4. The Authors
On September 1st 1829 two
new magazines were delivered to subscribers or made available for purchase. The
first issues of the Rev. Thomas Moore’s The
History and Topography of The County of Devon were published in London by
Robert Jennings, 62 Cheapside, on that day,
but it would later be bound and published as The History of Devonshire. Two separate formats were offered:
octavo (approx.150 x 225 mm) with a paper cover that cost just 1s; or quarto (approx.
230 x 290 mm) with a paper cover at 2s (as India Proofs)[1].
This work contained descriptive text by Thomas Moore and E W Brayley. A partial
set of each of these two issues is known[2]
and a bound volume of the quarto issue with some covers bound in is extant.
There was a subsequent “quarterly” edition. The local (i.e., Devon) distributor
of the initial series would appear to be Mr W Bennett of Russell Street in
Plymouth.
Henry Fisher’s Devonshire and Cornwall Illustrated meanwhile could be bought from
J Gibson at his address at 8, Lady-Well-Place in Plymouth or was sent directly
from the publishers H Fisher, Son & Co. from their premises at 38, Newgate
Street and from the offices of Jones & Co. in Finsbury Square, both London
addresses. From correspondence quoted earlier it is clear that Gibson was very
much Fisher’s representative for the south west. The first and all subsequent
issues at quarto size[3]
(also circa 230 x 900 mm) had buff paper covers and surprisingly cost just 1s.
This work contained descriptive text by J Britton and E W Brayley.
Both of the above works contained
exactly 94 illustrations of Devon. The steel engravings (or etchings),
utilising this new technology, were a similar size at approx. 170 x 120 mm:
those of Moore when imprints are included; Fisher when a dedication is present.
These were printed one to a page in Moore’s work and two to a page in the work
written by Britton and Brayley, landscape scenes one above the other, portrait
views side by side. While the views in the former work were more in the nature
of embellishments to Moore’s text, having no direct relevance to it, the Fisher
plates were specifically the subject matter of the text written; most of it by
John Britton whose name comes up as author or editor of a surprisingly large
number of works around this time.
The Rev.
Moore’s comprehensive tome with its full title The History of Devonshire from the earliest period to the present by Rev.
Thomas Moore. Illustrated by a series of views drawn and engraved by and under
the direction of William Deeble, was
actually designed with two (or even three) text volumes in mind plus
illustrations. Today it is often found bound in two volumes with plates
interspersed, or three volumes, with illustrations separately bound. The first
volume, a General Description of the
county, has 574 pages. Volume Two, Biography,
contains 234 biographies of prominent Devon personalities, and has just over
900 pages in the “final” printed version. Volume Three, where present, is
devoted solely to the views as they contribute little if anything to the
letterpress; otherwise, the illustrations are interspersed in the text.
The title
page – the same title page is used for all three volumes even retaining the
original 1829 date – only alludes to the Revd
Thomas Moore, however, both the cover of the parts issue as well as the
Address make reference to E W Brayley. On the cover he is E W Brayley, Jun.
A.L.S. and in the Address we are promised two maps, one of which to be coloured
to accompany Mr Brayley’s Outlines.
The complete work, according to the list on page 3 of the introduction in
Volume I, was actually to cover: The
description of its surface will be followed by a general history of the county,
ancient and modern; together with an account of its antiquities, its geological
features, natural history, rural economy, and the state of trade and commerce;
ecclesiastical history, general biography, and brief histories of the nobility
and distinguished families connected with the county; and finally, a particular
and historical description of the different towns, sea-ports, harbours,
curiosities &c. Volume I was indeed split up into four books: Book I
General Description with Chapters on Etymology etc., Rivers etc., Navigation of
Rivers etc. And Railways: Book II General History with 2 Chapters on Original
Population etc, Historical Events: and Book III on the Outlines of the Geology,
Physical Geography, and Natural History, of Devonshire. This section is
credited to Brayley (pp. 237 – 408) with the note that: The part contributed by Mr Brayley, Jun. Terminates here. Moore wanted it to be quite clear that the
bulk of the enterprise was his own work. Book IV consisted of 3 chapters and
covered agriculture trade and commerce, mining and minerals, and trade in
manufactured products.
