Foley, Thomas (1780–1833), third Baron, boroughmonger and sinecurist (to use Cobbett’s vocabulary). Cobbett recognized his success with trees, however.
Folkestone, Lord: see Radnor, William P.-B.
Fordyce, John (1738–1809): MP for New Romney and later for Berwick, and served as receiver of the land tax in Scotland. He was accused of fraudulent conduct while in office, but most of these charges were dropped. See Cole, RR, vol. III, p. 978.
Fortescue, Sir John (d. c. 1476): Lord Chancellor of Henry VI, and author of De Laudibus Legum Angliat in which he states that the English labourer was well off in the fifteenth century, with ample food and clothing. Cobbett liked to cite this reference as a contrast to the labourers’ situation in his day.
Fox, Charles James (1749–1806): early supporter of the French Revolution who softened into a moderate reform position. Cobbett initially supported the Ministry of All the Talents in which Fox served, and urged him to come out harder against the Pitt system.
Fox, Elizabeth Bridget (d. 1842): mistress and later wife of Charles James Fox.
Frend, William (1757–1841): priest, fellow and tutor at Cambridge University. He was dismissed as a tutor on account of writing a pamphlet in support of Unitarianism, and after a second offence was discharged from the University. He became an actuary and associated with Benthamites upon moving to London.
Friend: see Frend, William.
Fry, Elizabeth (1780–1845): prison reformer. Cobbett disliked any talk of prison reform because of his belief that felons lived better than English labourers.
Gages: family seat at Firle in Sussex. They acquired a barotency in 1622.
Galloway, Alexander: engineer and political reformer who collaborated with various British Jacobins during the 1790s, and later with Sir Francis Burden and Francis Place. Cobbett attacked him as duplicitous for his methods in raising money for the revolutionary cause in Greece. See Cole, RR, vol. III, p. 980.
Galloway, John Stewart, seventh Earl (1736–1806): Tory MP for Morpeth and later Ludgershall. In 1768 he was appointed a Member of the Board of Police, and in 1772 was made a Lord of Police. He sat in Parliament between 1774 and 1790 as a representative peer for Scotland, and in 1775 was created Knight of the Thistle (Sir James Balfour Paul (ed.), The Scots Peerage (Edinburgh, 1907), vol. IV, pp. 166–7). See also Graham, Sir James Robert.
Garniers: renowned family of sinecurists and pluralists in Hampshire.
George III (1738–1820): King of Great Britain and Ireland.
George IV: Prince Regent and later King of Great Britain and Ireland. For Cobbett’s attitude towards him see his little known History of the Regency and Reign of King George the Fourth (1830–34).
Gibbs, Sir Vicary (1751–1820): ‘Vinegar Gibbs’, Chief Justice of the Common Pleas and later Attorney-General (1807–12). In the latter position he was quick to prosecute the Radical press. See Cole, RR, vol. III, p. 981.
Giddy, Davies (1767–1839): landowner in Sussex and Cornwall; MP for Helston and Bodmin. He was also an amateur scientist. See Cole, RR, vol. III, p. 981.
Glover, Mr: hatter who lived near Tetbury.
Goddard: perhaps Ambrose Goddard (1779–1854), MP for Wiltshire, or his brother Thomas (1778–1814), MP for Cricklade (1806–12). See Cole, RR, vol. III, p. 982.
Godschalls: old family that died out, it seems, with William John Man Godschall of Weston House, Albury, Surrey (b. 1759).
Goldsmith, John: landowner, of Hambledon, near Southampton. He was a friend of Cobbett’s who chaired the county meeting at Portsdown Hill where Cobbett moved the adoption of the ‘Hampshire petition’.
Gooch, Sir Thomas Sherlock (1767–1851): ‘Gaffer’, MP for Suffolk (1806–30), and chair of the Agricultural Committee of 1821. Cobbett treated him as a fool.
Goodlad, Richard (1756–1821): landowner and magistrate of Droxford, Hampshire, and neighbour of Cobbett’s during the Botley days.
Gordon, Jane (d. 1812): wife of Alexander Gordon, fourth Duke of Gordon. She was a society woman and friend of the younger Pitt’s.
Gourlay, Robert Fleming (1784–1863): of Deptford, Wiltshire. A reformer and pamphleteer, he emigrated to Canada in 1817. He was expelled, and in 1819 returned to England, where he continued writing about social and economic questions regarding Canada and Britain, while taking time out to quarrel with Henry Brougham, whom he horse-whipped in the lobby of the House of Commons. He later went back to Canada. During his first sojourn in North America, he visited Cobbett’s farm on Long Island and publicly belittled it, much to the anger of his host.
Graeme or Greme or Greome, Charles (1758–1838): magistrate of Alresford, Hampshire.
