Jabez Allies (22 October 1787 – 29 January 1856) was an English folklorist and antiquarian. He was one of the earliest writers on

folklore Folklore is shared by a particular group of people; it encompasses the traditions common to that culture, subculture or group. This includes oral traditions such as tales, legends, proverbs and jokes. They include material culture, ranging ...

Life

Allies was the second son of Mr. William Allies, and was born in 1787 at Lulsley,

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 ...

, where his family had resided for generations. In early youth he was deeply impressed by the lingering relics of

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 lette ...

and Saxon days and by the pastoral life that characterised his native place. He served a

clerk A clerk is a white-collar worker who conducts general office tasks, or a worker who performs similar sales-related tasks in a retail environment. The responsibilities of clerical workers commonly include record keeping, filing, staffing service ...

ship in London, and practiced there for some years as a solicitor. Numerous papers of his were read to the

Society of Antiquaries of London A society is a group of individuals involved in persistent social interaction, or a large social group sharing the same spatial or social territory, typically subject to the same political authority and dominant cultural expectations. Soci ...

, of which he was elected a fellow about 1840, and at the meetings of the

Royal Archaeological Institute The Royal Archaeological Institute (RAI) is a learned society, established in 1844, with interests in all aspects of the archaeological, architectural and landscape history of the British Isles. Membership is open to all with an interest in these ...

. He showed there much aptness for antiquarian discovery, and threw light upon vestiges of Roman occupation in his native county which Nash and other historians had regarded as unidentified. Marrying Catherine, daughter of William Hartshorne, Esq., of Clipstone, Northamptonshire, by whom he had an only child, William Hartshorne Allies (who succeeded him), he quitted London, and resided for some years at Catherine Villa, in

Lower Wick Lower Wick is a small hamlet located in the county of Gloucestershire, England. It is situated about five miles south west of Dursley, eighteen miles southwest of Gloucester and fifteen miles northeast of Bristol. Lower Wick is within the civil ...

, now part of

Worcester Worcester may refer to: Places United Kingdom * Worcester, England, a city and the county town of Worcestershire in England ** Worcester (UK Parliament constituency), an area represented by a Member of Parliament * Worcester Park, London, Engla ...

,Wardle, Terry ''Heroes & Villains of Worcestershire'' 2010 The History Press, Stroud, Gloucestershire. p11 taking part in all reunions and movements connected with Worcestershire and its history. He died in 1856 at Tivoli House, Cheltenham, which he had purchased a few years before, and was buried in

Leckhampton Leckhampton is a Gloucestershire village and a district in south Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, England. The area is in the civil parish of Leckhampton with Warden Hill and is part of the district of Cheltenham. The population of the civil pari ...

churchyard by the side of his wife, who had previously died on 28 May 1855, aged 74.

Bibliography

* (1835) *''On the Causes of Planetary Motion'' (1838) *''On the Ancient British, Roman, and Saxon Antiquities of Worcestershire'' (1840) *''The Jovial Hunter of Bromsgrove. Horne the Hunter, and Robin Hood'' (1845) * (1846) * (1852) This was a much extended edition of the 1840 publication. Besides papers in the ''

Archæological Journal ''The Archaeological Journal'' is a peer-reviewed academic journal for archaeological and architectural reports and articles. It was established in 1844 by the British Archaeological Association as a quarterly journal, but was taken over by the B ...

'', he wrote many interesting letters on his favourite subjects in the '' Literary Gazette'', 1845, et seq., and other magazines.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Allies, Jabez 1787 births 1856 deaths 18th-century English people English antiquarians English folklorists English solicitors Fellows of the Society of Antiquaries of London People from Worcestershire (before 1974) 19th-century English lawyers