A further volume – General Topography – may have been planned and, indeed, prepared for publication, but did not materialise (see Chapter 8, Publication History).
To a certain
degree, the title page illustration is an indication of what was to be found.
The page presents a rood screen at top with three coats of arms being those of
the City of Exeter, flanked by the mayoral arms of Plymouth and an engraver’s
imagination of a suitable coat of arms for Tiverton.[4]
Flanking the title of the work are two more coats of arms: those of the Bishop
of Exeter and that of the Fortescue family also seen on the cover to the parts
issue. At the foot of the page are four discernible works of Devon literature:
Camden’s Britannia (1586) or more
specifically The visitation of Devon which was carried out in 1620 by Henry St. George and Sampson Lennard under Camden's direction; Risdon’s Survey
which despite being in private circulation for almost 80 years had only
recently been published in full (1811); Sir
William Pole’s Collections (published posthumously by his family 1791); and
Prince’s Worthies of Devon (1701). The present work was to bring all these
learned works under one roof. It would seem to be a Benjamin Martin project but
only for Devon.
The text of
Fisher’s Devon & Cornwall
Illustrated; Exhibiting the Picturesque Scenery, Buildings, Antiquities,
&c. of these highly interesting counties, from Original Drawings by Thomas
Allom, and W H Bartlett; with Descriptive Accounts, forming brief County
Histories, is credited to J Britton
and E W Brayley, Esqrs. Although at first glance sounding every bit as dry
as Moore’s title, each plate was provided with its own specific text which
varied in length and in historical background depending on the subject matter.
Edward
William Brayley (1801-1870) was already a well-known figure by the time Fisher
employed him to write some of the descriptive text which was specifically
written to accompany the illustrations being used. Brayley was born in London
and although he led a sheltered childhood by all accounts, he was able to study
and became interested in all aspects of the natural sciences and was a founding
member of both the Zoological Society and the Chemical Society as well as a
Fellow of the Royal Society.[5]
It is obviously interesting to note that Brayley contributed to both works
under discussion here. In Moore’s work he even refers to his visit to the
county in 1825 (p.243).
John Britton (1771-1857), too, was no newcomer
having already established a reputation as an English antiquary, topographer,
author and editor. Born in Wiltshire and made an orphan at an early age and
with no apprenticeship behind him he drifted from job to job. However, he tried
his hand at writing and at some point met E W Brayley, who became his friend.
Together they wrote a number of descriptions of counties under The Beauties of England series:
Wiltshire was their first in 1801 and Devon with Dorset (Vol. IV) appeared in
1804.
Britton is credited with making topographical
works more interesting[6]
and this is certainly true when comparing these two works. He had already had
some Devon experience: not only had he published Devon as part of the Beauties
of England series (1804) but his The
History and Antiquities of the Cathedral Church of Exeter had just been
published in 1826.[7]
Perhaps there is no better example of Britton’s proliferation of works and his
importance to Fisher than the four-page advertising flyer inserted at the back
of Issue 5: here his name is mentioned in connection with no less than ten of
the twelve works listed (Fig. 16).[8]
The text of Devon & Cornwall
Illustrated ran to just 106 pages.
Fig. 16. John Britton
contributed to all eight works on this advertising page.
In addition to Britton and Brayley, local people
also contributed. Part 3 has a byline Assisted by Gentlemen in various Parts
of the two Counties and in Part 4 this has been expanded to read Aided
by Communications from the Rev. Samuel Rowe, B.A., and other Gentlemen … .
Rowe being a well-known and highly respected local antiquarian.
