Thomas Wright (23 April 181023 December 1877) was an English

antiquarian An antiquarian or antiquary () is an fan (person), 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 artifact (archaeology), artifac ...

and writer.

Life

Wright was born near

Ludlow Ludlow () is a market town in Shropshire, England. The town is significant in the history of the Welsh Marches and in relation to Wales. It is located south of Shrewsbury and north of Hereford, on the A49 road which bypasses the town. The ...

Tenbury Wells Tenbury Wells (locally Tenbury) is a market town and civil parish in the northwestern extremity of the Malvern Hills District of Worcestershire, England. Its northern border adjoins Shropshire, and at the 2011 census it had a population of ...

Worcestershire Worcestershire ( , ; written abbreviation: Worcs) is a county in the West Midlands of England. The area that is now Worcestershire was absorbed into the unified Kingdom of England in 927, at which time it was constituted as a county (see H ...

descended from a

Quaker Quakers are people who belong to a historically Protestant Christian set of denominations known formally as the Religious Society of Friends. Members of these movements ("theFriends") are generally united by a belief in each human's abili ...

family formerly living at

Bradford Bradford is a city and the administrative centre of the City of Bradford district in West Yorkshire, England. The city is in the Pennines' eastern foothills on the banks of the Bradford Beck. Bradford had a population of 349,561 at the 2011 ...

. He was educated at

Ludlow Grammar School Ludlow () is a market town in Shropshire, England. The town is significant in the history of the Welsh Marches and in relation to Wales. It is located south of Shrewsbury and north of Hereford, on the A49 road (Great Britain), A49 road which ...

and at

Trinity College, Cambridge Trinity College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Founded in 1546 by King Henry VIII, Trinity is one of the largest Cambridge colleges, with the largest financial endowment of any college at either Cambridge or Oxford. ...

, whence he graduated in 1834. While at Cambridge he contributed to the ''

Gentleman's Magazine ''The Gentleman's Magazine'' was a monthly magazine founded in London, England, by Edward Cave in January 1731. It ran uninterrupted for almost 200 years, until 1922. It was the first to use the term '' magazine'' (from the French ''magazine' ...

'' and other periodicals, and in 1835 he came to London to devote himself to a literary career. His first separate work was ''Early English Poetry in Black Letter, with Prefaces and Notes'' (1836, 4 vols. 12mo), which was followed during the next forty years by an extensive series of publications, many of lasting value. He helped to found the

British Archaeological Association The British Archaeological Association (BAA) was founded in 1843 and aims to inspire, support and disseminate high quality research in the fields of Western archaeology, art and architecture, primarily of the mediaeval period, through lectures, co ...

and the

Percy The English surname Percy is of Norman origin, coming from Normandy to England, United Kingdom. It was from the House of Percy, Norman lords of Northumberland, derives from the village of Percy-en-Auge in Normandy. From there, it came into use ...

, Camden and Shakespeare Societies. In 1842 he was elected corresponding member of the

Académie des Inscriptions et Belles Lettres An academy (Attic Greek: Ἀκαδήμεια; Koine Greek Ἀκαδημία) is an institution of secondary or tertiary higher learning (and generally also research or honorary membership). The name traces back to Plato's school of philosophy, f ...

of Paris, and was a fellow of the Society of Antiquaries as well as member of many other learned British and foreign bodies. In 1859 he superintended the excavations of the

Roman Roman or Romans most often refers to: * Rome, the capital city of Italy * Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *''Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lett ...

town of Viroconium Cornoviorum (

Wroxeter Wroxeter is a village in Shropshire, England, which forms part of the civil parish of Wroxeter and Uppington, beside the River Severn, south-east of Shrewsbury. '' Viroconium Cornoviorum'', the fourth largest city in Roman Britain, was site ...

), near

Shrewsbury Shrewsbury ( , also ) is a market town, civil parish, and the county town of Shropshire, England, on the River Severn, north-west of London; at the 2021 census, it had a population of 76,782. The town's name can be pronounced as either 'Sh ...

, and issued a report. A portrait of him is in the ''Drawing Room Portrait Gallery'' for 1 October 1859. He was a noted scholar, but will be chiefly remembered as an industrious antiquary and the editor of many relics of the

Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire ...

. English priest and historical writer,

Thomas Edward Bridgett Thomas Edward Bridgett (20 January 182917 February 1899) was an English Catholic priest, missionary preacher and historical writer. Life He was the third son of Joseph Bridgett, a silk manufacturer of Colney Hatch, and his wife Mary (born Gregson ...

observed, "It is only when he has to speak of the Catholic church that he is bitter and unfair." He died in his 67th year at

Chelsea Chelsea or Chelsey may refer to: Places Australia * Chelsea, Victoria Canada * Chelsea, Nova Scotia * Chelsea, Quebec United Kingdom * Chelsea, London, an area of London, bounded to the south by the River Thames ** Chelsea (UK Parliament consti ...

