Robert Thoroton
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Dr Robert Thoroton (4 October 1623 – c. 21 November 1678) was an English antiquary, mainly remembered for his county history, ''The Antiquities of Nottinghamshire'' (1677).


Life

Thoroton belonged to an old
Nottinghamshire Nottinghamshire (; abbreviated ''Notts.'') is a ceremonial county in the East Midlands of England. The county is bordered by South Yorkshire to the north-west, Lincolnshire to the east, Leicestershire to the south, and Derbyshire to the west. Th ...
family, which took its name from Thoroton, near Newark. He resided mainly at another village in the same neighbourhood, Car Colston, where he practised as a
physician A physician, medical practitioner (British English), medical doctor, or simply doctor is a health professional who practices medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining or restoring health through the Medical education, study, Med ...
, and lived the life of a country gentleman. He took little part in the
Civil War A civil war is a war between organized groups within the same Sovereign state, state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies.J ...
, but his sympathies were with the royalists. However, as a magistrate he was very active in persecuting the
Quakers Quakers are people who belong to the Religious Society of Friends, a historically Protestantism, Protestant Christian set of Christian denomination, denominations. Members refer to each other as Friends after in the Bible, and originally ...
. In return, the Quakers were active in recording the occasions on which he imposed heavy fines on poor members of their faith, often depriving them of the tools to make a living. In 1667 Thoroton, aided by a band of helpers, began work on his great county history, ''The Antiquities of Nottinghamshire''. This was published in London in 1677. It was dedicated to the eminent antiquarian William Dugdale, and illustrated by engravings by Wenceslaus Hollar. It was Dugdale who had urged Thoroton to complete the work of history begun by Thoroton's father-in-law. Some six years before his death, Thoroton commissioned an elaborate coffin carved from red Mansfield stone, and incised with the
coats of arms A coat of arms is a heraldic visual design on an escutcheon (i.e., shield), surcoat, or tabard (the last two being outer garments), originating in Europe. The coat of arms on an escutcheon forms the central element of the full heraldic ac ...
of his various ancestors. He was buried at Car Colston in the coffin; but in 1845, during restoration work on the chancel of St Mary's Church, it was unearthed and opened. Thoroton's skull was removed and placed in a shop in the village as a "curiosity". The vandalism was subsequently discovered, and the vicar ordered the remains to be collected, replaced within the coffin and reinterred. In 1797 a new edition of the ''Antiquities'', expanded to three volumes, was published by John Throsby (1740–1803).


Legacy

The Thoroton Society of Nottinghamshire was founded in 1897, and named in honour of the antiquarian, its object being to promote the study of the history and antiquities of Nottinghamshire. It publishes an annual volume of ''Transactions'', and a separate Record Series of
primary source In the study of history as an academic discipline, a primary source (also called an original source) is an Artifact (archaeology), artifact, document, diary, manuscript, autobiography, recording, or any other source of information that was cre ...
materials. A brass plaque to the memory of Thoroton is in Car Colston church. Myles Thoroton Hildyard, a descendant of Robert Thoroton's brother and heir, who lived at Flintham Hall, Flintham, served as president of the Thoroton Society for many years until his death in 2005.From its beginnings at Car Colston, the Thoroton family later purchased Screveton Hall at nearby Screveton, where they lived until purchasing Flintham Hall at Flintham. They changed their name to Hildyard on marriage with an heiress of Hildyard of Winestead. Screveton Hall has since been demolished, and the heir of Myles Thoroton Hildyard lives today at Flintham Hal

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See also

* Charles Thoroton * Thoroton Society of Nottinghamshire


References

*


Further reading

* * — on the website British History Online * — on the website British History Online * – Google books * – Google books * – Google books


External links


Photograph of Tombstone of Robert Thoroton, Car Colston St Mary Church, southwellchurches.nottingham.ac.uk


* * ttp://www.thorotonsociety.org.uk/ The Thoroton Society of Nottinghamshire {{DEFAULTSORT:Thoroton, Robert 1623 births 1678 deaths English antiquarians 17th-century antiquarians People from Rushcliffe (district)