John Matthews (1755–1826) was a versatile English physician and poet, also involved in local affairs and politics in

Herefordshire Herefordshire ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the West Midlands (region), West Midlands of England, bordered by Shropshire to the north, Worcestershire to the east, Gloucestershire to the south-east, and the Welsh ...

Life

Baptised 30 October 1755, he was the only surviving child of William Matthews of Burton, in Linton, Herefordshire, who died 29 August 1799, by his wife Jane, daughter of Philip Hoskyns of Bernithen Court, Herefordshire, who died 20 May 1768. He matriculated from

Merton College, Oxford Merton College (in full: The House or College of Scholars of Merton in the University of Oxford) is a Colleges of the University of Oxford, constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. Its foundation can be traced back to the 126 ...

, on 14 February 1772, and graduated B.A. 1778, M.A. 1779, M.B. 1781, and M.D. 1782. On 30 September 1782 he was a candidate for the

Royal College of Physicians The Royal College of Physicians of London, commonly referred to simply as the Royal College of Physicians (RCP), is a British professional membership body dedicated to improving the practice of medicine, chiefly through the accreditation of ph ...

, and a year later he became a fellow. From 20 April 1781 to his resignation in 1783 he was physician to St. George's Hospital, London, and in 1784 he delivered the

Gulstonian lectures The Goulstonian Lectures are an annual lecture series given on behalf of the Royal College of Physicians in London. They began in 1639. The lectures are named for Theodore Goulston (or Gulston, died 1632), who founded them with a bequest. By his ...

. He moved back to acquire the estate of Clehonger, near

Hereford Hereford ( ) is a cathedral city and the county town of the ceremonial county of Herefordshire, England. It is on the banks of the River Wye and lies east of the border with Wales, north-west of Gloucester and south-west of Worcester. With ...

, and built on it in 1788–90 the mansion of Belmont, situated on the banks of the

River Wye The River Wye (; ) is the Longest rivers of the United Kingdom, fourth-longest river in the UK, stretching some from its source on Plynlimon in mid Wales to the Severn Estuary. The lower reaches of the river forms part of Wales-England bor ...

with extensive lawns and plantations. For the rest of his life, he took a leading part in county affairs. He acted as mayor of Hereford in 1793 and was senior alderman and magistrate for twenty years. He was also colonel of the first regiment of Hereford militia, chairman of quarter sessions, and Member of Parliament for the county from 31 March 1803 to 1806. After a protracted illness he died at Belmont on 15 January 1826; a monument to his memory was placed in the south aisle of Clehonger Church.

Works

He composed many fugitive pieces in prose and verse: his published works are anonymous. The best-known of them, a parody of

Alexander Pope Alexander Pope (21 May 1688 Old Style and New Style dates, O.S. – 30 May 1744) was an English poet, translator, and satirist of the Age of Enlightenment, Enlightenment era who is considered one of the most prominent English poets of the early ...

's ''

Eloisa to Abelard ''Eloisa to Abelard'' is a verse epistle by Alexander Pope that was published in 1717 and based on a well-known medieval story. Itself an imitation of a Latin poetic genre, its immediate fame resulted in a large number of English imitations thro ...

'' long attributed to

Richard Porson Richard Porson (25 December 1759 – 25 September 1808) was an English classical scholar. He was the discoverer of Porson's Law. The Greek typeface '' Porson'' was based on his handwriting. Early life Richard Porson was born at East Ruston, ne ...

, is ''Eloisa en Dishabille: being a New Version of that Lady's celebrated Epistle to Abelard, done into familiar English metre by a Lounger,'' 1780. It was reprinted in 1801, and again in 1822, when the bookseller put on the title-page that it was ‘ascribed to Porson.’ Matthews wrote ''A Sketch from the Landscape: A'' ''Didactic Poem, addressed to R. Payne Knight'', 1794, an attack which

Richard Payne Knight Richard Payne Knight (11 February 1751 – 23 April 1824) of Downton Castle in Herefordshire, and of 5 Soho Square,History of Parliament biography London, England, was a classical scholar, connoisseur, archaeologist and numismatist best k ...

, in the Advertisement to the second edition of the ‘Landscape,’ stigmatised as "a sort of doggerel ode" and "a contemptible publication". The ''Fables from La Fontaine, in English Verse'' (1820) contained partisan allusions to the politics of the day.

Family

Matthews married at

Much Marcle Much Marcle is a village and civil parish in Herefordshire, England, located north-east of Ross-on-Wye. The 2011 Census recorded the parish's population as 660. The name ''Marcle'' comes from the Anglo-Saxon word for a boundary field, ''mearc ...

, Herefordshire, on 9 November 1778, Elizabeth, daughter and heiress of Arthur Ellis, who died 7 November 1823, aged 66. They had issue: eight sons and six daughters, and among their sons were Charles Skinner Matthews, the friend of

Lord Byron George Gordon Byron, 6th Baron Byron (22 January 1788 – 19 April 1824) was an English poet. He is one of the major figures of the Romantic movement, and is regarded as being among the greatest poets of the United Kingdom. Among his best-kno ...

, and grandson Henry Matthews.

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Matthews, John 1755 births 1826 deaths 18th-century English medical doctors Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for English constituencies UK MPs 1802–1806 People from Herefordshire Alumni of Merton College, Oxford