Josiah Cottin (1771–1843) was an English army officer. He is now remembered for his association with a notorious

courtesan A courtesan is a prostitute with a courtly, wealthy, or upper-class clientele. Historically, the term referred to a courtier, a person who attended the court of a monarch or other powerful person. History In European feudal society, the co ...

, who assumed the name Julia Johnstone.

Life

He was the son of Alexander Cottin (died 1794) of

Hertfordshire Hertfordshire ( or ; often abbreviated Herts) is a ceremonial county in the East of England and one of the home counties. It borders Bedfordshire to the north-west, Cambridgeshire to the north-east, Essex to the east, Greater London to the ...

; his sister Mary Ann married George Thackeray. Alexander Cottin was baptised in 1745 at

St Antholin, Budge Row St Antholin, Budge Row, or St Antholin, Watling Street, was a church in the City of London. Of medieval origin, it was rebuilt to the designs of Sir Christopher Wren, following its destruction in the Great Fire of London in 1666. The 17th-centur ...

, and was from a

Huguenot The Huguenots ( , ; ) are a Religious denomination, religious group of French people, French Protestants who held to the Reformed (Calvinist) tradition of Protestantism. The term, which may be derived from the name of a Swiss political leader, ...

family, the son of Josiah and Jane Cottin; he married first Anne Chapman, who was Josiah's mother. Cottin studied at

Daventry Academy Daventry Academy was a dissenting academy, that is, a school or college set up by English Dissenters. It moved to many locations, but was most associated with Daventry, where its most famous pupil was Joseph Priestley. It had a high reputation, ...

from 1783. He then served in the

10th Light Dragoons The 10th Royal Hussars (Prince of Wales's Own) was a cavalry regiment of the British Army raised in 1715. It saw service for three centuries including the First World War and Second World War but then amalgamated with the 11th Hussars (Prince ...

. Jane, widow of Josiah Cottin the elder, died in 1792 leaving £3,000 for Josiah Cottin the younger, her grandson. It was in trust, but allowed for "his advancement in the army". Cottin became Colonel of the 10th Light Dragoons. He died in March 1843, at

Hampton Court Palace Hampton Court Palace is a Listed building, Grade I listed royal palace in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames, southwest and upstream of central London on the River Thames. Opened to the public, the palace is managed by Historic Royal ...

Family

Cottin married Lavinia, daughter of William Chambers, in 1792. Their daughter Georgina Maria, god daughter to the

Prince of Wales Prince of Wales (, ; ) is a title traditionally given to the male heir apparent to the History of the English monarchy, English, and later, the British throne. The title originated with the Welsh rulers of Kingdom of Gwynedd, Gwynedd who, from ...

, married in 1810 Sir John Fleming Leicester, 5th Baronet. Georgiana Maria Leicester Lawrence

The other children were Adolphus (later Adolphus Murray), Elizabeth, and Anna Eliza Catherine, her father's heiress.

Hampton Court Palace and relationship with "Julia Johnstone"

''The Confessions of Julia Johnstone'' was published in 1825. Publisher

John Joseph Stockdale John Joseph Stockdale (1770, 1776Stockdale (1990) ''p.''30 or 1777 – 16 February 1847) was an English publisher and editor with something of a reputation as a pornographer. He sought to blackmail a number of public figures over the ''memoirs' ...

was of the opinion that there was a

ghostwriter A ghostwriter is a person hired to write literary or journalistic works, speeches, or other texts that are credited to another person as the author. Celebrities, executives, participants in timely news stories, and political leaders often h ...

, Jack Mitford. Mitford had been discharged from the navy a decade earlier, and was by this time an alcoholic. Julia Johnstone was the assumed name of Julia Storer (born 1777). She was connected to the court, but became a courtesan. She claimed an early relationship with the young George "Beau" Brummell, from around 1794. Her parents were Thomas James Storer (1747–1792) (as John James in Kelly), and his wife Elizabeth Proby, daughter of

John Proby, 1st Baron Carysfort John Proby, 1st Baron Carysfort KB PC (25 November 1720 – 18 October 1772) was a British Whig politician. Life He was the son of John Proby, of Elton Hall, Huntingdonshire, and his wife Jane, daughter of John Leveson-Gower, 1st Baron Go ...