The only person to remain a bit of a mystery is
the Reverend Thomas Moore.[9]
An entry in The Christian Pioneer Band 16
has a Monthly Record entry for
December 1. 1842. Here there is an obituary for the Rev. Thomas Moore who died
in Islington on August 23rd, 1842, at the age of 76; and there is
another obituary for him in the Hereford
Journal, 7th Sept. 1842. The obituary mentions three of Moore’s writings
including “an admirable Sermon against Cruelty to Animals” … “an elaborate and
beautifully illustrated History of
Devonshire" and an "ingenious Essay
on Social Worship" etc." Apparently, he left an aged widow, “and
a large family of children and grandchildren.”[10]
Thomas Moore was born in January 1767 (baptised on 13th January) in Leicester at the St Mary de Castro church (two possible siblings are buried there). He married Frances Scott on 4th August 1789 in Leicester. He was admitted to the Academy at Daventry and he was Minister at the Unitarian Chapel of Kingswood, Birmingham between 1795 and 1809 (Fig. 17). At some time he must have moved to Islington with his family and he died there. His wife died five years later and was also buried in Islington. They had ten children.[11]
Fig. 17. The Unitarian Church in Kingswood, Birmingham.
Moore was keen to assert his authority on the
work as seen by his note at the end of Book III Chapter VII Physical Structure
and Natural History: The Part contributed to this work by Mr Brayley, Jun.
terminates here. Pages 529-30 of Volume I have tables of output from the
Wheal Betsy Mine and of the Wheal Friendship Mine from 1821 to 1830 which must
have been compiled after publication commenced. We are told in the text that: At the present time (1831) the state of
mining in the county is at a low ebb. This text must have been written very
close to publication date (Number 23 in July 1831).
We know that
Moore was still writing and/or correcting his Biography (i.e. Vol. II) section as late as 1832 as he refers to
both the correspondence between the Rev. Samuel Merrivale and Dr Priestley
published in a recent work (footnote p.610) and to Memoirs of Great Commanders written by G P R James and published in
that year (footnote p.629). He was also possibly in contact with both Henry
Woolcombe of Plymouth and Octavian Blewitt whose Panorama of Torquay was published in 1830[12]
and 1832. Woolcombe (1778-1847) was a well-known and respected antiquarian and
founded the Plymouth Institution in 1812. Writing about Dr Huxham (#194), Moore
refers to both men by name: I am indebted for the unpublished information in
this article to the kindness of Henry Woolcombe, Esq., of Plymouth, … . The
favour was procured for this work by Octavian Blewitt.[13]
He refers to Blewitt again in the biography to Rev. Joseph Bidlake (#203), here
in combination with R Brown, who provided illustrations and map.
We know that
the text prepared by Brayley was still being written during the serial
publication as is shown by various entries. On page 272, in his summary of the
Natural History of the county, he refers to the engraving of the Dewerstone
rocks. This plate was issued in April 1830 and is dated such indicating
Brayley’s reference to the plate was included in the August Issue.
In the
annexed engraving of “the Dewerstone rocks” (published with No. 8) this cliff
is represented as seen from the picturesque point of view in the valley of the
Plym: many of the characteristic appearances of granite, as described in the
present chapter, may be observed in this view.
Certainly,
Moore had contact with local persons as shown above and by the intriguing
letter from Thomas Moore to the Reverend George Oliver of Exeter dated August
1833 (see Appendix VI).[14]
Although trained as a Jesuit priest Oliver unusually did not actually join the
Society. He was resident in Exeter from 1807 and remained there till his death
in 1861. His literary output was impressive and much centred on the Catholic
Church, Devon history and its families and Exeter.
Oliver
apparently lent Thomas Moore a number of books (those portrayed on the title
page?) and Moore wrote to Oliver to return the books and to explain delays and
possible termination of the project. He clearly states that the plates were
finished (confirming the planned publication timetable) but is not sure that
the work (text?) will ever be finished. He must have been in contact with
Oliver very early on in the project as he even intimates that Oliver had
attempted to put him off agreeing to write it.
More
intriguingly still, the final page of the biographies (Biography #234) refers
to the suicide of the Rev. William Davy, A.B. who took his life at the age of
94 on June 12th, 1836. Someone was adding text just before the final
book version appeared. This final entry is in the same gathering as the imprint
of the printer W C Featherstone of Exeter.
The two maps found
in the “complete” version are dated 1835 (Exeter) and 1836 (county) and this
would tie in neatly with this final bibliographical entry. The maps and the
index may have been added using local contributors (printer and map designer)
delaying final publication as a book or an attempt was made to get the complete
book published even if it was almost three years overdue. See Appendix III (octavo) and Appendix IV (quarto) for a reconstruction of their publication
history.
