Jack "Barty" Bartholomew, (1763–1803Some sources report 1760) was a bare-knuckle boxer born in

Brentford Brentford is a suburban town in West (London sub region), West London, England and part of the London Borough of Hounslow. It lies at the confluence of the River Brent and the River Thames, Thames, west of Charing Cross. Its economy has dive ...

Middlesex Middlesex (; abbreviation: Middx) is a Historic counties of England, former county in South East England, now mainly within Greater London. Its boundaries largely followed three rivers: the River Thames, Thames in the south, the River Lea, Le ...

, England.

Personal life

Little is known about Bartholomew's life except that he was a market gardener. The primary sources for Bartholomew are Pierce Egan's 'Boxiana' and Henry Downes Miles 'Pugilistica'.

Relevant fights

Bartholomew defeated Tom Owen on 22 August 1797. The bout lasted thirty minutes and took place at

Moulsey Hurst Moulsey Hurst is in West Molesey, Surrey on the south bank of the River Thames above Molesey Lock. It is one of England's oldest sporting venues and was used in the 18th and 19th centuries for cricket, prizefighting and other sports. This area ...

, England. Bartholomew drew his first fight with Jem Belcher in 40 minutes, but lost the second on 15 May 1800 at

Finchley Common Finchley Common was an area of land in Middlesex, north of London, and until 1816, the boundary between the parishes of Finchley, Friern Barnet and Hornsey. History Its use as a common is quite late. Rights to the common were claimed by the ...

. The fight lasted twenty minutes. Belcher was later recognised as English Prizefighting Champion from 1800 to 1805.

Boxing specifications and style

Bartholomew stood at 5'9.5" and weighed 13.5 stone. He was backed by Lord Camelford, captain of the

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the naval warfare force of the United Kingdom. It is a component of His Majesty's Naval Service, and its officers hold their commissions from the King of the United Kingdom, King. Although warships were used by Kingdom ...

. Bartholomew was described in Boxiana as 'a very hard hitter; extremely active and formidable in all his battles, and perfectly entitled to the appellation of a sound and complete boxer'.Pierce Egan, Boxiana volume 1 pg.251

Death

Bartholomew died 14 July 1803, in

Almonry An almonry (Lat. , Fr. , Ger. ) is the place or chamber where alms, (money, food, or other material goods), were distributed to the poor in churches or other ecclesiastical buildings. The person designated to oversee the distribution was called ...

Westminster Westminster is the main settlement of the City of Westminster in Central London, Central London, England. It extends from the River Thames to Oxford Street and has many famous landmarks, including the Palace of Westminster, Buckingham Palace, ...

, England. He died of severe

cirrhosis of the liver Cirrhosis, also known as liver cirrhosis or hepatic cirrhosis, chronic liver failure or chronic hepatic failure and end-stage liver disease, is a chronic condition of the liver in which the normal functioning tissue, or parenchyma, is replaced ...

and was bed-ridden for the last few days of his life.

Notes

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bartholomew, Jack 1763 births 1803 deaths English male boxers English bare-knuckle boxers