Martin Dunsford
Martin Dunsford (1744–1807) of Tiverton in Devon, was an English merchant and Dissenter, known as an antiquarian and radical politician. His work ''Memoirs of the Town and Parish of Tiverton'' is noted as an attempt to write of the town as a whole community. Life He was the son of Martin Dunsford (1711–1763) who manufactured serge in Tiverton, Devon, having a large workshop created from a row of houses, and a workforce of over 50. His mother was Anne Stone. Educated at Blundell's School in Tiverton, he went into his father's business at age 13. He lived at Villa Franca, Park Road, now a listed building. Dunsford is described in Lewis Namier's ''The Structure of Politics at the Accession of George III'' as the leader of a movement in Tiverton for extending the local franchise, at the end of the 18th century. Holding local political office as a Churchwarden, he opposed the Ryder family who controlled the parliamentary elections in the town. In 1781 he set up a petition to Parli ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Tiverton, Devon
Tiverton ( ) is a town and civil parish in Devon, England, and the commercial and administrative centre of the Mid Devon district. The population in 2019 was 20,587. History Early history The town's name is conjectured to derive from "Twy-ford-ton" or "Twyverton", meaning "the town on two fords", and was historically referred to as "Twyford". The town stands at the confluence of the rivers Exe and Lowman. Human occupation in the area dates back to the Stone Age, with many flint tools found in the area. An Iron Age hill fort, Cranmore Castle, stands at the top of Exeter Hill above the town, and a Roman fort or marching camp was discovered on the hillside below Knightshayes Court near Bolham, just to the north of the town. Tiverton formed part of the inheritance of Aethelweard, youngest son of King Alfred. Countess Gytha of Wessex controlled the town in 1066 and the Domesday Book indicates that William the Conqueror was its tenant-in-chief in 1086. Tiverton was also the se ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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English Dissenter
English Dissenters or English Separatists were Protestant Christians who separated from the Church of England in the 17th and 18th centuries. A dissenter (from the Latin ''dissentire'', "to disagree") is one who disagrees in opinion, belief and other matters. English Dissenters opposed state interference in religious matters, and founded their own churches, educational establishments and communities. Some emigrated to the New World, especially to the Thirteen Colonies and Canada. Brownists founded the Plymouth colony. English dissenters played a pivotal role in the spiritual development of the United States and greatly diversified the religious landscape. They originally agitated for a wide-reaching Protestant Reformation of the established Church of England, and they flourished briefly during the Protectorate under Oliver Cromwell. King James VI of Scotland, I of England and Ireland, had said "no bishop, no king", emphasising the role of the clergy in justifying royal legi ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Serge (fabric)
Serge is a type of twill textile, fabric that has diagonal lines or ridges on both sides, made with a two-up, two-down weaving, weave. The worsted variety is used in making military uniforms, suit (clothes), suits, great coats and trench coats. Its counterpart, silk serge, is used for linings. French serge is a softer, finer variety. The word is also used for a high-quality woven woolen fabric. Etymology The name is derived from Old French , itself from Latin , from Ancient Greek language, Greek (''sērikós''), meaning "silken". History The early association of silk serge, Greece, and France is shown by the discovery in Charlemagne's tomb of a piece of silk serge dyed with Byzantine Empire, Byzantine motifs, evidently a gift from the Byzantine Imperial Court in the 8th or 9th century AD. It also appears to refer to a form of silk twill produced in the early renaissance in or around Florence, used for clerical cassocks. A reference can be found in ''Don Quixote'':"I am m ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Devon
Devon ( , historically known as Devonshire , ) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South West England. The most populous settlement in Devon is the city of Plymouth, followed by Devon's county town, the city of Exeter. Devon is a coastal county with cliffs and sandy beaches. Home to the largest open space in southern England, Dartmoor (), the county is predominately rural and has a relatively low population density for an English county. The county is bordered by Somerset to the north east, Dorset to the east, and Cornwall to the west. The county is split into the non-metropolitan districts of East Devon, Mid Devon, North Devon, South Hams, Teignbridge, Torridge, West Devon, Exeter, and the unitary authority areas of Plymouth, and Torbay. Combined as a ceremonial county, Devon's area is and its population is about 1.2 million. Devon derives its name from Dumnonia (the shift from ''m'' to ''v'' is a typical Celtic consonant shift). During the Briti ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Blundell's School
Blundell's School is a co-educational day and boarding independent school in the English public school tradition, located in Tiverton, Devon. It was founded in 1604 under the will of Peter Blundell, one of the richest men in England at the time, and moved to its present site on the outskirts of the town in 1882. While the full boarding fees are £38,985 per year, the school offers several scholarships and bursaries, and provides flexi-boarding. The school has 360 boys and 225 girls, including 117 boys and 85 girls in the Sixth Form, and is a member of the Headmasters' and Headmistresses' Conference. The ''Good Schools Guide'' calls Blundell's a "distinguished rural school of ancient lineage". History Peter Blundell, one of the wealthiest merchants of Elizabethan England, died in 1601, having made his fortune principally in the cloth industry. His will set aside considerable money and land to establish a school in his home town "to maintain sound learning and true religion". ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Lewis Namier