It is apparent that Moore had no direct connection
with Devon and there is no evidence he ever visited the area. From the letter
found in the copy of Moore’s History
previously belonging to the Rev. George Oliver (see Appendix VI) it is clear he was approached by the publishers to
write the copy.[15] In his letter to Oliver he writes: after
the publication had commenced I deeply repented having any concern in the work
when I found what sort of management it was likely from the Proprietors of it
but as my name was attached to it I resolved to do everything on my part to
render it as valuable as circumstances would allow. He seems to infer he
was disenchanted from an early stage but the scope of his research and his
extensive bibliography section seem to suggest he was happy to continue despite
his concerns.
From his letter it emerges that by 1833 Moore was
becoming more than a little frustrated. Almost certainly writing about progress
of the octavo version, he belittles the fact that the publisher had decided to
cease publication with issue 50, the number promised in the original Address. Apparently,
Moore had included text to this extent in issue 48, noting the publisher’s
intention and defending his involvement. This was seen and either Number 48 was
pulled or the project abandoned shortly after. “This number [48] was also
published. But when the youth abovementioned saw it he ordered the whole to be
cancelled & gave the writing of the last three numbers of the work to a
person of the name of Ireland.” Moore makes it clear what he thought of
Ireland: “who if he had been a respectable writer would not have undertaken the
job in such circumstances & in whose hands the remaining nos. will be worth
nothing.”
Moore is obviously regretting any involvement
which would not be the case if he had been the initiator of the project; he
would be complaining at his choice of publisher. The reference to Ireland is
also intriguing. If this person really did write the final letterpress, then
how much and did numbers 48-50 of the octavo version actually appear? With the
publication of the final plates (in Number 47) some 400 pages of the complete
work remained to be distributed if, in fact, it had already been printed[16].
Ian Maxted[17]
suspects that the person referred to by Moore may be the
forger William Henry Ireland doing a bit of hack work for Jennings in a rush to
finish the project. Ireland had started his career by forging various items
connected with Shakespeare, originally for his father, who was an avid
collector of Shakesperean artefacts. After a brief period in France, Ireland
returned to England and wrote four histories of English areas, including Ireland´s
History of Kent for George Virtue, published 1829.
The content of the letter seems to focus on the
octavo version, where we know that some subscribers had their copies bound,
incomplete, after pages 536 or 552. From the set of octavo Parts, it is clear
that 50 parts of this appeared, but there is still the questions of when and
how?
Use the links here to go directly to desired pages:
[2] The Devon Heritage Centre in Exeter has 41 of 47 Parts, inspected by Ian Maxted. The catalogue entry is inaccurate as it fails to mention the second series. The author has 47 of 50 Parts to the quarto issue.
[4] The castle, church and town of Tiverton above a representation of a woolpack with motto Sigillum Oppidi Tyvertoni; see Encyclopaedia Heraldica.
[6] See for example en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Britton_(antiquary).
[9] Surprisingly, the University of Salamanca, which has a project to record dialect words and expressions, mentions Moore on its website. "Almost no certain information has been found for this author. He is frequently confused with other Thomas Moores.“[9] They go on to relate that there is an Obituary for him in the Hereford Journal, 7th Sept. 1842, give his dates as Minister between 1795 and 1809 and suggest he was born in Dartmouth.
[10] Search in The Christian Pioneer Band 16 pp. 558-559 in Hathi Trust digital library under Moore. https://www.hathitrust.org/.
[12] Kit Batten (2011) entry Cockrem 1. The first edition of Blewitt´s work was published anonymously.
[13] See footnote on p. 695 (Vol. II) concerning procurement of a manuscript in Henry Woolcombe´s possession.
[15] I am grateful to Ian Maxted for bringing the contents of the letter from Moore to Oliver to my attention. The letter is in item 12452-53 held by Devon Archives and previously belonging to Brooking Rowe. Moore is probably referring here to the text of the octavo edition as the quarto issue was only at Biography 179 at this time.
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