, Surrey, and was buried in

Brompton Cemetery Brompton Cemetery (originally the West of London and Westminster Cemetery) is a London cemetery, managed by The Royal Parks, in West Brompton in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea. It is one of the Magnificent Seven cemeteries. Establ ...

Selected works

* ''Queen Elizabeth and her Times, a Series of Original Letters'' (1838, 2 vols.) * ''Reliquiae antiquae'' (1839–1843, again 1845, 2 vols.), edited with Mr JO Halliwell-Phillipps * W. Mapes's ''Latin Poems'' (1841, 4to, Camden Society) * ''Political Ballads and Carols'', published by the Percy Society (1841) * ''Popular Treatises on Science'' (1841) * ''History of Ludlow'' (1841, etc.; again 1852) * ''Collection of Latin Stories'' (1842, Percy Society) * ''The Vision and Creed of Piers Ploughman'' (1842, 2 vols.; 2nd ed., 1855) * ''Biographia literaria, vol. i. Anglo-Saxon Period'' (1842), ''vol. ii. Anglo-Norman Period'' (1846) * ''The Chester Plays'' (1843–1847, 2 vols., Shakespeare Society) * ''St Patrick's Purgatory'' (1844) * ''Anecdota literaria'' (1844)
''Archaeological Album''
(1845,410) * ''Essays connected with England in the Middle Ages'' (1846, 2 vols.) * ''

Chaucer Geoffrey Chaucer (; – 25 October 1400) was an English poet, author, and civil servant best known for '' The Canterbury Tales''. He has been called the "father of English literature", or, alternatively, the "father of English poetry". He w ...

's Canterbury Tales'' (1847–1851, Percy Society), a new text with notes, reprinted in 1 vol. (1853 and 1867) * ''Early Travels in Palestine'' (1848, Bohn's Antiq. Lib.

* ''England under the House of Hanover'' (1848, 2 vols., several editions, reproduced in 1868 as ''Caricature History of the Georges'') * ''Mapes, De nugis curialium'' (1850, 4to, Camden Society) * ''

Geoffrey Gaimar Geoffrey Gaimar (fl. 1130s), also written Geffrei or Geoffroy, was an Anglo-Norman chronicler. His contribution to medieval literature and history was as a translator from Old English to Anglo-Norman. His ''L'Estoire des Engleis'', or ''History o ...

's Metrical Chronicle'' (1850, Caxton Society) * ''Narratives of Sorcery and Magic'' (1851, 2 vols.)
''The Celt, the Roman and the Saxon''
(1852; 4th ed., 1885)
''Wanderings of an Antiquary; Chiefly upon the Traces of the Romans in Britain''
(1854)
''History of Fulke Fitz Warine''
(1855); * ''de Garlandia, De triumphis ecclesiae'' (1856, 4to,

Roxburghe Club The Roxburghe Club is a bibliophilic and publishing society based in the United Kingdom. Origins The spur to the Club's foundation was the sale of the enormous library of the Duke of Roxburghe (who had died in 1804), which took place over 46 da ...

)
''Dictionary of Obsolete and Provincial English''
(1857)
''A Volume of Vocabularies''
(1857; 2nd ed., by RP Wülcker, 1884, 2 vols.) * '' Les Cent Nouvelles Nouvelles'' (Paris, 1858, 2 vols.) * ''Malory's History of King Arthur'' (1858, 2 vols., revised 1865) * ''Political Poems and Songs from Edward III to Richard III'' (1859–1861, 2 vols; "Rolls" series) * ''Songs and Ballads of the Reign of Philip and Mary'' (1860, 4to, Roxburghe Club)
''Essays on Archaeological Subjects''
(1861, 2 vols.)
''The History of Domestic Manners and Sentiments in England in the Middle Ages''
(1862, 410, reproduced in 1871 as ''The Homes of other Days'') *
The Roll of Arms of the Princes, Barons, and Knights who Attended King Edward I to the Siege of Caerlaverock, in 1300
' (1864, 4to) * ''Autobiography of Thomas Wright'' (1736–1797), his grandfather (1864)
''History of Caricature''
(1865, 4to) * ''On the Worship of the Generative Powers during the Middle Ages of Western Europe '' (1865) (Attributed) Appended to the 1865 reprint of Sir Richard Payne Knight's ''An account of the remains of the worship of Priapus''
Scanned facsimile available on Internet Archive

(1869, 4to) * ''Anglo-Latin Satirical Poets of 12th Century'' (1872, 2 vols.,

Rolls Series ''The Chronicles and Memorials of Great Britain and Ireland during the Middle Ages'' ( la, Rerum Britannicarum medii aevi scriptores), widely known as the is a major collection of British and Irish historical materials and primary sources publish ...

Notes

References

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External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Wright, Thomas English antiquarians English non-fiction writers Fellows of the Ethnological Society of London Writers from Ludlow 1810 births 1877 deaths Alumni of Trinity College, Cambridge 19th-century antiquarians Burials at Brompton Cemetery English male non-fiction writers 19th-century English male writers