Abraham Farley (?1712–1791) was an English chamberlain who was custodian of the

Domesday Book Domesday Book () – the Middle English spelling of "Doomsday Book" – is a manuscript record of the "Great Survey" of much of England and parts of Wales completed in 1086 by order of King William I, known as William the Conqueror. The manusc ...

. He was appointed Deputy Chamberlain of the Exchequer in 1736 and became responsible for the public records at the Chapter House of

Westminster Abbey Westminster Abbey, formally titled the Collegiate Church of Saint Peter at Westminster, is an historic, mainly Gothic church in the City of Westminster, London, England, just to the west of the Palace of Westminster. It is one of the United ...

.G. H. Martin, "Farley, Abraham (bap. 1712, d. 1791), ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography,'' Oxford University Press, Sept 2004; online edn, Jan 2008 First amongst these was the

, of which Farley became custodian, granting visiting antiquaries access to make transcripts for a fee. In 1753, he was approached by

Philip Carteret Webb Philip Carteret Webb (14 August 1702 – 22 June 1770) was an English barrister, involved with the 18th-century antiquarian movement. He became a member of the London Society of Antiquaries in 1747, and as its lawyer, was responsible for securin ...

to make a transcript from Domesday Book; this he did, and, perhaps in return for Webb’s help in raising awareness of Domesday’s importance, waived the usual fee. Two years later, Webb’s paper on the Book was read to the

Society of Antiquaries of London A society is a group of individuals involved in persistent social interaction, or a large social group sharing the same spatial or social territory, typically subject to the same political authority and dominant cultural expectations. Soci ...

. In later life, Farley was to produce the first printed edition of the Domesday Book, which was then in high demand. Following a Parliamentary order in 1767, Farley was appointed co-editor of the Domesday printing project in 1770, alongside Charles Morton of the

British Museum The British Museum is a public museum dedicated to human history, art and culture located in the Bloomsbury area of London. Its permanent collection of eight million works is among the largest and most comprehensive in existence. It docum ...

. In his ''Literary Anecdotes of the Eighteenth Century'', the printer John Nichols remarked that Morton and Farley’s relationship was characterised by rivalry and mistrust. Farley, whom Nichols called "of all men the properest person for so important a trust", due to his "long and intimate acquaintance with the original record", evidently considered himself best fitted to produce the landmark work. Farley eventually cut Morton out altogether, pressing ahead with the work with Nichols’ co-operation. Farley received payment to the tune of £2,500 for his services.Condon and Hallam 1984, p. 379.

References

External links

Oxford Dictionary of National Biography entry
{{DEFAULTSORT:Farley, Abraham 1712 births 1791 deaths British civil servants

See also

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External links