William King (St Mary Hall)
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William King (16 March 1685 – 30 December 1763) was an English academic and writer, Principal of
St Mary Hall, Oxford St Mary Hall was a medieval academic halls of the University of Oxford, academic hall of the University of Oxford. It was associated with Oriel College, Oxford, Oriel College from 1326 to 1545, but functioned independently from 1545 until it ...
from 1719, He was known for strongly held Jacobite views, and as a satirist and poet.


Early life

Born at
Stepney Stepney is an area in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets in the East End of London. Stepney is no longer officially defined, and is usually used to refer to a relatively small area. However, for much of its history the place name was applied to ...
,
Middlesex Middlesex (; abbreviation: Middx) is a Historic counties of England, former county in South East England, now mainly within Greater London. Its boundaries largely followed three rivers: the River Thames, Thames in the south, the River Lea, Le ...
, on 16 March 1685, he was the son of the Rev. Peregrine King and Margaret, daughter of Sir William Smyth, bart., of
Radclive Radclive is a village on the River Great Ouse just over west of Buckingham in Buckinghamshire, England. It is in the civil parish of Radclive-cum-Chackmore in Aylesbury Vale district. The parish includes the hamlet of Chackmore about north o ...
,
Buckinghamshire Buckinghamshire (, abbreviated ''Bucks'') is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England and one of the home counties. It is bordered by Northamptonshire to the north, Bedfordshire to the north-east, Hertfordshir ...
. After attending Salisbury grammar school he entered
Balliol College, Oxford Balliol College () is a constituent college of the University of Oxford. Founded in 1263 by nobleman John I de Balliol, it has a claim to be the oldest college in Oxford and the English-speaking world. With a governing body of a master and aro ...
, on 9 July 1701, and graduated B.C.L. on 12 July 1709, D.C.L. on 8 July 1715. He was
called to the bar The call to the bar is a legal term of art in most common law jurisdictions where persons must be qualified to be allowed to argue in court on behalf of another party and are then said to have been "called to the bar" or to have received "call to ...
at
Gray's Inn The Honourable Society of Gray's Inn, commonly known as Gray's Inn, is one of the four Inns of Court (professional associations for barristers and judges) in London. To be called to the bar in order to practise as a barrister in England and Wale ...
in 1712, and admitted a
civilian A civilian is a person who is not a member of an armed force. It is war crime, illegal under the law of armed conflict to target civilians with military attacks, along with numerous other considerations for civilians during times of war. If a civi ...
on 20 January 1716, but having a private income, he never sought legal practice.


