OpenLLM-France/wikimedia huggingface dataset:
# Dictionary of National Biography, 1885-1900/Rawlinson, John

​RAWLINSON, JOHN (1576–1631), principal of St. Edmund Hall, Oxford, son of Robert Rawlinson, merchant tailor of London, was born in 1576 and admitted to Merchant Taylors' School in 1585 (Robinson, Register of Merchant Taylors' School). Thence he was elected scholar of St. John's College, Oxford, in 1591, and graduated B.A. 5 July 1595, and M.A. 21 May 1599. In the latter year he was acting as a college lecturer (Oxford Univ. Reg. ed. Clark, i. 93), and is stated to have been master of Reading school in 1600. He was elected a fellow of his college in 1602, taking holy orders and proceeding B.D. 12 Nov. 1605, and D.D. 1 June 1608. He soon gained high repute as a ‘fluent and florid preacher.’ From 1606 to 1610 he was rector of Taplow, Buckinghamshire; and from 1609 was vicar of Asheldam in Essex. On 1 May 1610 the provost and fellows of Queen's College elected him principal of St. Edmund Hall. He was also made chaplain to Thomas Egerton, baron Ellesmere [q. v.], the lord chancellor, and chaplain-in-ordinary to James I, and was instituted to the prebend of Netherbury in Ecclesia at Salisbury, in which at his death he was succeeded by the well-known Thomas Fuller. In 1613 he was inducted to the rectory of Selsey (Sussex), and in the following year to that of Whitchurch, Shropshire, ‘in all which places he was much followed for his frequent and edifying preaching, great charity, and public spirit’ (Wood, Athenæ Oxon. ii. 505). He spent much time in Oxford, where in 1627 he built a new house, and was in confidential relations with Juxon and Laud (cf. State Papers, Dom. Car. I. lxxxvii.).
He died on 3 Feb. 1630–1, and was buried on the 10th in the church at Whitchurch, where his name long continued to be ‘precious.’ In the church of St. Peter's-in-the-East, Oxford, there is a curious inscription in English verse to Rawlinson's two younger daughters, Elizabeth (d. 1624) and Dorothy (d. 1629). Rawlinson published numerous separate sermons and one collected volume, entitled ‘Quadriga Salutis, foure Quadrigesmal or Lent Sermons preached at Whitehall,’ Oxford, 1625, dedicated to the prince (Charles). He contributed verses to Vaughan's ‘Golden Grove moralised,’ 1600.
[Authorities cited; Le Neve's Fasti, iii. 594; Foster's Alumni Oxon.; Gutch's Antiq. i. 540; Lansd. MS. 984, f. 109.]
W. A. S.
# Dictionary of National Biography, 1885-1900/Estcourt, Edgar Edmund