Graham, Sir James Robert (1792–1861): of Netherby in Cumberland. He was nicknamed ‘Magnus Apollo’ for his preoccupation with tracing his lineage to Malise Graham (first Earl of Menteith, d. c. 1490), and one of whose sons was probably John Graham of Kilbride, or the so-called ‘John of the bright sword’, that Cobbett mockingly mentions in the text (see Galloway, John Stewart in index of Persons and Sir James Balfour (ed.), The Scots Peerage (Edinburgh, 1909), vol. VI, pp. 142–6, 146n.). Although amenable to a degree of political reform (he assisted in drafting the Great Reform Bill of 1832), Graham was deemed arrogant and aloof by Radical reformers. In 1826 he published a pamphlet entitled ‘Corn and Currency’ which Cobbett severely rebuked as stupid and misguided; he also alleged that Graham had plagiarized some of Cobbett’s own arguments about the effects of Peel’s Bill of 1819 (see PR, 2 September 1826, pp. 577–601; 9 September 1826, pp. 641–69). It seems that some of Cobbett’s correspondents made disclosures about aspects of Sir James’s private life that might have embarrassed his father who was also named Sir James Graham and who had died two years earlier.
Granville, Granville Leveson-Gower (1773–1846): first Earl, friend of the younger Pitt and Canning, who appointed him Ambassador to Paris but soon recalled him. He later became a Whig and supported the Reform Bill.
Grenvilles: politicians and sinecurists who descended from George Grenville (d. 1770). The most prominent in Cobbett’s day was Lord Grenville, Prime Minister in the Ministry of All the Talents. See Cole, RR, vol. Ill, p. 984; DNB.
Grimbald, Saint (d. 903): Abbot of New Minster at Winchester. He assisted King Alfred with the promotion of learning.
Grimshawe, Nicholas: long-serving Mayor of Preston whom Cobbett despised for rigging the Preston election of 1826 against him, especially (or so he claimed) by designing narrow approaches to the polling stations (Cobbett likened them to ditches) that prevented a free and open atmosphere for voters. See also Wood, John and Stanley, Edward.
Grose, Francis (1731–91): antiquary and author of Antiquities of England and Wales, completed in 1787. Grose, Sir Nash (1740–1814): lawyer appointed as a judge of the King’s Bench in 1787. He was among the judges who tried Cobbett in 1810 for criticizing the flogging of militiamen.
Grosvenor, Robert (1767–1845): second Earl. He was a supporter of Pitt’s but became a Whig and moderate reformer.
Gunner, William (1778–1857): attorney of Bishop’s Waltham in Hampshire. He worked to have Cobbett prosecuted in the Jesse Burgess affair. See Burrough, Sir James.
Gunning, Captain Orlando George Sutton: landowner near Guildford.
Gunter, Mr: had a tree farm at Earl’s Court, near Cobbett’s seed farm at Kensington.
Gurneys: merchant and banking family from Norfolk. Hudson (1775–1864), the ‘Hickory Quaker’, was an MP for Newtown, and spoke often about currency matters. See Cole, RR, vol. Ill, pp. 985–6. Guthrie, William (1708–70): historian, political commentator and parliamentary reporter.
Hallett, William: of Allington, Hampshire. William and his father were Radicals and friends of Cobbett. See Cole, RR, vol. Ill, p. 986.
Hamiltons: perhaps the William Hamilton (d. 1856) who wrote for the Edinburgh. Review.
Harnford, Charles Edward (1781–1854): of Woollas Hall, Worcestershire.
Hanson, John (1761–1841): solicitor in
Hampshire and then London.
Hardwicke, Philip (1690–1764), first Baron; Lord Chancellor under Walpole. Philip the younger, third Baron (d. 1834), became President of the Board of Agriculture. He was witless, in Cobbett’s view. See Cole, RR, vol. Ill, pp. 987–8.
Hay, the Rev. William Robert (1761–1839): parson and former barrister who kept the Home Office informed about the doings of Radicals in Lancashire. See Cole, RR, vol. Ill, p. 988.
Haygarths: family of ecclesiastical pluralists.
Hector, Cornthwaite J.: attorney of Petersfield and radical acquaintance of Cobbett’s.
Henry III (1207–72): King of England.
Henry VII (1457–1509): King of England.
Henry VIII (1491–1547): King of England. Cobbett saw him as a villainous robber of the poor: see Cobbett’s History of the Protestant ‘Reformation’.
Herbert, the Rev. George (1779–1825): clerical pluralist. Cobbett was familiar with him as rector of Burghclere.
Herbert, John: of Hurstbourne Tarrant.
Hicks Beach, Michael (1760–1830): of Williamstrip Park, near Cirencester.
Hill, Thomas Edmond (d. 1809): ‘powder-maker’ whose works were at Whitton.