Jacobite don

King devoted his life to scholarship and literature, interested himself in politics, and was long recognised the head of the Jacobite party at Oxford. Politically he was a close associate of
Sir John Hynde Cotton, 3rd Baronet Sir John Hynde Cotton, 3rd Baronet (bapt. 7 April 1686 – 4 January 1752) was an English landowner and Tory politician who sat in the British House of Commons from 1708 to 1752. British historian Eveline Cruickshanks called him "one of the mos ...
. His views are now seen as directed to his contemporary dislikes, rather than being retrospective. He looked to gain attention to them by shock tactics. For a time King acted as secretary to the
Duke of Ormonde The peerage title Earl of Ormond and the related titles Duke of Ormonde and Marquess of Ormonde have a long and complex history. An earldom of Ormond has been created three times in the Peerage of Ireland. History of Ormonde titles The earldom ...
and the Earl of Arran, when they were Chancellor of the University of Oxford, and he was elected principal of St Mary Hall in 1719. He resigned his secretaryship in 1722, when he stood for the parliamentary representation of the university, but was easily defeated by
George Clarke George Clarke (7 May 1661 – 22 October 1736), of All Souls, Oxford, was an English architect, print collector and Tory politician who sat in the English and British House of Commons between 1702 and 1736. Life The son of Sir William Clark ...
. St Mary Hall had few students, but one who was influenced by King was
Sanderson Miller Sanderson Miller (1716 – 23 April 1780) was an English pioneer of Gothic revival architecture and landscape designer. He is noted for adding follies or other Picturesque garden buildings and features to the grounds of an estate. Early life ...
. A lawsuit about an estate in
Galway Galway ( ; , ) is a City status in Ireland, city in (and the county town of) County Galway. It lies on the River Corrib between Lough Corrib and Galway Bay. It is the most populous settlement in the province of Connacht, the List of settleme ...
brought King to Ireland in 1727.
Jonathan Swift Jonathan Swift (30 November 1667 – 19 October 1745) was an Anglo-Irish writer, essayist, satirist, and Anglican cleric. In 1713, he became the Dean (Christianity), dean of St Patrick's Cathedral, Dublin, and was given the sobriquet "Dean Swi ...
thought well of him. In January 1739 Swift entrusted King with a copy of the verses on his own death, for publication in London. King, alarmed at the satire on
Robert Walpole Robert Walpole, 1st Earl of Orford (; 26 August 1676 – 18 March 1745), known between 1725 and 1742 as Sir Robert Walpole, was a British Whigs (British political party), Whig statesman who is generally regarded as the ''de facto'' first Prim ...
and Queen Caroline, omitted more than a hundred lines, "in deference", he said, "to the judgment of Pope and other friends of Swift's", but to Swift's annoyance. King excused himself in letters to Swift, but the Dublin version printed of the verses is believed to have restored essentially the original version. During the same year King met
Nathaniel Hooke Nathaniel Hooke (c. 1687 – 19 July 1763) was an English historian. Life He was the eldest son of John Hooke, serjeant-at-law, and nephew of Nathaniel Hooke the Jacobite soldier. He is thought by John Kirk to have studied with Alexander Pop ...
at Dr. George Cheyne's house at
Bath, Somerset Bath (Received Pronunciation, RP: , ) is a city in Somerset, England, known for and named after its Roman Baths (Bath), Roman-built baths. At the 2021 census, the population was 94,092. Bath is in the valley of the River Avon, Bristol, River A ...
, and acted as his amanuensis while he was translating
Andrew Michael Ramsay Sir Andrew Michael Ramsay (9 July 16866 May 1743), commonly called the Chevalier Ramsay, was a Scotland, Scottish-born writer who lived most of his adult life in France. He was a baronet in the Jacobite peerage. After visiting the Catholic a ...
's ''Travels of Cyrus''. Early in 1746 William Lauder, later exposed as a literary forger, travelled south from Scotland, and King welcomed him in Oxford, approving of his politics. The group of scholars who subsequently demonstrated Lauder's bad faith included Roger Watkins, vice-principal of St Mary Hall. He with others (
Robert Thyer Robert Thyer (1709– 27 October 1781) was an 18th-century British writer and literary editor, best known as Chetham's Librarian. He was librarian from February 1732 to 3 October 1763 and, after his death, a number of his manuscripts were given ...
and
Thomas Newton Thomas Newton (1 January 1704 – 14 February 1782) was an English cleric, biblical scholar and author. He served as the Bishop of Bristol from 1761 to 1782. Biography Newton was educated at Trinity College, Cambridge and was subsequently elec ...
, as well as John Bowle who already was a public critic of Lauder) therefore proceeded carefully to gather evidence. In the end John Douglas put together a full case, but did not go public in late 1750 without consulting King. King was presented to the Stuart Pretender
Charles Edward Stuart Charles Edward Louis John Sylvester Maria Casimir Stuart (31 December 1720 – 30 January 1788) was the elder son of James Francis Edward Stuart, making him the grandson of James VII and II, and the Stuart claimant to the thrones of England, ...
in September 1750. The Pretender was then paying a stealthy visit to England, and drank tea one evening at the doctor's lodgings at Oxford. They subsequently corresponded, but King came to dislike him. King took part in the contested election for
Oxfordshire Oxfordshire ( ; abbreviated ''Oxon'') is a ceremonial county in South East England. The county is bordered by Northamptonshire and Warwickshire to the north, Buckinghamshire to the east, Berkshire to the south, and Wiltshire and Glouceste ...
in 1754, and was in consequence vigorously libelled. He was accused of having defrauded subscribers for books never published to the extent of £1,500, was taunted with having offered himself to sale both in England and Ireland, and was accused of inspiring the Jacobite ''London Evening Post''. In February 1755 King took
Samuel Johnson Samuel Johnson ( – 13 December 1784), often called Dr Johnson, was an English writer who made lasting contributions as a poet, playwright, essayist, moralist, literary critic, sermonist, biographer, editor, and lexicographer. The ''Oxford ...
his diploma of M.A., and found in him an admirer of his scholarship and politics.


