John Horsley FRS (1685 – 12 January 1732) was a British

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 ...

, known primarily for his book ''Britannia Romana'' or ''The Roman Antiquities of Britain'' which was published in 1732.

Early life

John Hodgson, in a memoir published in 1831, held that Horsley was born in 1685, at

Pinkie House Pinkie House is a historic house, built around a three-storey tower house located in Musselburgh, East Lothian, Scotland. The house dates from the 16th century, was substantially enlarged in the early 17th century, and has been altered several ti ...

, in the parish of

Inveresk Inveresk (Gaelic: ''Inbhir Easg'') is a village in East Lothian, Scotland situated to the south of Musselburgh. It has been designated a conservation area since 1969. It is situated on slightly elevated ground on the north bank of a loop ...

Midlothian Midlothian (; ) is registration county, lieutenancy areas of Scotland, lieutenancy area and one of 32 council areas of Scotland used for local government. Midlothian lies in the east-central Lowlands, bordering the City of Edinburgh council ar ...

, and that his father was a Northumberland nonconformist, who had migrated to

Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...

, but returned to England soon after the

Glorious Revolution The Glorious Revolution, also known as the Revolution of 1688, was the deposition of James II and VII, James II and VII in November 1688. He was replaced by his daughter Mary II, Mary II and her Dutch husband, William III of Orange ...

of 1688. John Hodgson Hinde, in the '' Archaeologia Aeliana'' of February 1865, held that he was a native of

Newcastle-on-Tyne Newcastle upon Tyne, or simply Newcastle ( , RP: ), is a cathedral city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England. It is England's northernmost metropolitan borough, located on the River Tyne's northern bank opposite Gateshead to the ...

, the son of Charles Horsley, a member of the Tailors' Company of the town. David Boyd Haycock writing in the ''

Oxford Dictionary of National Biography The ''Dictionary of National Biography'' (''DNB'') is a standard work of reference on notable figures from History of the British Isles, British history, published since 1885. The updated ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'' (''ODNB'') ...

'' comments that none of the suggestions made for Horsley's background is verifiable. He was educated at the

Royal Grammar School, Newcastle The Royal Grammar School (RGS), Newcastle upon Tyne, is a coeducational private day school for pupils aged between 7 and 18 years. Founded in 1525 by Thomas Horsley, the Mayor of Newcastle upon Tyne, it received royal foundation by Queen Eliz ...

and at

Edinburgh University The University of Edinburgh (, ; abbreviated as ''Edin.'' in post-nominals) is a public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Founded by the town council under the authority of a royal charter from King James VI in 1582 and offi ...

, where he graduated MA on 29 April 1701. There is evidence that he "was settled in Morpeth as a

Presbyterian Presbyterianism is a historically Reformed Protestant tradition named for its form of church government by representative assemblies of elders, known as "presbyters". Though other Reformed churches are structurally similar, the word ''Pr ...

minister as early as 1709." Hodgson, however, thought that up to 1721, at which time he was residing at Widdrington, "he had not received ordination, but preached as a licentiate."

Educator

Horsley communicated to the ''

Philosophical Transactions ''Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society'' is a scientific journal published by the Royal Society. In its earliest days, it was a private venture of the Royal Society's secretary. It was established in 1665, making it the second journ ...

'' notes on the rainfall at Widdrington in the years 1722 and 1723. At Morpeth Horsley opened a private school, attracting pupils irrespective of religious connection, among them

Newton Ogle Newton Ogle (1726–1804) was a Church of England clergyman and member of the landowning Ogle family. The son of Nathaniel Ogle and Elizabeth Newton, he served as a prebendary of Durham Cathedral and from 1769 to 1804 as Dean of Winchester. His wif ...

, later

dean of Winchester The Dean of Winchester is the head of the Chapter of Winchester Cathedral in the city of Winchester, England, in the Diocese of Winchester. Appointment is by the Crown. The first incumbent was the last Prior, William Kingsmill, Catherine Ogle ...

. He gave lectures on

mechanics Mechanics () is the area of physics concerned with the relationships between force, matter, and motion among Physical object, physical objects. Forces applied to objects may result in Displacement (vector), displacements, which are changes of ...

and

hydrostatics Hydrostatics is the branch of fluid mechanics that studies fluids at hydrostatic equilibrium and "the pressure in a fluid or exerted by a fluid on an immersed body". The word "hydrostatics" is sometimes used to refer specifically to water and ...

in Morpeth,

Alnwick Alnwick ( ) is a market town in Northumberland, England, of which it is the traditional county town. The population at the 2011 Census was 8,116. The town is south of Berwick-upon-Tweed and the Scottish border, inland from the North Sea ...

and Newcastle, and was elected a

Fellow of the Royal Society Fellowship of the Royal Society (FRS, ForMemRS and HonFRS) is an award granted by the Fellows of the Royal Society of London to individuals who have made a "substantial contribution to the improvement of natural science, natural knowledge, incl ...

on 23 April 1730, or in May, 1729.

Death

Horsley died of

apoplexy Apoplexy () refers to the rupture of an internal organ and the associated symptoms. Informally or metaphorically, the term ''apoplexy'' is associated with being furious, especially as "apoplectic". Historically, it described what is now known as a ...

on 12 January 1732, on the eve of the publication of the ''Britannia Romana'', and was buried in Morpeth.

Family

He married Anne Hamilton daughter of Rev William Hamilton, minister of

Cramond Cramond Village (; ) is a village and suburb in the north-west of Edinburgh, Scotland, at the mouth of the River Almond where it enters the Firth of Forth. The Cramond area has evidence of Mesolithic, Bronze Age and Roman activity. In modern ...

near

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 ...

and later Principal of

Works

It is as an archaeologist and antiquarian that Horsley is now known. His major work, ''Britannia Romana'', or ''The Roman Antiquities of Britain'' was published in 1732. One of Horsley's achievements in this book was to identify for the first time which

legion Legion may refer to: Military * Roman legion, the basic military unit of the ancient Roman army * Aviazione Legionaria, Italian air force during the Spanish Civil War * A legion is the regional unit of the Italian carabinieri * Spanish Legion, ...

s of the

Roman army The Roman army () served ancient Rome and the Roman people, enduring through the Roman Kingdom (753–509 BC), the Roman Republic (509–27 BC), and the Roman Empire (27 BC–AD 1453), including the Western Roman Empire (collapsed Fall of the W ...

were stationed in Britain. There was in the

British Museum The British Museum is a Museum, public museum dedicated to human history, art and culture located in the Bloomsbury area of London. Its permanent collection of eight million works is the largest in the world. It documents the story of human cu ...

a copy with notes by John Ward. He also published two sermons and a handbook to his lectures on mechanics, etc., and projected a history of Northumberland and

Durham Durham most commonly refers to: *Durham, England, a cathedral city in north east England **County Durham, a ceremonial county which includes Durham *Durham, North Carolina, a city in North Carolina, United States Durham may also refer to: Places ...

, collections for which were found among his papers.

Notes

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Horsley, John 1685 births 1732 deaths People from Morpeth, Northumberland People educated at the Royal Grammar School, Newcastle upon Tyne British antiquarians British historians Fellows of the Royal Society Alumni of the University of Edinburgh