Daniel Lysons (1762–1834), Topographer and Rector of Rodmarton

Daniel Lysons (1762–1834) was an English antiquarian and

topographer Topography is the study of the forms and features of land surfaces. The topography of an area may refer to the land forms and features themselves, or a description or depiction in maps. Topography is a field of geoscience and planetary sc ...

, who published, amongst other works, the four-volume ''Environs of London'' (1792–96). He collaborated on several works with his antiquarian younger brother Samuel Lysons (1763–1819).

Life

The son of the Reverend Samuel Lysons (1730–1804) and Mary Peach Lysons of

Rodmarton Rodmarton is a village and civil parish in Gloucestershire. History Evidence of a Roman settlement has been found at Rodmarton. Through the parish runs a Roman trackway from Cirencester and Chavenage Green, adjacent to which is a long barrow ...

Gloucestershire Gloucestershire ( abbreviated Glos) is a county in South West England. The county comprises part of the Cotswold Hills, part of the flat fertile valley of the River Severn and the entire Forest of Dean. The county town is the city of Gl ...

, Lysons studied at Bath Grammar School and St Mary Hall,

Oxford Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...

, graduating MA in 1785, and followed in his father's footsteps to become a curate in

Putney Putney () is a district of southwest London, England, in the London Borough of Wandsworth, southwest of Charing Cross. The area is identified in the London Plan as one of 35 major centres in Greater London. History Putney is an ancient paris ...

, west

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

from 1789 to 1800. While at Putney, Lysons began his survey of the area around London, in which he was encouraged by Horace Walpole, who appointed him as his chaplain. In 1800, he inherited the family estates at

Hempsted Hempsted is a suburban village and former civil parish, now in the unparished area of Gloucester, in the Gloucester district, in the county of Gloucestershire, England. In 1961 the parish had a population of 508. History An ancient area of Glo ...

, near Gloucester, from his uncle Daniel Lysons (1727–1800), and the following year married Sarah Hardy (c.1780–1808), with whom he had a son, Samuel. In 1813, he married Josepha Catherine Susanna Cooper (c.1781–1868). His daughter went on to marry Sir James Carnegie, 5th Baronet (1799–1849).

Works

Lysons's major work is ''The Environs of London, being an Historical Account of the Towns, Villages and Hamlets within twelve miles of that Capital''. With his brother Samuel, Lysons began ''

Magna Britannia ''Magna Britannia, being a concise topographical account of the several counties of Great Britain'' was a topographical and historical survey published by the antiquarians Daniel Lysons and his brother Samuel Lysons in several volumes between 18 ...

, being a concise Topographical Account of the several Counties of Great Britain'' (1806–1822), but after the first six volumes, covering the counties from B to D, Samuel died and the project was discontinued. Daniel Lysons also contributed views and illustrations to other works and published several pamphlets on religious and historical subjects.

References

External links

*Lyson'
The Environs of London: volume 1 to 4
at British History Online 1762 births 1834 deaths People from Gloucester English antiquarians 18th-century antiquarians 19th-century antiquarians 18th-century English writers 18th-century English male writers 19th-century English writers Historians of Devon Alumni of St Mary Hall, Oxford Fellows of the Royal Society Daniel {{England-historian-stub