John Flaxman - The Reverend Anthony Stephen Mathew - Google Art Project

Anthony Stephen Mathew (1734–1824) was a cleric the

Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the State religion#State churches, established List of Christian denominations, Christian church in England and the Crown Dependencies. It is the mother church of the Anglicanism, Anglican Christian tradition, ...

. He and his wife Harriet Mathew are most notable for their friendship and support of

John Flaxman John Flaxman (6 July 1755 – 7 December 1826) was a British sculptor and draughtsman, and a leading figure in British and European Neoclassicism. Early in his career, he worked as a modeller for Josiah Wedgwood's pottery. He spent several yea ...

and

William Blake William Blake (28 November 1757 – 12 August 1827) was an English poet, painter, and printmaker. Largely unrecognised during his life, Blake has become a seminal figure in the history of the Romantic poetry, poetry and visual art of the Roma ...

and their gathering of intellectuals and artists salon in their house at

Rathbone Place Rathbone Place is a street in central London that runs roughly north-west from Oxford Street to Percy Street. it is joined on its eastern side by Percy Mews, Gresse Street, and Evelyn Yard. The street is mainly occupied by retail and office pre ...

. Importantly, he was one of the original supporters of Blake's first collection of work ''

Poetical Sketches ''Poetical Sketches'' is the first collection of poetry and prose by William Blake, written between 1769 and 1777. Forty copies were printed in 1783 with the help of Blake's friends, the artist John Flaxman and the Reverend Anthony Stephen Mat ...

'' (1783). Blake later satirised the Mathews, and the Johnson Circle, in the collection ''

An Island in the Moon ''An Island in the Moon'' is the name generally assigned to an untitled, unfinished prose satire by William Blake, written in late 1784. Containing early versions of three poems later included in ''Songs of Innocence and of Experience, Songs of ...

''.

Career

At the age of 17, Mathew entered the college

Peterhouse Peterhouse is the oldest Colleges of the University of Cambridge, constituent college of the University of Cambridge in England, founded in 1284 by Hugh de Balsham, Bishop of Ely. Peterhouse has around 300 undergraduate and 175 graduate stud ...

Cambridge University The University of Cambridge is a Public university, public collegiate university, collegiate research university in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1209, the University of Cambridge is the List of oldest universities in continuous operation, wo ...

, subsequently entering the Church of England. Anthony Stephen Mathew was the first incumbent of Percy Chapel, Charlotte Street, London starting in 1766 through 1804. He was succeeded by Thomas Beaseley. Throughout his career in the church, he was rector of

Glooston Glooston is a small village and civil parish in the Harborough district of Leicestershire, England. According to the 2001 census the parish had a population of 54, increasing to 147 (including Cranoe and Stonton Wyville) at the 2011 census. ...

, Leicestershire from 1781 and the

Duke of Buccleuch Duke of Buccleuch ( ), formerly also spelt Duke of Buccleugh, is a title in the Peerage of Scotland created twice on 20 April 1663, first for James Scott, 1st Duke of Monmouth, and second ''suo jure'' for his wife Anne Scott, 4th Countess of ...

gave him the rectorship of

Broughton, Northamptonshire Broughton is a large village and civil parish in North Northamptonshire, England. The village is around south-west of Kettering and is bypassed by the A43 road. At the 2011 census, the population of the parish was 2,208. The village's name i ...

in 1790 which he held until he died. While in London, he was also a joint lecturer at St. Martin-in-the-Fields, London.

Issue

*Henry William Mathew

Career

Issue

References

Further reading