James Clephan (1804–1888) was a British journalist, newspaper editor, antiquary, and poet.

Life

James Thomas Clephan was born on 17 March 1804 in

Monkwearmouth Monkwearmouth is an area of Sunderland, Tyne and Wear in England. Monkwearmouth is located at the north side of the mouth of the River Wear. It was one of the three original settlements on the banks of the River Wear along with Bishopwearmouth ...

Sunderland Sunderland () is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England. It is a port at the mouth of the River Wear on the North Sea, approximately south-east of Newcastle upon Tyne. It is the most p ...

, the second son of Stockton baker Robert Clephan. He was educated in Stockton, and he and his family were members of the Unitarian Church in Stockton. He later was a Trustee of the (Unitarian) Church of the Divine Unity in Newcastle upon Tyne. He became

indenture An indenture is a legal contract that reflects an agreement between two parties. Although the term is most familiarly used to refer to a labor contract between an employer and a laborer with an indentured servant status, historically indentures we ...

d to Stockton printer, Mr. M. Eales. On completion of his Indentureship in 1825, he moved to

Edinburgh Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. The city is located in southeast Scotland and is bounded to the north by the Firth of Forth and to the south by the Pentland Hills. Edinburgh ...

(termed "The Modern Athens") and worked in the offices of the publishing company of Ballantine where he remained for almost three years, gaining valuable experience. At the end of this time in 1828, he accepted a sub-editorship at the ''Leicester Chronicle'', and moved to

Leicester Leicester ( ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, city, Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area, and the county town of Leicestershire in the East Midlands of England. It is the largest city in the East Midlands with a popula ...

. In 1838, the Whig-sympathetic ''Gateshead Observer'' required an editor and Clephan applied successfully for the post. He remained in this position for 22 years until he retired in 1860. The ''Gateshead Observer'' was a relatively new newspaper, the first in

Gateshead Gateshead () is a town in the Gateshead Metropolitan Borough of Tyne and Wear, England. It is on the River Tyne's southern bank. The town's attractions include the twenty metre tall Angel of the North sculpture on the town's southern outskirts, ...

, that became popular as a consequence of Clephan's directorship. Clephan Street in Gateshead bears his name to this day. In 1858,

Joseph Skipsey Joseph Skipsey (17 March 1832 – 3 September 1903) was a Northumberland, Northumbrian poet during the Victorian period and one of a number of literary coal miners to be known as 'The Pitman Poet'. Among his best known works is the ballad ...

, who had the sobriquet "The Pitman Poet", published ''Poems'' in Morpeth, which attracted the attention of Clephan. When Skipsey told Clephan of his dire situation, Clephan obtained a job for him at

Hawks, Crawshay and Sons The Hawks family (c.1750 – 1889) was one of the most powerful British industrial dynasties of the British Industrial Revolution. The Hawks owned several companies in Northern England and in the City of London (including Hawks and Co., Hawks, C ...

ironworks in

. He left the ''Gateshead Observer'' to become a freelance journalist, as which he worked primarily for the '' Newcastle Daily (and Weekly) Chronicles'', for which he wrote regular articles on the historical past of the area, a column on the work of the

Society of Antiquaries of Newcastle upon Tyne The Society of Antiquaries of Newcastle upon Tyne, the oldest provincial antiquarian society in England, was founded in 1813. It is a registered charity under English law. It has had a long-standing interest in the archaeology of the North East ...

, and tributes to the departed local notables. He continued working until his eightieth birthday, after which he appears to have become bed-ridden. He died on 25 February 1888 and was buried in Jesmond Cemetery,

Newcastle Newcastle usually refers to: *Newcastle upon Tyne, a city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England, United Kingdom *Newcastle-under-Lyme, a town in Staffordshire, England, United Kingdom *Newcastle, New South Wales, a metropolitan area ...

. A picture of James is here https://searcharchives.vancouver.ca/studio-portrait-of-james-clephan-and-his-niece-mary-c-elgood

Works

These include :-

Songs and poems

* Annette – see North Country Poets page 78 * The Memorial Flower – see North Country Poets page 79 * Good Night – see North Country Poets page 81

Books, papers and printed articles

* He wrote several articles which found their way into “The Monthly Chronicle of North-Country Lore and legend 1887”. These included ** Over the Churchyard Wall, which first appeared in the Newcastle Weekly Chronicle in July 1885 (page 20) giving details of many of the better known occupants of the Old St. John's Graveyard, Newcastle ** Jean Paul Marat in Newcastle (page 49) ** Witchcraft in the North (page 211) ** Early Printers on the Tyne (page 314) ** Early Booksellers on the Tyne (page 362) ** The Early Press of York (page 459) ** plus several other articles in the same book * Several articles appeared in "Archaeologia aeliana, or, Miscellaneous tracts relating to antiquity 1887", the journal of The Society of Antiquaries of Newcastle upon Tyne; including :- ** The Bigg Market Military Execution, 1640: The Year of Newburn. (on page 112) ** Old Tyne Bridge and its Story (on page 135) ** Departure of the Quayside Wall; and what became of it (on page 210)

References

External links