Hobhouse: Sir Benjamin (1757–1831), barrister and MP from 1797; Henry (1776–1854), cousin of Benjamin and Under Secretary of the Home Office. John Cam, first Baron Broughton (1786–1859), was a friend of Byron’s and a radical reformer. Cobbett sometimes called him ‘little Sancho’ or ‘brewer’on account of his holding shares in Whitbread’s brewery. He was involved in the Greek loan affair. See Cole, RR, vol. Ill, pp. 989–90.
Hodges, Thomas Law (1776–1857): of Benenden, Kent, Whig MP for Kent and Chairman of Kent Quarter Sessions. He was an agricultural improver who took an interest in the poverty of rural workers. See Dyck, Cobbett and Popular Rural Culture, p. 139.
Hodgson, David: corn merchant of Liverpool. The reference on p. 118 is to the inspectors sent by corn dealers to predict the yield of crops in advance of the harvest. See Cole, RR, vol. Ill, p. 990.
Hoggart, Mr: agent for leasing of farms in France.
Holdway, Robert (1802–55): farmer of Stoke, near Hurstbourne Tarrant.
Holland, Henry Richard Vassall Fox (1773–1840): third Baron. He was a reform-minded Whig who opposed Pitt’s oppressions and supported many other radical endeavours in Cobbett’s time.
Holland, Swinton Colthurst: partner in the bank of the Baring family.
Hollett, George: see Hollis, George.
Hollis, George: of Winchester. He was Treasurer of the County and accused by Thomas Baring of misappropriating county funds. Cobbett disliked Hollis but did not want the Barings to have a free hand in prosecuting such matters. See Cole, RR, vol. Ill, p. 991.
Holt, Francis Ludlow (1780–1844): legal writer and dramatist.
Hone, William (1740–1842): the satirist, publisher, antiquarian and Radical. He reprimanded Cobbett for his flight to America in 1817, preferring that Radicals stand up to Lord Sidmouth.
Hopes, see Johnstones.
Hoseason, Thomas (1765–1835): commissioner for the draining of the fens.
Howards: of Norfolk had once owned the estate at Albury in Surrey which was purchased by Henry Drummond and then Alexander Baring.
Hume, David (1711–76): philosopher and historian. Cobbett rejected Hume’s view mat England had progressed culturally and economically since the Middle Ages. The references in Rural Rides are to Hume’s multi-volume History of England (1754–61).
Hunters, the Orby: the family seat was at Crowland, Lincolnshire. Thomas Orby Hunter was MP for Winchilsea, and a landowner in Surrey. See Cole, RR, vol. Ill, p. 994.
Huskisson, William (1770–1830): MP for Liverpool, President of the Board of Trade, head of Woods and Forests. Cobbett disliked his support of commerce and paper money. He had the dubious distinction of being one of the first people on earth to be killed by automated human transportation, having been struck by an engine of the Manchester and Liverpool Railway on its inaugural day in 1830.
Hyde, Thomas: attorney, resident of Worcester.
Iles, Richard: farmer, of Fairford. He was a friend of Cobbett’s and a fellow Radical.
Ireland, William Henry (1777–1835): in his youth, a forger of Shakespeare who managed to deceive some leading scholars. Cobbett liked to recount Ireland’s story because it proved, to his satisfaction, that Shakespeare’s plays were imitable trash. Among Ireland’s forgeries was a blank-verse play Vortigern and Rowena which he ‘issued’ in 1795. See DNB.
Jacob, William (1780–1847): co-publisher of the Hampshire Chronicle.
James VI and I (1566–1625;): King of Scotland and England. See note 8 on ‘the English SCAEVOLA’, p. 465.
Jenkinson, Charles (1727–1808): first Earl of Liverpool and ally of the younger Pitt. He served as MP for Cockermouth, Appleby, Harwich, Hastings and Saltash. See DNB.
Jenkinson, Robert Banks (1770–1828): second Earl of Liverpool, Prime Minister (1812–26). Cobbett’s attacks on him usually concern financial policy, such as Liverpool’s encouragement of commercial interests and his support for a return to cash payments. As a rule, Cobbett directed most of his wrath to Liverpool’s leading ministers, chiefly Lord Castlereagh, Lord Sidmouth and George Canning.
Jocelyn, Percy (1764–1843): Bishop of Clogher. He was convicted in 1822 of sodomy.
John (d. 1216): King of England.
John of Gaunt (1340–99): Duke of Lancaster and son of Edward III.
Johnson, William (1777–1850): co-publisher of the Hampshire Chronicle.
Johnstones: family of landowners and MPs who intermarried with the Hopes. See Cole, RR, vol. Ill, p. 997.
Joliffe, Colonel Hylton (1773–1843): of Merstham in Surrey, chief proprietor of the borough of Petersfield.
Jolliff, John: of Hurstbourne Tarrant.