Later life

King publicly severed his connection with the Jacobite party in 1761. He accompanied a deputation from the university to present
George III George III (George William Frederick; 4 June 173829 January 1820) was King of Great Britain and King of Ireland, Ireland from 25 October 1760 until his death in 1820. The Acts of Union 1800 unified Kingdom of Great Britain, Great Britain and ...
with an address of congratulation on his marriage. He was personally introduced to the king by
Lord Shelburne William Petty Fitzmaurice, 1st Marquess of Lansdowne (2 May 17377 May 1805), known as the Earl of Shelburne between 1761 and 1784, by which title he is generally known to history, was an Anglo-Irish Whig statesman who was the first home secr ...
. King died on 30 December 1763, and was buried on 5 January 1764 at
Ealing Ealing () is a district in west London (sub-region), west London, England, west of Charing Cross in the London Borough of Ealing. It is the administrative centre of the borough and is identified as a major metropolitan centre in the London Pl ...
, Middlesex. where he had resided for many years on an estate called Newby, near the church. He was also lessee of the rectory of Ealing. Throughout his life he was a water-drinker. His heart, having been enclosed in a silver urn, was deposited by his own directions in the chapel of St Mary Hall, where there is a monument to his memory, with a Latin epitaph written by himself.


Orator

Much of King's contemporary fame was as an incendiary orator. He was provocative and sought controversy. When honorary degrees were conferred on the
Duke of Hamilton Duke of Hamilton is a title in the Peerage of Scotland, created in April 1643. It is the senior dukedom in that peerage (except for the Duke of Rothesay, Dukedom of Rothesay held by the sovereign's eldest son), and as such its holder is the pr ...
,
Lord Lichfield Earl of Lichfield is a title that has been created three times, twice in the Peerage of England (1645 and 1674) and once in the Peerage of the United Kingdom (1831). The third creation is extant and is held by a member of the Anson family. Hi ...
and Lord Orrery at Oxford in 1743, King delivered the Latin speeches, published as ''Tres Oratiunculæ habitæ in Domo Convocationis Oxon.'' (1743). The preface implied that he had been attacked by some anti-Jacobite canon. To keep up public interest in the affair, King himself wrote ''Epistola Objurgatoria ad Guilielmum King, LL.D.'', London, 1744, to which is attached a doggerel ''Epistola Canonici reverendi admodùm ad Archidiaconum reverendum admodùm.'' Lastly appeared ''A Letter to a Friend occasioned by Epistola Objurgatoria, &c., by S. P. Y. B.'', London, 1744; the writer claimed to have been wrongly credited with the authorship of the ''Epistola''. King probably created the whole controversy. At the opening of the
Radcliffe Camera The Radcliffe Camera (colloquially known as the "Rad Cam" or "The Camera"; from Latin , meaning 'room') is a building of the University of Oxford, England, designed by James Gibbs in a Baroque style and built in 1737–49 to house the Radclif ...
, on 13 April 1749, King delivered a Latin speech in the
Sheldonian Theatre The Sheldonian Theatre, in the centre of Oxford, England, was built from 1664 to 1669 after a design by Christopher Wren for the University of Oxford. The building is named after Gilbert Sheldon, List of Wardens of All Souls College, Oxford, Wa ...
. In it he expressed his Jacobitism: he introduced six times the word ''redeat'' ("that he may return"), pausing each time, amid loud applause.
Thomas Warton Thomas Warton (9 January 172821 May 1790) was an English history of literature, literary historian, critic, and poet. He was appointed Poet Laureate of the United Kingdom, Poet Laureate in 1785, following the death of William Whitehead (poet ...
, in his poem ''The Triumph of Isis'', eulogised King's powers of oratory. In praising the trustees of the library, King was complimenting Jacobites among them: the
Duke of Beaufort Duke of Beaufort ( ) is a title in the Peerage of England. It was created by Charles II in 1682 for Henry Somerset, 3rd Marquess of Worcester, a descendant of Charles Somerset, 1st Earl of Worcester, legitimised son of Henry Beaufort, 3rd D ...
, Sir Walter Wagstaffe Bagot, and Sir Watkin Williams-Wynn. But one view is that the protest was no longer dynastic, being concerned with the Whig handling of the Church. The audience included key supporters of the Hanoverian heir
Frederick, Prince of Wales Frederick, Prince of Wales (Frederick Louis, German: ''Friedrich Ludwig''; 31 January 1707 – 31 March 1751) was the eldest son and heir apparent of King George II of Great Britain. He grew estranged from his parents, King George and Queen C ...
, who found also some signs of the Tory ground shifting. Be that as it may, Jacobite propagandists lapped up King's themes, the invocation of
Astraea In ancient Greek religion and mythology, Astraea (; ), also spelled Astrea or Astria, is a daughter of Astraeus and Eos. She is the virgin goddess of justice, innocence, purity, and precision. She is closely associated with the Greek goddess of ...
in Virgil's terms of return, and the slogan "Redeat Magnus Ille Genius Britanniae" was adopted for use on the medallion marking the 1752 English covert visit of the Pretender. On the Earl of Arran's death the Jacobite Earl of Westmoreland was elected chancellor of Oxford. At his installation on 7 July 1759 King made a speech, at which Johnson "clapped his hands till they were sore", according to Boswell's ''Life''. At the Encænia of 1763 King, amid great applause, delivered an oration. Charles Churchill, who was present, later sneered at his "piebald Latin" in the ''Candidate''.