​ESTCOURT, EDGAR EDMUND, M.A. (1816–1884), canon of St. Chad's (Roman catholic) Cathedral, Birmingham, born 7 Feb. 1816, was eldest son of the Rev. Edmund William Estcourt of Newntown, Wiltshire, one of the Estcourts of Estcourt in Gloucestershire. He was destined for the church; entered Exeter College, Oxford, 20 Feb. 1834; proceeded B.A. 1838 and M.A. 1840; and came under the influence of the Tractarian movement. In 1845, when J. H. Newman went over to the church of Rome, Estcourt, then a clergyman at Cirencester, followed him, and was 'received' at Prior Park in December of that year. About three years after he was ordained catholic priest by Dr. Ullathorne, vicar-apostolic of the western district, and on the restoration of the hierarchy in 1850 he was appointed æconomus of the diocese. Though one of the kindest of men, he had great firmness of character. He was a great lover of books, and for many years he was a most useful member of the committee of the London Library. Suffering from a painful internal disorder, he passed the last few years of his life in retirement at Leamington, where he died on 16 April 1884. He was buried at Kenilworth. Bishop Ullathorne, in an address delivered on the occasion, pronounced a well-merited eulogy on Estcourt's 'assiduity, accuracy, punctuality, skill, and sound judgment.' His knowledge of the earlier history of the midland district was remarkable, as was also the knowledge he had acquired of property law. His generosity and charity were of the most self-denying character, and his disposition refined, modest, and unobtrusive.
His literary abilities appear in the bestknown of his works, ‘The Question of Anglican Ordinations discussed,’ 1873. This controversial treatise by an erudite member of the Roman church, with a valuable appendix of original documents and facsimiles, appeared at a time when the vexed question of the validity of English orders was fiercely debated by members of the Anglican and Roman communions, and it attracted considerable attention (Academy, 26 April 1884). ​An anonymous reply to the work appeared, with the title 'Anglican Orders, a few remarks in the form of a conversation on the recent work by Canon Estcourt,' 8vo, London, 1873. An article, originally prepared by Estcourt for the 'Dublin Review,' was published separately instead, under the title, 'Dogmatic Teaching of the Book of Common Prayer on the subject of the Holy Eucharist,' 8vo. London, 1868. Estcourt left unpublished a work of considerable interest, 'The Memoir of Jane Dormer, Duchess of Feria,' the materials for which he slowly accumulated during a period of twenty-five years. The first nine chapters were completed, and materials made ready for nine more. The fragments were placed in the hands of the Rev. Joseph Stevenson, S. J., and the book appeared in 1887.
[Gillow's Bibl. Dict. ii. 179; Tablet, 1884. pp. 661, 670; Academy, 1884, p. 296; Nichols's Edward VI, p. 39; Foster's Alumni Oxon.]
R. H.
# Dictionary of National Biography, 1885-1900/Essex, Countess of

​ESSEX, Countess of (1792-1882). [See Stephens, Katherine.]
# Dictionary of National Biography, 1885-1900/Essex, Earls of

​ESSEX, Earls of. [See Bohun, Humphrey de, V, VII, and VIII; Bourchier, Henry (d. 1483); Bourchier, Henry (d. 1539); Capel, Arthur (1631-1683); Capel, William (1697–1743); Cromwell, Thomas (1485?-1540), statesman; Devereux, Robert (1567-1601), Queen Elizabeth's favourite; Devereux, Robert (1591-1646), parliamentary general; Devereux, Walter (1541?-1576); Mandeville, Geoffrey de, d. 1144].
# Dictionary of National Biography, 1885-1900/Essex, Timothy

​ESSEX, TIMOTHY (1765?–1847), composer, born in or about 1765 at Coventry, Warwickshire, was the son of Timothy Essex of that town. He commenced playing on the flute and violin at thirteen years of age for his own amusement, but the rapid progress which he made induced his father to let him study music as a profession. In 1786 he established himself as a teacher of the pianoforte, organ, and flute. In order to better his position he matriculated at Oxford as a member of Magdalen Hall 10 Dec. 1806, and took the degree of bachelor of music on the following 17 Dec. He proceeded doctor of music 2 Dec. 1812 (Foster, Alumni Oxon.; Oxford Graduates, 1851, p. 215). Essex was an able teacher, and obtained some popularity as a composer. His ‘Musical Academy’ was at 38 Hill Street, Berkeley Square; he was also organist, composer to, and director of the choir of St. George's Chapel, Albemarle Street. Among his best works are: 1. ‘Eight English Canzonetts for a Single Voice’ (1800). 2. ‘A Grand Military Sonata for the Pianoforte, with an accompaniment ad libitum for a violin’ (1800). 3. ‘Six Duets for Flutes or Violins’ (1801?). 4. ‘Eight Lessons and Four Sonatinas on a Peculiar Plan, intended to establish a proper method of fingering on the pianoforte’ (1802). 5. ‘Six Canzonets, the words from the poems of the late Mrs. Robinson’ (1804). 6. ‘Introduction and Fugue for the Organ’ (1812). 7. ‘Harmonia ​Sacra. being a collection of sacred melodies for the 150 Psalms of David’ (1830?). He also published a set of slow and quick marches for the pianoforte, with the full scores added for a military band, a variety of rondos for the pianoforte, and pianoforte and flute, and many single songs. He died 27 Sept. 1847, aged 82, in York Buildings, New Road, London (Gent. Mag. new ser. xxviii. 551).
[Georgian Era. iv. 528-9; Music Cat., Brit. Mus., where he unaccountably appears as 'Thomas' Essex; James D. Brown's Biog. Dict. of Musicians, p. 235.]
G. G.
# Dictionary of National Biography, 1885-1900/Est, Michael

