Jabez Allies (22 October 1787 – 29 January 1856) was an English

folklorist Folklore studies (also known as folkloristics, tradition studies or folk life studies in the UK) is the academic discipline devoted to the study of folklore. This term, along with its synonyms, gained currency in the 1950s to distinguish the ac ...

and

antiquarian An antiquarian or antiquary () is an 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 artefacts, archaeological and historic si ...

. He was one of the earliest writers on

folklore Folklore is the body of expressive culture shared by a particular group of people, culture or subculture. This includes oral traditions such as Narrative, tales, myths, legends, proverbs, Poetry, poems, jokes, and other oral traditions. This also ...

Life

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

Worcestershire Worcestershire ( , ; written abbreviation: Worcs) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the West Midlands (region), West Midlands of England. It is bordered by Shropshire, Staffordshire, and the West Midlands (county), West ...

, 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 Roman civilization *Epistle to the Romans, shortened to Romans, a letter w ...

and

Saxon The Saxons, sometimes called the Old Saxons or Continental Saxons, were a Germanic people of early medieval "Old" Saxony () which became a Carolingian " stem duchy" in 804, in what is now northern Germany. Many of their neighbours were, like th ...

days and by the

pastoral The pastoral genre of literature, art, or music depicts an idealised form of the shepherd's lifestyle – herding livestock around open areas of land according to the seasons and the changing availability of water and pasture. The target au ...

life that characterised his native place. He served a

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

ship in London, and practiced there for some years as a

solicitor A solicitor is a lawyer who traditionally deals with most of the legal matters in some jurisdictions. A person must have legally defined qualifications, which vary from one jurisdiction to another, to be described as a solicitor and enabled to p ...

. Numerous papers of his were read to the

Society of Antiquaries of London The Society of Antiquaries of London (SAL) is a learned society of historians and archaeologists in the United Kingdom. It was founded in 1707, received its royal charter in 1751 and is a Charitable organization, registered charity. It is based ...

, of which he was elected a fellow about 1840, and at the meetings of the Royal Archaeological Institute. 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, Engl ...

,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 Cheltenham () is a historic spa town and borough adjacent to the Cotswolds in Gloucestershire, England. Cheltenham became known as a health and holiday spa town resort following the discovery of mineral springs in 1716, and claims to be the mo ...

, which he had purchased a few years before, and was buried in

Leckhampton Leckhampton is a 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 parish taken at the Un ...

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'', 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 writers English antiquarians English folklorists English solicitors Fellows of the Society of Antiquaries of London People from Worcestershire (before 1974) 19th-century English lawyers