Works

King thought himself badly treated in the course of his Irish lawsuit, and attacked his enemies in a mock-heroic poem, in two books, called ''The Toast'' (alleged to have been originally composed in Latin by a Laplander, "Frederick Scheffer", and translated into English, with notes and observations, by "Peregrine O'Donald, Esq.") The heroine, "Mira", is the Countess of Newburgh, who had secretly married as her third husband Sir Thomas Smyth, King's uncle. King portrayed her as a
lesbian A lesbian is a homosexual woman or girl. The word is also used for women in relation to their sexual identity or sexual behavior, regardless of sexual orientation, or as an adjective to characterize or associate nouns with female homosexu ...
. It was published at Dublin in 1732. Swift praised it, and ''The Toast'' was completed in four books, inscribed to him, and printed in London (1736), with a frontispiece by Hubert-François Gravelot (engraver
Bernard Baron Bernard Baron (1696? – 1762) Web articl Library of Congress, lower section "About the Artists" was a French engraver and etcher who spent much of his life in England. Life Baron was born in Paris in 1696, the son of the engraver Laurent Baron ...
); it was reissued in 1747. In his old age King regretted many passages, and at his death the remaining copies were burnt. The poem was reissued without the annotations in
John Almon John Almon (17 December 1737 – 12 December 1805) was an English journalist and writer on political subjects, notable for his efforts to secure the right to publish reports on the debates in Parliament. Life and career He was born in Liverpool, ...
's ''New Foundling Hospital of Wit''. A key to the characters is given in William Davis's ''Second Journey round the Library of a Bibliomaniac'' (1825). About April 1737 King wrote a witty political paper called ''Common Sense'', in which he proposed a new scheme of government to the people of Corsica .e. Great Britain advising them to make their king of the same stuff of which the Indians fashion their gods. He enclosed a copy in a letter to Swift, but both were intercepted at the post-office. It may have been identical with ''Antonietti ducis Corseorum epistola ad Corseos de rege eligendo'' included in King's collected writings. Through King, Swift then endeavoured in July to arrange for the publication in London of his ''History of the Four Last Years of the Queen''. King remonstrated, and Swift gave up the intention for a time. In 1739 King issued an anonymous political satire entitled ''Miltoni Epistola ad Pollionem'' (i.e. to
Lord Polwarth Lord Polwarth, of Polwarth in the County of Berwick, is a title in the Peerage of Scotland. It was created in 1690 for Sir Patrick Hume of Polwarth, 2nd Baronet, Lord Chancellor of Scotland from 1696 to 1702 (the baronetcy had been created in ...
), 1738, London, dedicated to
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 ...
, of which a second edition appeared in 1740. Soon after the
Jacobite Rebellion of 1745 The Jacobite rising of 1745 was an attempt by Charles Edward Stuart to regain the British throne for his father, James Francis Edward Stuart. It took place during the War of the Austrian Succession, when the bulk of the British Army was fightin ...
, King described
Prince William, Duke of Cumberland Prince William Augustus, Duke of Cumberland (15 April 1721 Old_Style_and_New_Style_dates.html" ;"title="/nowiki>Old Style and New Style dates">N.S./nowiki> – 31 October 1765) was the third and youngest son of Great Britain and Kingdom of Ire ...
as a man "qui timet omnia præter Deum" ("who fears everything except God"). In 1748 he ridiculed
Edward Bentham Edward Bentham (23 July 1707 – 1 August 1776) was an Oxford based theologian who in 1763, with some evident reluctance, became Regius Professor of Divinity at Oxford University. Life Family, provenance and early years Edward Bentham was born ...