​EST, EAST, or EASTE, MICHAEL (fl. 1638). [See East.]
# Dictionary of National Biography, 1885-1900/Essex, William (1784?-1869)

Contains subarticles: Alfred Essex, brother, & William B. Essex (1822-1852), his son.
​ESSEX, WILLIAM (1784?–1869), enamel-painter, was for many years the chief, and, after the death of H. P. Bone, the sole, exponent of the art of painting in enamel, which had been brought to such perfection by Henry Bone, R.A. [q. v.] and Charles Muss [q. v.] Essex and his brother Alfred worked for and under Muss, and laboured conjointly to show to the public that works could be executed in enamel possessing the transparency, crispness, and texture of other methods of painting. He accordingly painted numerous miniature reproductions of pictures by Correggio, Guido, Wilkie, Abraham Cooper, Sir Joshua Reynolds, and others, displaying the wide capacity of the art. A private exhibition of these was held in the spring of 1839. Essex first exhibited at the Royal Academy in 1818, sending a ‘Terrier's Head,’ after Abraham Cooper. He continued to exhibit copies of well-known pictures and portraits, and also portraits from the life, up to 1864, and his works were always very much admired. He also contributed to the exhibitions at the British Institution, Suffolk Street Gallery, Liverpool Society of Fine Arts, &c. He was appointed enamel-painter to Princess Augusta, in 1839 to the queen, and subsequently to the prince consort. He died at Brighton 29 Dec. 1869, aged 85. His son, William B. Essex (1822-1852), followed his father's profession as an artist, but was prevented by his early death from obtaining any reputation. He exhibited at the Royal Academy from 1845 to 1851. Alfred Essex executed plates for Muss, notably the large plate for the Holy Family, after Parmigiano, now in the royal collection. He prepared the plates and the colours for his brother's paintings. There is in the Museum of Practical Geology, Jermyn Street, a series of examples showing the colours prepared by him which had the quality of remaining the same after vitrification. He published in June 1837 a valuable paper on the art of painting in enamel (‘London and Edinburgh Philosophical Magazine,’ 3rd ser. x. 442). He also published some drawing-slates, and it is stated that he subsequently emigrated.
[Redgrave's Dict. of Artists; Graves's Dict. of Artists, 1760-1880; Art Journal, 1870, p. 53; Bryan's Dict. of Painters and Engravers, ed. R. E. Graves; Catalogue of Essex's Exhibition, 1839; Catalogues of Royal Academy, &c.; Notes and Queries, 4th ser. i. 434: information from F. W. Rudler, curator of the Museum of Practical Geology.]
L. C.
# Dictionary of National Biography, 1885-1900/Espec, Walter

​ESPEC, WALTER (d. 1153), founder of Rievaulx Abbey, Yorkshire, was probably the son of William Spech, who in 1085 held Warden, Bedfordshire, where some fifty years later Walter Espec founded and endowed an Abbey (Domesday Book, i. 214 b, 215 a; Dugdale, v. 280). Espec's chief property was in Yorkshire, and he resided at Helmsley. Under Henry I he was justice of the forests and itinerant Justice in the northern counties. Under Stephen he actively resisted the Scotch invasion. On 10 Jan. 1138 FitzDuncan failed in a night attack on Espec's castle of Wark. Then King David and his son Henry came up and formed a regular siege for three weeks, after which the main body passed on to harry Northumberland. Three months later (c. 8 May) the garrison swooped down upon the Scotch king's commissariat, and had to submit to a second siege. The castle was stoutly defended by Walter's nephew, John de Bussey, but had to surrender about 11 Nov. Two months previously (22 Aug.) Espec was one of the leaders of the battle of the Standard. According to Ailred of Rievaulx, Espec was at the time regarded by the other barons of the north as their 'dux et pater' (De Bello Stand., ap. Twysden, pp. 346–7). He was already an aged man (ib. p. 337), and there is no reason for doubting the tradition which makes him withdraw in 1162 into the abbey of Kirkham, which he had founded in 1121, and where he is said to have died 7 March 1153 (Cotton MS. Vitell F. 4, quoted in Dugdale).
​Ailred, abbot of Rievaulx [see Ethelred, 1109?–1166], describes his patron as a man of immense height and build, with black hair, full beard, broad features, and trumpet voice. Having no surviving children by his wife Adelina, he founded the Cistercian abbeys of Rievaulx, Yorkshire, and Warden, Bedfordshire, the former in 1131, and the latter in 1135, besides the priory for Augustinian canons at Kirkham, Yorkshire. According to tradition, Espec’s son and namesake fell from his horse and broke his neck about 1121 while still a young man. This led his father to found the abbey of Kirkham, over which he set his uncle, William Garton, as first prior (1132). The foundation charter mentions the name of William Rufus, from which it would appear that Espec at one time had been on friendly relations with his king. Archbishop Thurstan of York aided in his pious works, and the concession of the lands was sanctioned by Espec's heiresses, his three sisters, Hawisa Bussey, Albreda Traylye, Adelina Roos, together with their husbands and children.
It was from Espec that Lady Constance FitzGilbert, or her husband Ralph, borrowed the copy of Geoffrey of Monmouth which Geoffrey Gaimar used for his ‘Estoire des Engles.’ Espec procured it from Earl Robert of Gloucester (Geoffrey Gaimar, ap. Monumenta Historica Britannica, p. 829 a).
[Dugdale's Monasticon, ed. 1817, v. 280 ct seq., vi. 207 et seq., 369; Richard of Hexham; Chronicle of Melrose. Henry of Huntingdon, sub ann. 1132, 1138; Foss's Judges; and authorities cited above.]
T. A. A.
# Dictionary of National Biography, 1885-1900/Matthews, Marmaduke

​MATTHEWS, MARMADUKE (1606–1683?), Welsh nonconformist, was the son of Matthew Matthews (or Mathew Jones?) of Swansea, where he was born in 1606. He matriculated at All Souls' College, Oxford, on 20 Feb. 1623–4, and proceeded B.A. on 25 Feb. 1624–5, and M.A. on 5 July 1627 (Foster, Alumni Oxon.) In 1636 Laud, in the annual account of his province (Lambeth MSS. vol. 943; cf. Dr. Rees, Nonconformity in Wales, pp. 35–6), notes that he was vicar of Penmain in Gower, and was ‘preaching against all holy-days.’ He was ‘inhibited’ by the Bishop of St. Davids, and when proceedings were begun against him in the court of high commission, he fled to New England. He visited the West Indies, and finally became a ‘teaching-elder’ of the church of Maldon in New England. In 1658 he was induced by his friend and patron Colonel Philip Jones [q. v.], who chiefly supported his wife and family during his exile, to return to Swansea. He was appointed the minister of the parish of St. John's, Swansea, from which place he was ejected in 1662. He afterwards preached, by the connivance of the magistrates, ‘in a little chapel at the end of the town,’ and under the indulgence granted by Charles II to nonconformists in 1672, he took out a license to preach as an independent in his own house at Swansea (Rees, op. cit. p. 177). He died there about 1683. In his old age he was supported by his children, ‘of whom two or three were sober conformists’ (Calamy, Account, ed. 1713, ii. 732); one of them, Lemuel [q. v.], is separately noticed. Perhaps Edward Matthews, who matriculated at New Inn Hall, Oxford, on 11 July 1634, aged 19, and is described as a son of Matthew Jones of Swansea, was a younger brother of Matthews. Marmaduke was author of ‘The Messiah Magnified by the Mouthes of Babes in America,’ London, 1659, 8vo. It is dedicated to Philip, Lord Jones.
[Rees's Nonconformity in Wales, pp. 35, 36, 53–4, 177; Calamy's Account, ut supra; Foster's Alumni Oxonienses, 1500–1714; Matthews' Messiah Magnified, Ded.]
D. Ll. T.
# Dictionary of National Biography, 1885-1900/Matthews, Thomas