Sir Lewis Bernstein Namier (; 27 June 1888 – 19 August 1960) was a British historian of Polish-Jewish background. His best-known works were ''The Structure of Politics at the Accession of George III'' (1929), ''England in the Age of the American Revolution'' (1930) and the ''History of Parliament'' series (begun 1940) he edited later in his life with John Brooke. Life Namier was born Ludwik Bernstein Niemirowski in Wola Okrzejska in the Russian-controlled Congress Poland, now part of the Lublin Voivodeship of southeastern Poland. His family were secular-minded Polish-Jewish gentry. His father, with whom young Lewis often quarreled, idolized the Austro-Hungarian Empire. By contrast, Namier throughout his life detested it. He was educated at the University of Lwów in Austrian Galicia (now in Ukraine), the University of Lausanne, and the London School of Economics. At Lausanne, Namier heard Vilfredo Pareto lecture, and Pareto's ideas about elites would have a great influence ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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The Structure Of Politics At The Accession Of George III
''The Structure of Politics at the Accession of George III'' was a book written by Lewis Namier. At the time of its first publication in 1929 it caused a historiographical revolution in understanding the 18th century by challenging the Whig view that English politics had always been dominated by two parties. Subject The book covers the composition of the Parliament of Great Britain in the 1760s particularly covering English politics, an area Namier was considered to be particularly authoritative. His principal conclusion of that decade was that British politics in the mid 1860s was very loosely partisan and governed more by a set of personal alliances within the wider power structure, which was a direct repudiation of the Whig view that English politics had always been dominated by two parties. By way of its very detailed study of individuals, this course of study caused substantial revision to accounts based on a party system. Structure The book consisted of nine chapters, ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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James Townsend (British Politician)
James Townsend (baptised 8 February 1737 – 1 July 1787) was an English Whig politician and Lord Mayor of London in 1772–73. He is believed to be England's first black member of parliament and the first black Lord Mayor of London. Life and political career James Townsend was baptised on 8 February 1737 at the church of St. Christopher-le-Stocks in London. He was the son of London merchant (and later MP) Chauncy Townsend and his wife Bridget Phipps. He attended Hertford College, Oxford in 1756. In politics James Townsend was closely linked from the 1760s with the Whig grandee William Petty, 2nd Earl of Shelburne. Supported by Shelburne, he entered Parliament as Member for West Looe at a by-election in 1767, holding the seat until 1774. In 1769, Townsend was elected alderman of the City of London for Bishopsgate ward and Sheriff of the City of London, becoming one of the leaders of the Whig party in London. In 1771 Townsend followed John Horne Tooke in breaking away from th ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Nathaniel Ryder, 1st Baron Harrowby
Nathaniel Ryder, 1st Baron Harrowby (3 July 1735 – 20 June 1803) was a British politician who sat in the House of Commons from 1756 to 1776 when he was raised to the peerage as Baron Harrowby. Ryder was the son of Sir Dudley Ryder, Lord Chief Justice of the King's Bench. He was admitted at Clare College, Cambridge in 1753. In 1756, Ryder was elected Member of Parliament for Tiverton, a seat he held until 1776. On 20 May 1776 he was raised to the peerage as Baron Harrowby, of Harrowby in the County of Lincoln. He later served Deputy Lieutenant of Staffordshire and Lincolnshire. Lord Harrowby married Elizabeth Terrick, daughter of the Right Reverend Richard Terrick, Bishop of London, in 1762. Their second son the Hon. Richard Ryder became a successful politician and served as Home Secretary from 1809 to 1812 while their youngest son the Hon. Henry Ryder became Bishop of Gloucester and Bishop of Lichfield. Lord Harrowby died in June 1803, aged 67, and was succeeded in the ba ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Sir John Duntze, 1st Baronet
Sir John Duntze, 1st Baronet ( – 5 February 1795) was an English merchant, banker and politician who sat in the House of Commons from 1768 to 1795. Duntze was the son of John Duntze merchant of Exeter and his wife Elizabeth Hawker, daughter of James Hawker or Hawkes of Luppitt, Devon. He was clothier and general merchant at Exeter. He married Frances Lewis, daughter of Samuel Lewis in or before 1765. In 1776 he founded a bank in London with John Halliday and William Mackworth Praed. Duntze served as Member of Parliament for Tiverton from 1768 until his death in 1795. He was created baronet A baronet ( or ; abbreviated Bart or Bt) or the female equivalent, a baronetess (, , or ; abbreviation Btss), is the holder of a baronetcy, a hereditary title awarded by the British Crown. The title of baronet is mentioned as early as the 14th ... in 1774. References 1735 births 1795 deaths Baronets in the Baronetage of Great Britain Members of the Parliament o ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Trade Union
A trade union (labor union in American English), often simply referred to as a union, is an organization of workers intent on "maintaining or improving the conditions of their employment", ch. I such as attaining better wages and benefits (such as holiday, health care, and retirement), improving working conditions, improving safety standards, establishing complaint procedures, developing rules governing status of employees (rules governing promotions, just-cause conditions for termination) and protecting the integrity of their trade through the increased bargaining power wielded by solidarity among workers. Trade unions typically fund their head office and legal team functions through regularly imposed fees called ''union dues''. The delegate staff of the trade union representation in the workforce are usually made up of workplace volunteers who are often appointed by members in democratic elections. The trade union, through an elected leadership and bargaining committee, ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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1744 Births
Events January–March * January 6 – The Royal Navy ship ''Bacchus'' engages the Spanish Navy privateer ''Begona'', and sinks it; 90 of the 120 Spanish sailors die, but 30 of the crew are rescued. * January 24 – The Dagohoy rebellion in the Philippines begins, with the killing of Father Giuseppe Lamberti. * February – Violent storms frustrate a planned French invasion of Britain. * February 22– 23 – Battle of Toulon: The British fleet is defeated by a joint Franco-Spanish fleet. * March 1 (approximately) – The Great Comet of 1744, one of the brightest ever seen, reaches perihelion. * March 13 – The British ship ''Betty'' capsizes and sinks off of the Gold Coast (modern-day Ghana) near Anomabu. More than 200 people on board die, although there are a few survivors. * March 15 – France declares war on Great Britain. April–June * April – ''The Female Spectator'' (a monthly) is founded by Eliza Haywood in E ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |