William James Hutchinson (1732–1814) was an English lawyer, antiquary and topographer.

Life

By 1760 Hutchinson was established as a solicitor in

Barnard Castle Barnard Castle (, ) is a market town on the north bank of the River Tees, in County Durham, Northern England. The town is named after and built around a medieval castle ruin. The town's Bowes Museum's has an 18th-century Silver Swan automato ...

County Durham County Durham ( ), officially simply Durham,UK General Acts 1997 c. 23Lieutenancies Act 1997 Schedule 1(3). From legislation.gov.uk, retrieved 6 April 2022. is a ceremonial county in North East England.North East Assembly �About North East E ...

. He was elected

Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries A fellow is a concept whose exact meaning depends on context. In learned or professional societies, it refers to a privileged member who is specially elected in recognition of their work and achievements. Within the context of higher educatio ...

on 15 February 1781, and communicated in November 1788 an 'Account of Antiquities in Lancashire' (''Archæologia'', ix. 211-18). Hutchinson died on 7 April 1814, having survived his wife only two or three days. He left three daughters and a son.

Works

In all his undertakings Hutchinson received assistance from George Allan. In 1785 he published the first volume of his ''History and Antiquities of the County Palatine of Durham'', Newcastle, founded on Allan's manuscript collections; the second volume appeared in 1787, and the third in 1794. His work was carried on while he was prosecuting a lawsuit with the publisher; being unable to find purchasers for the thousand copies which he printed, he disposed of four hundred to John Nichols. Another revised edition was issued at Durham in 1823 in 3 vols. Portrait of George Allan Esqr

Hutchinson's other topographical works are: * ''An Excursion to the Lakes in Westmoreland and Cumberland, August 1773'' non. 1774. * ''An Excursion to the Lakes in Westmoreland and Cumberland, with a Tour through part of the Northern Counties in 1773 and 1774'', London, 1776. * ''A View of Northumberland, with an Excursion to the Abbey of Mailross in Scotland'', 2 vols. * Newcastle, 1776-8. * 2 vols. He also edited anonymously Thomas Randal's ''State of the Churches under the Archdeaconry of Northumberland, and in Hexham Peculiar Jurisdiction'' (1779?). In 1788 he composed a tragedy called ''Pygmalion, King of Tyre'', and soon afterwards another named ''The Tyrant of Orixa''. Both plays were submitted to

Thomas Harris William Thomas Harris III (born 1940/1941) is an American writer, best known for a series of suspense novels about his most famous character, Hannibal Lecter. The majority of his works have been adapted into films and television, the most notab ...

, the manager of Covent Garden, but neither was acted or printed. A third play written by him, entitled ''The Princess of Zanfara'', after being rejected by Harris, was printed anonymously in 1792, and frequently performed at provincial theatres. His other writings are: *''The Hermitage; a British Story'', 1772. *''The Doubtful Marriage; a Narrative drawn from Characters in Real Life'', 3 vols. 1775 (another edit., 1792). *''The Spirit of Masonry, in Moral and Elucidatory Lectures'', London, 1775 (other edits., 1796, 1802, and 1843, with notes by George Oliver). *''A Week in a Cottage; a Pastoral Tale'', 1776. *A ''Romance'' after the manner of ''

The Castle of Otranto ''The Castle of Otranto'' is a novel by Horace Walpole. First published in 1764, it is generally regarded as the first gothic novel. In the second edition, Walpole applied the word 'Gothic' to the novel in the subtitle – ''A Gothic Story''. Se ...

''. *''An Oration at the Dedication of Free Mason's Hall in Sunderland on the 16th July 1778''. In 1776 Hutchinson edited a volume of ''Poetical Remains'' by his brother Robert, who had died in November 1773. It was printed at George Allan's private press at

Darlington Darlington is a market town in the Borough of Darlington, County Durham, England. The River Skerne flows through the town; it is a tributary of the River Tees. The Tees itself flows south of the town. In the 19th century, Darlington underw ...

, which also put out many of Hutchinson's ''Addresses'' to his subscribers. He left in manuscript ''The Pilgrim of the Valley of Hecass; a Tale'', and a volume of Letters addressed to the Minister, 1798, by, "Freeholder North of Trent". He had also prepared a copy of his ''History of Durham'', corrected for a second edition, and a ''Poetical Sketch'' of his own life.

Freemasonry

He was initiated into Freemasonry on 4 June 1770 where he eventually became the Worshipful Master of Barnard Castle Lodge of Concord. He was also founding Master of Lodge No. 461 in Raby. His book, the Spirit of Masonry (1775), gained him the title of "father of masonic symbolism". The book received the sanction of the Grand Lodge of England and went through nine editions during his lifetime.

References

* ;Attribution

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Hutchinson, William 1732 births 1814 deaths English lawyers English antiquarians People from Barnard Castle