Richard Vickerman Taylor (1830-1914) was an English schoolteacher and clergyman; and a biographer of Leeds worthies, and author on Yorkshire topics.

Biography

Richard Vickerman Taylor was born in

Leeds Leeds is a city in West Yorkshire, England. It is the largest settlement in Yorkshire and the administrative centre of the City of Leeds Metropolitan Borough, which is the second most populous district in the United Kingdom. It is built aro ...

Yorkshire Yorkshire ( ) is an area of Northern England which was History of Yorkshire, historically a county. Despite no longer being used for administration, Yorkshire retains a strong regional identity. The county was named after its county town, the ...

, on 10 October 1830, the eldest son of John Taylor and his wife Ann Vickerman. He was educated from the age of eleven at

Leeds Grammar School Leeds Grammar School was an independent school founded 1552 in Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. Originally a male-only school, in August 2005 it merged with Leeds Girls' High School to form The Grammar School at Leeds. The two schools physica ...

. Taylor held a variety of teaching jobs; in 1851 in Rawdon for six months, before in the same year returning to Leeds Grammar School as an Assistant Master for two and a half years. In 1854 he moved to the Classical and Commercial school in Queen Square, Leeds. For the first six months of 1855 he taught at Somerset House, Kingsdown, Bristol. In the same year he passed exams at the

College of Preceptors The Chartered College of Teaching is a learned society for the teaching profession in the United Kingdom. Founded in 1846, the college was incorporated by Queen Victoria into a royal charter as the College of Preceptors in 1849. A supplemental ch ...

and matriculation exams for London University, moving to the capital and teaching in Blackheath whilst attending lectures at

University College, London University College London (Trade name, branded as UCL) is a Public university, public research university in London, England. It is a Member institutions of the University of London, member institution of the Federal university, federal Uni ...

. In July 1856 he became Senior Classical Master at Bramham College,

Tadcaster Tadcaster is a market town and civil parishes in England, civil parish in North Yorkshire, England, north-east of Leeds and south-west of York. Its historical importance from Roman times onward was largely as the lowest road crossing-point o ...

; and two years later he moved to the same position at

Wesley College, Sheffield Wesley College was a school in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England, from 1838 until 1905, when it was merged with Sheffield Royal Grammar School to form King Edward VII School. History The school, whose mission was to educate the sons of th ...

. While there he gained a

B.A. A Bachelor of Arts (abbreviated B.A., BA, A.B. or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is the holder of a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the liberal arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree ...

degree from

King's College London King's College London (informally King's or KCL) is a public university, public research university in London, England. King's was established by royal charter in 1829 under the patronage of George IV of the United Kingdom, King George IV ...

. In 1861 he was appointed Classical Tutor at Ripponden College near Halifax. In 1863 he was ordained deacon, taking his priest's orders the following year. He held a number of curacies, including St Barnabas,

Holbeck Holbeck is an inner city area of Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. It begins on the southern edge of Leeds city centre and mainly lies in the LS11 postcode district. The M1 and M621 motorways used to end/begin in Holbeck. Now the M621 is t ...

, Wortley, Brightside near

Sheffield Sheffield is a city in South Yorkshire, England, situated south of Leeds and east of Manchester. The city is the administrative centre of the City of Sheffield. It is historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire and some of its so ...

and

Edlington Edlington is a town and civil parish in the City of Doncaster, South Yorkshire, England, lying to the south west of Doncaster and Warmsworth. It has a population of 8,276. The original parish town of Edlington is now known as ''Old Edlington ...

. In 1878 he became Vicar of Melbecks,

Swaledale Swaledale is a valley in North Yorkshire, England. It is one of the Yorkshire Dales, which are part of the Pennines, and within the Yorkshire Dales National Park. It is named after the River Swale, which runs through it. Swaledale is the mo ...

. A Fellow of the

Royal Horticultural Society The Royal Horticultural Society (RHS), founded in 1804 as the Horticultural Society of London, is the UK's leading gardening charity. The RHS promotes horticulture through its five gardens at Wisley (Surrey), Hyde Hall (Essex), Harlow Carr ...

and a member of the Yorkshire Archaeological and Topographical Association, he also published and contributed to publications on the history of

. He was married twice, first, in 1860, to Caroline Franks; after her death in 1888, he married Elizabeth Ann Knowles in 1889. He died at the age of 83 years, on 8 July 1914, at his home, The Mount,

Low Row Low Row is a village in Swaledale, in the Yorkshire Dales, North Yorkshire, England. It lies about west of Reeth and is between Healaugh, Richmondshire, Healaugh and Gunnerside. It is part of the civil parish of Melbecks. It is a linear villa ...

Publications

All listed in the

British Library The British Library is the national library of the United Kingdom. Based in London, it is one of the largest libraries in the world, with an estimated collection of between 170 and 200 million items from multiple countries. As a legal deposit li ...

Public Catalogue: *SAYWELL. Joseph Lemuel
The Parochial History of Ackworth, Yorks
'., with archæological, antiquarian, and biographical notes & records (With an introduction by R. V. Taylor) James Atkinson & Son, Pontefract; Simpkin, Marshall & Co.: London, 1894. *
Anecdotæ Eboracenses. Yorkshire Anecdotes; or, remarkable incidents in the lives of celebrated Yorkshire men and women, etc.
' Whittaker & Co.: London, 1883. *
Anecdota Eboracensia. Yorkshire anecdotes, etc.
' (Second series) Whittaker & Co.: London, 1887. *
The Biographia Leodiensis; or, Biographical Sketches of the Worthies of Leeds and neighbourhood, from the Norman Conquest to the present time, etc.
' London, 1865. *
Supplement to The Biographia Leodiensis; or, Biographical Sketches of the Worthies of Leeds and neighbourhood, from the Norman Conquest to the present time, etc.
' London, 1867. *
The Ecclesiæ Leodienses; or, Historical and Architectural Sketches of the Churches of Leeds and neighbourhood, etc.
' London, 1875.

References

Sources

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Taylor, Richard Vickerman 1830 births Alumni of King's College London Clergy from Leeds 19th-century English historians 19th-century English Anglican priests 1914 deaths Schoolteachers from Yorkshire People educated at Leeds Grammar School