, and maid-of-honour to

Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz (Sophia Charlotte; 19 May 1744 – 17 November 1818) was List of British royal consorts, Queen of Great Britain and Ireland as the wife of King George III from their marriage on 8 September 1761 until her ...

, the Queen. The Brummells and Storers both had

grace and favour A grace-and-favour home is a residential property owned by a monarch, government, or other owner and leased rent-free to a person as part of the perquisites of their employment, or in gratitude for services rendered. Usage of the term is chief ...

apartments in

, William Brummell being private secretary to

Lord North Frederick North, 2nd Earl of Guilford (13 April 17325 August 1792), better known by his courtesy title Lord North, which he used from 1752 to 1790, was Prime Minister of Great Britain from 1770 to 1782. He led Great Britain through most of the ...

. According to a

Sotheby's Sotheby's ( ) is a British-founded multinational corporation with headquarters in New York City. It is one of the world's largest brokers of fine art, fine and decorative art, jewellery, and collectibles. It has 80 locations in 40 countries, an ...

catalogue note, "Whilst Julia was staying with the Cottin family as a lady's companion, she became the mistress of Colonel Josiah Cottin ..and assumed the false name 'Mrs Johnstone'". The miniature painter William Wood made a pair of paintings of the couple, in 1800. Colonel and Mrs Cottin (Lavinia) had a Hampton Court apartment (Apartment 2, Suite XXI) from 1797; while George Brummell was brought up in Apartment 10, Suite XVIII with his father, who died in 1794. The "Hon. Mrs. Storer" had Apartment 7, Suite XIX from 1782 to the end of her life. (The reference only identifies her by the courtesy title, and tentatively suggests a later marriage to Francis Willis, which would have been in 1804.) There are inconsistencies in versions of the affair, particularly in the record for apartments in the Palace, taking Josiah Cottin to be the "Colonel Cotton" of the 10th Light Dragoons of the ''Confessions''; and with the timeline authors give for the seduction of Julia Storer by Cottin. If that seduction occurred around her 16th birthday, namely in 1793, it would not have been in the apartment granted to the Cottins in 1797. As Kelly notes, there is an independent account given of the affair by

Harriette Wilson Harriette Wilson (2 February 1786 – 10 March 1845) was an English courtesan and writer. The author of ''The Memoirs of Harriette Wilson: Written by Herself'' (1825), she was a famed Regency era courtesan who became the mistress of the Earl of ...

, initially a friend of Julia, and later putatively an enemy, the ''Confessions'' appearing later than Wilson's ''Memoirs'' of 1820, with the full title appending ''In contradiction to the fables of Harriette Wilson''. Some of Wilson's affair with the Member of Parliament Richard Meyler, to 1816, took place at Storer's home. Julia Storer became pregnant, causing a court scandal. She had one brother, Anthony Gilbert Storer (1782–1818). According to the account in Kelly, "Colonel Cotton" was the father, and Anthony challenged him to a duel. Julia was banished by her family. Cotton, who had a large family with Lavinia, set Julia up in

Primrose Hill Primrose Hill is a Grade II listed public park located north of Regent's Park in London, England, first opened to the public in 1842.Mills, A., ''Dictionary of London Place Names'', (2001) It was named after the natural hill in the centre of t ...

, and had five more children with her, being known as "Mr Johnstone" in the second family. He eventually left Julia, who moved in with Harriette Wilson. She took up again with Beau Brummell around 10 years after he had been the boy next door.

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cottin, Josiah 10th Royal Hussars officers 1771 births 1843 deaths Military personnel from Hertfordshire 18th-century British Army personnel Huguenots