​MATTHEWS, THOMAS (1805–1889), actor and pantomimist, born 17 Oct. 1805, entered as a boy the office of the ‘Independent Whig,’ subsequently known after other changes as the ‘Sunday Times.’ After appearing at the Olympic Theatre he went to Sadler's Wells, where, on the retirement of Grimaldi in 1828, he appeared, 26 Dec. 1829, as clown in a pantomime called ‘The Hag of the Forest.’ Upon the revival of ‘Mother Goose’ he played clown for fifty nights, after being coached by Grimaldi. He then appeared at Covent Garden in successive years in ‘Puss in Boots,’ ‘Old Mother Hubbard,’ ‘Whittington and his Cat,’ and ‘Gammer ​Gurton.’ At Drury Lane he created a sensation by imitating Duvernay in ‘La Cachuca.’ His Orson was also a hit. Engaged by Macready at 3l. per week, 20 July 1837, he reappeared at Covent Garden, where he brought out ‘Fair Rosamond,’ and danced a mock bayadère dance. He visited Scotland and played in Edinburgh and elsewhere, and returned to the Olympic in Nelson Lee's pantomime ‘Riddle me, Riddle me Ree;’ then went to Paris, where, August 1842, he superintended the production at the Variétés of a pantomime called ‘Arlequin.’ Théophile Gautier speaks of his get-up as of ‘a rare fantasy,’ and praises his parody of the ‘Cachuca’ (L'Art Dramatique en France, ii. 260).
In 1843 he played at Drury Lane in Planché's ‘Fortunio,’ was seen in ballet at Vauxhall with the Paynes and Rosina Wright in 1847, was clown in 1848 in ‘Harlequin Lord Lovel’ at the Surrey, was at the Marylebone in 1851, and in the following year was at Drury Lane in Blanchard's ‘Dame Durden and the Droll Days of the Merry Monarch.’ In other pantomimes at the Adelphi, Drury Lane, Covent Garden, and in the country, he was familiarly known, singing constantly the songs of ‘Hot Codlings,’ ‘Tippitywitchet,’ and the ‘Life of a Clown,’ the last composed for him by Balfe. In 1859 he gave an entertainment. After this he played at Drury Lane in the burlesque introductions to various pantomimes. His last appearance was at Drury Lane in 1865 in ‘Hop o' my Thumb.’ He then retired. After being bedridden for four months he died at Brighton, 4 March 1889, and was buried in Brighton cemetery. He was the last of the old-fashioned clowns, sang in approved fashion, transmitted the traditions of Grimaldi, was a prudent man, and was much respected.
[Personal recollections; Era newspaper, 9 March 1889; Era Almanack, various years; Scott and Howard's Life of E. L. Blanchard; Daily News, 11 March 1889; Theatrical Times, i. 274; Dramatic and Musical Review, various years; Pollock's Macready's Reminiscences.]
J. K.
# Dictionary of National Biography, 1885-1900/Maturin, William

​MATURIN, WILLIAM (1803–1887), divine, son of Charles Robert Maturin [q. v.], born at Dublin in 1803, was educated at Dublin University, where he graduated B. A. in the spring commencement 1831, and accumulated the degrees of M.A., B.D., and D.D. at the summer commencement 1866 (Cat. Dubl Grad. p. 378). After serving for some years a curacy in Dublin, Maturin was presented in 1844 by William Le Fanu to the perpetual curacy of Grangegorman. A high churchman formed by the movement of Pusey and Newman, his unreserved expression of his views led Archbishop Whately and others to neglect him, so that in spite of his great talents as a preacher and his exemplary and most successful devotion to parochial details, he remained all his life merely incumbent of All Saints, Grangegorman, with an income never exceeding 100l., a year, though about 1860 his friends obtained for him the additional post of librarian in Archbishop Marsh's library, Dublin. In England he would have been considered a thoroughly moderate man, but to the Irish evangelical masses he always appeared as little removed from a papist, and to a large section in Dublin his name was a term of theological reproach. In his personal character Maturin was most distinguished. After speaking of the great qualities of his sermons, Professor Mahaffy says of Maturin: 'He was a grim Dantesque sort of man, with deep affection for his family and friends hidden under a severe exterior. He was perfectly certain and clear in his views a quality rare in modern preachers and fatal to modern preaching; his simple and burning words reflected the zeal of his spirit. … I saw him crush by his fiery words a mob of young men, who came to disturb his service on Protestant principles, and drive them cowed and slinking from his church. They had victoriously broken up a service in another church the previous Sunday.'
Maturin died at Alma House, Monkstown, on 30 June 1887, and after lying in state for four days before the altar was buried in All Saints' Church on 4 July, when many distinguished churchmen stood by his grave.
Besides several pamphlets, single sermons, and addresses to the Irish Church Society, Maturin issued 'Six Lectures on the Events of Holy Week,' Oxford, 1860, 8vo; and in 1888 was published posthumously 'The Blessedness of the Dead in Christ,' a collection of twenty-four of his sermons, London, 8vo.
[Athenaeum, 1887,ii. 54 (9 July); Irish Times, 4 and 5 July 1887; Dublin Daily Express, 2 July 1887; Brit. Mus. Cat.]
T. S.
# Dictionary of National Biography, 1885-1900/Maude, Thomas