Jones, Elizabeth, Lady (d. 1800): of Ramsbury Manor, Wiltshire. Benefactor of Sir Francis Burden. See Cole, RR, vol. Ill, p. 997.
Jones, Sir Francis Burden: see Burden, Sir Francis.
Judson, Mr: of Kensington, manufacturer of farm machinery and other iron wares. Cobbett urged him to manufacture ‘Franklin’ stoves for the English market. See Spater, William Cobbett, vol. II, pp. 431–3.
Kendrick: see Kenrick.
Kenrick, William (d. 1829): of Dorking, MP for Bletchingley (1806–12).
Kenyon, Lloyd (1732–1802): first Baron, and Lord Chief Justice (1788–1802). On p. 138 Cobbett is alluding to Lord Kenyon’s hard line against forestallers and regraters during the scarcity of 1800–1801.
Knight, John (1763–1838): Manchester Radical who was frequently imprisoned for his work in the cause of reform. As secretary of the Oldham Political Association he grew critical of Cobbett’s work as MP for Oldham, particularly his slights against book learning and his seeming disinterest in the Factory Commission. Cobbett’s response was that Knight was ‘nasty’ and ‘conceited’. See Dyck, Cobbett and Popular Rural Culture, p. 200.
Knowles, John: friend of Cobbett’s from Farnham.
Laing, James (1748–1831): merchant who lived at Moore Park, near Farnham.
Lamb, William (1779–1848), second Viscount Melbourne, MP for Ludgershall, Malmesbury and five other seats before taking his seat in the House of Lords (1829) upon the death of his father. As Home Secretary under Lord Grey he led the way in persecuting the rural rioters of 1830 and the Tolpuddle Martyrs of 1834. He also kept a close eye on Cobbett in the aftermath of the revolt. He served as Prime Minister 1834, 1835–9 and 1839–41; he was also a favourite of the young Queen Victoria and gave her valuable lessons in statecraft. See Dyck, Cobbett and Popular Rural Culture, pp. 198–9, 268 n. 42, 270 n. 76; DNB.
Lansdowne, Henry Petty-Fitzmaurice (1780–1863): third Marquis, Whig reformer who served as Chancellor of the Exchequer in the Ministry of All the Talents. He co-operated with Canning and supported a return to cash payments. See Cole, RR, vol. Ill, pp. 999–1000.
Leach: see Leech.
Le Blan
c, Sir Simon (d. 1816): a judge of the King’s Bench who assisted in Cobbett’s trial in 1810 for his criticism of the flogging of militiamen.
Leech, John (1761–1847): of Lea, near Godalming. Cobbett was a friend of Leech’s. Later Cobbett would covet Leech’s position as MP for West Surrey in the first reformed Parliament. Cobbett ended up as MP for the borough of Oldham. See Dyck, Cobbett and Popular Rural Culture, pp. 199–202.
Leopold, Prince of Saxe-Coburg (1790–1865): uncle of Queen Victoria and King of Belgium from 1830. In 1816 he married the Prince Regent’s daughter, Princess Charlotte, who died soon thereafter.
Lethbridge, Sir Thomas (1778–1849): of Sandford Park, Somerset, MP for Taunton. He was an ardent Pittite and critic of Radicals. He was a strong parliamentary advocate for agricultural protection but his motion for the relief of landowners was soundly defeated (243 votes to 23) in May 1822. Cobbett was opposed to special protection for agriculture because he believed that political and currency reform would enable farmers to prosper. He also knew that Lethbridge and other ‘pro-agriculture’ legislators were not thinking of the labourers when they spoke of the ‘landed interest’. See Travis Crosby, English Farmers and the Politics of Protection, 1815–1852 (Hassocks, Sussex, 1977), p. 43; Parliamentary Debates, vol. VII (London, 1823), pp. 117–18.
Lingard, John (1771–1851): Catholic priest and historian. Cobbett pinched a good deal of the information for his History of the Protestant ‘Reformation’ from Lingard’s History of England (1819–30).
Liverpool, Lord: see Jenkinson, Charles.
Lockhart, John (1766–1835): lawyer, MP for Oxford City and combatant of Cobbett’s at a Hampshire public meeting in 1817. See Cole, RR, vol. Ill, p. 1001.
Londonderry, Robert Stewart, second Marquis, better known as Viscount Castlereagh (1769–1822): Secretary of State for War and the main voice of Liverpool’s government in the House of Commons. Along with Sidmouth, who sat in the Lords, Castlereagh was the great persecutor of the radical reform movement, suspending habeas corpus in 1817 and steering the Six Acts into law. Cobbett was exhilarated when Castlereagh committed suicide in 1822, and revelled in the gruesome details of the death, alluding often to the dressing-room pen-knife and the ‘ear to ear’ incision. The ‘hole-digger’ allusions are to the schemes of the Liverpool government for relief of the unemployed in the aftermath of the Napoleonic Wars.
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