John Pridden (3 January 1758–5 April 1825) was an English cleric and antiquary.

Life

The eldest son of John Pridden, a bookseller of

Ludgate Hill Ludgate Hill is a street and surrounding area, on a small hill in the City of London, England. The street passes through the former site of Ludgate, a city gate that was demolished – along with a gaol attached to it – in 1760. Th ...

and friend of Joseph Brasbridge, by his wife Anne, daughter of Humphrey Gregory of

Whitchurch, Shropshire Whitchurch is a market town in the north of Shropshire, England. It lies east of the Wales, Welsh border, 2 miles south of the Cheshire border, north of the county town of Shrewsbury, south of Chester, and east of Wrexham. At the 2021 Unit ...

, he was born in London on 3 January 1758. He entered

St Paul's School, London St Paul's School is a Selective school, selective Private schools in the United Kingdom, independent day school (with limited boarding school, boarding) for boys aged 13–18, founded in 1509 by John Colet and located on a 43-acre site by Rive ...

on 3 August 1764, aged 7, and went on 15 April 1777 to

The Queen's College, Oxford The Queen's College is a constituent college of the University of Oxford, England. The college was founded in 1341 by Robert de Eglesfield in honour of Philippa of Hainault, queen of England. It is distinguished by its predominantly neoclassi ...

. He graduated B.A. in 1781, and was ordained soon after, and was incorporated M.A. at St. John's College, Cambridge. Pridden was successively afternoon lecturer at Tavistock Chapel, London (1782), minor canon of

St Paul's Cathedral St Paul's Cathedral, formally the Cathedral Church of St Paul the Apostle, is an Anglican cathedral in London, England, the seat of the Bishop of London. The cathedral serves as the mother church of the Diocese of London in the Church of Engl ...

(November 1782), and vicar of Heybridge,

Essex Essex ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the East of England, and one of the home counties. It is bordered by Cambridgeshire and Suffolk to the north, the North Sea to the east, Kent across the Thames Estuary to the ...

(July 1783). He was curate (from 1783 to 1803) of St. Bride's, Fleet Street, where the rector was non-resident; vicar of Little Wakering, Essex (1788); chaplain to Earl Powlett (1789); priest in ordinary of his majesty's Chapel Royal (1795); and minor canon of

Westminster Abbey Westminster Abbey, formally titled the Collegiate Church of Saint Peter at Westminster, is an Anglican church in the City of Westminster, London, England. Since 1066, it has been the location of the coronations of 40 English and British m ...

. He was vicar of Caddington,

Bedfordshire Bedfordshire (; abbreviated ''Beds'') is a Ceremonial County, ceremonial county in the East of England. It is bordered by Northamptonshire to the north, Cambridgeshire to the north-east, Hertfordshire to the south and the south-east, and Buckin ...

, from 1797, when he resigned his Essex livings; and finally was rector of the united parishes of St. George, Botolph Lane, and St. Botolph, Bishopsgate. Excursions into architecture resulted in a design for the sea-bathing infirmary at

Margate Margate is a seaside resort, seaside town in the Thanet District of Kent, England. It is located on the north coast of Kent and covers an area of long, north-east of Canterbury and includes Cliftonville, Garlinge, Palm Bay, UK, Palm Bay and W ...

, of which Pridden was joint founder with John Coakley Lettsom, and for many years honorary secretary; a new vicarage at Caddington in 1812, and a plan for joining Snow Hill and Holborn Hill, which he submitted to the Corporation of London. Pridden died on 5 April 1825, aged 67, at his house in

Fleet Street Fleet Street is a street in Central London, England. It runs west to east from Temple Bar, London, Temple Bar at the boundary of the City of London, Cities of London and City of Westminster, Westminster to Ludgate Circus at the site of the Lo ...

, and was buried on 12 April at St Mary's, Islington, beside his first wife.

Works

Pridden was an antiquary and an amateur artist, as well as an architect. He was elected fellow of the

Society of Antiquaries of London The Society of Antiquaries of London (SAL) is a learned society of historians and archaeologists in the United Kingdom. It was founded in 1707, received its royal charter in 1751 and is a Charitable organization, registered charity. It is based ...

in 1785. To the ''Bibliotheca Topographica Britannica'' he contributed ''Appendix to the History of Reculver and Herne'' (1787) and drawings, particularly illustrating the

Leicestershire Leicestershire ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the East Midlands of England. It is bordered by Derbyshire, Nottinghamshire and Lincolnshire to the north, Rutland to the east, Northamptonshire to the south-east, Warw ...

collections of his father-in-law John Nichols. His major antiquarian achievement was the continuation of the index and glossary to the ''Rolls of Parliament'', which had been started by John Strachey. On this he spent thirty years. It was completed by

Edward Upham Edward Upham (1776–1834) was an English bookseller, antiquarian and orientalist. Life The third son of Charles Upham (1739–1807), mayor of Exeter in 1796, he was born at Exeter. He began life as a bookseller there; his brother John carried o ...

, and published in 1832, London.

Family

His first wife, Anne, was daughter of John Nichols. His second wife, also Anne, daughter of Robert Pickwood of London, survived him. He had no issue.

Notes

;Attribution {{DEFAULTSORT:Pridden, John 1758 births 1825 deaths 18th-century English Anglican priests 19th-century English Anglican priests English antiquarians Fellows of the Society of Antiquaries of London People educated at St Paul's School, London Alumni of the Queen's College, Oxford Alumni of St John's College, Cambridge