​MAUDE, THOMAS (1718–1798), minor poet and essayist, belonged to the ancient family of Maude of Alverthorpe and Wakefield, Yorkshire (Burke, Commoners, ii. 84). He was born in Downing Street, Westminster, during May 1718 (cf. Gent. Mag. 1841, pt. i. p. 597, and pt. ii. p. 36), and entered the medical profession. In 1755 he was appointed surgeon on board the Barfleur, commanded by Lord Harry Powlett [q. v.] Maude's favourable evidence at a court-martial before which Lord Harry was tried at Portsmouth in October 1755 was so highly valued by his commander that upon his succession as sixth and last Duke of Bolton in 1765 he appointed Maude steward of his Yorkshire estates. This post he held, residing at Bolton Hall, Wharfedale, until the death of the duke in 1794. He then retired to Burley Hall, near Ottley, where he died unmarried in December 1798, aged 80 (York Courant, Monday, 14 Jan. 1799). He was buried in Wensley churchyard; lines from the ‘Deserted Village’ are engraved on his tomb (Notes and Queries, 4th ser. viii. 230).
Maude's accomplishments were inconsiderable, but he was esteemed for his love of ‘letters and of man.’ His verses are mainly descriptive of the Yorkshire dales. He contributed to Grose's ‘Antiquities’ the information about Bolton Castle and Wensleydale. Grose, who was his friend, quotes from ‘Wharfedale’ in illustration of Aysgarth Bridge. William Paley [q. v.], the divine, also visited Maude at Bolton (ib. 2nd ser. viii. 407).
His works are: 1. ‘Wensleydale, or Rural Contemplations; a Poem,’ 1772, 4to; 3rd edition, London, 1780; 4th edition, Richmond, Yorkshire, 1816. Published for the benefit of Leeds General Infirmary. 2. ‘An Account of the Cowthorpe Oak, near Weatherby, Yorks,’ 1774. See ‘Opuscula Botanica,’ vol. clxiv. 3. ‘Verbeia, or Wharfedale; a Poem descriptive and didactic,’ 1782, 4to. 4. ‘Viator; a Journey from London to Scarborough by way of York; a Poem, with notes historical and topographical,’ 1782, 4to. 5. ‘The Invitation, or Urbanity; a Poem,’ ​1791, 4to. 6. ‘The Reaper; a collection of Essays, &c.,’ some of which were originally published in the ‘York Courant,’ 1797. Enlarged and printed for the benefit of the Ottley and Burley Sunday-schools, 2 vols. 8vo, York, 1798, but never published in consequence of the author's death. The second volume ends abruptly at p. 100. Two copies only were issued, of which one, with manuscript notes by W. Blanchard, the printer, is in the British Museum.
[Authorities stated above; Notes and Queries, 2nd ser. viii. 291, 4th ser. viii. 230, and xii. 233; Gent. Mag. 1799, i. 79, 163, 191; Martin's Bibl. Cat. of Privately Printed Books, p. 195, where Maude's last work is given as by ‘— Mander, Esq.’]
C. F. S.