, who had published a guide to intending students. The Sheldonian oration was printed in 1749, and again in 1750. It gave rise to violent attacks. King was charged with barbarous Latin, Jacobitism, and propagation of sedition in the university. John Burton, cousin and patron of Edward Bentham, published some virulent ''Remarks on Dr. K——'s Speech'', by "Phileleutherus Londinensis", 1750. King retorted savagely; this satire also attacks
William Bowyer the younger William Bowyer (; 19 December 169913 November 1777) was an English printer known as "the learned printer". Life Born in London, Bowyer was educated at St John's College, Cambridge, and in 1722 became a partner in his father William Bowyer's b ...
, who had said something against King's latinity. King further translated all the abusive names which Burton had called him, and the complimentary phrases applied by Burton to himself, and printing the whole catalogue on a large sheet of coarse paper, gave it to a scavenger to be cried about the streets of Oxford, Windsor, and Eton. King published a volume of fanciful anonymous essays called ''The Dreamer'', London, 1754, which was assailed in the Whig papers as tainted with Jacobitism. During 1755 he replied in a pamphlet.''Doctor King's Apology; or, Vindication of himself from the several matters charged on him by the Society of Informers'', Oxford, 1755 (2nd and 3rd editions the same year). He retaliated against authors of libels which had appeared in the ''Evening Advertiser'', attacked a tract called ''A Defence of the Rector and Fellows of Exeter College'', and spoke severely of a canon of Windsor named Richard Blacow. Blacow then printed a ''Letter to William King, LL.D.'', 1755, in which he sought to make King responsible for a Jacobite demonstration by some undergraduates in February 1747. A collected edition of his writings was published as ''Opera Guilielmi King'', London, 1760. King wrote also: an inscription for the collection of statues presented to the university in 1756 by the Countess Dowager of Pomfret; an ''Elogium'' in 1758 on Chevalier John Taylor the oculist, of which he printed copies for his friends; and an epitaph on
Beau Nash Richard "Beau" Nash (18 October 1674 – 3 February 1762) was a Welsh lawyer who as a dandy, played a leading role in 18th-century British fashion. He is best remembered as the master of ceremonies at the spa town of Bath, Somerset. Biograph ...
. His posthumous ''Political and Literary Anecdotes of his own Times'', London, 1818 (2nd edit. 1819), mostly written in his seventy-sixth year, was edited by
Philip Bury Duncan Philip Bury Duncan (1772–1863) was Keeper of the Ashmolean Museum at the University of Oxford. Life Philip Duncan was born in 1772 at South Warnborough, Hampshire, England, where his father was rector. He was educated at Winchester College ...
.


Legacy

Assisted by the contributions of old members of St Mary Hall, King rebuilt the east side of the quadrangle, and added a new room to the principal's lodgings.


Family

King married his cousin Henrietta Maria Wither in 1709. Their son, Charles King, born about 1711, was M.A. of St Mary Hall, and in holy orders. Their daughter Dorothy married
William Melmoth the younger William Melmoth the younger (c.1710–1799) was an English lawyer and man of letters. Life He was the son of William Melmoth the elder and his second wife, Catherine Rolt, was probably born in London, and was baptised in 1710. He was schooled i ...
(1710–1799).


References

;Attribution


Further reading

* Fraxi, Pisanus (1879). '' Centuria Librorum Absconditorum''. London: privately printed. p. 322 {{DEFAULTSORT:King, William 1685 births 1763 deaths Principals of St Mary Hall, Oxford English Jacobites Alumni of Balliol College, Oxford Members of Gray's Inn