pevsner Pevsner or Pevzner is a Jewish surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Aihud Pevsner (1925–2018), American physicist * Antoine Pevsner (1886–1962), Russian sculptor, brother of Naum Gabo * David Pevsner, American actor, singer, da ...

as a "sumptiously illustrated sequel to ''The Normans in Sicily''". These books brought him more reputation than his fictions.

References

External links

* *
A very brief biography
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gally Knight, Henry 1786 births 1846 deaths People from Rotherham People educated at Eton College Alumni of Trinity Hall, Cambridge Fellows of the Royal Society Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for English constituencies UK MPs 1812–1818 UK MPs 1831–1832 UK MPs 1835–1837 UK MPs 1837–1841 UK MPs 1841–1847 High Sheriffs of Nottinghamshire