Capel Lofft (sometimes spelled Capell; 14 November 1751 – 26 May 1824) was a British lawyer, writer and

amateur astronomer Amateur astronomy is a hobby where participants enjoy observing or imaging celestial objects in the sky using the unaided eye, binoculars, or telescopes. Even though scientific research may not be their primary goal, some amateur astronomers m ...

Life

Born in London, he was educated at

Eton College Eton College () is a public school in Eton, Berkshire, England. It was founded in 1440 by Henry VI under the name ''Kynge's College of Our Ladye of Eton besyde Windesore'',Nevill, p. 3 ff. intended as a sister institution to King's College, C ...

Peterhouse, Cambridge Peterhouse is the oldest constituent college of the University of Cambridge in England, founded in 1284 by Hugh de Balsham, Bishop of Ely. Today, Peterhouse has 254 undergraduates, 116 full-time graduate students and 54 fellows. It is quite ...

. He trained as a lawyer at

Lincoln's Inn The Honourable Society of Lincoln's Inn is one of the four Inns of Court in London to which barristers of England and Wales belong and where they are called to the Bar. (The other three are Middle Temple, Inner Temple and Gray's Inn.) Lincoln ...

, where he was

called to the bar The call to the bar is a legal term of art in most common law jurisdictions where persons must be qualified to be allowed to argue in court on behalf of another party and are then said to have been "called to the bar" or to have received "call to ...

(qualified as a

barrister A barrister is a type of lawyer in common law jurisdictions. Barristers mostly specialise in courtroom advocacy and litigation. Their tasks include taking cases in superior courts and tribunals, drafting legal pleadings, researching law and ...

) in 1775. In addition to his legal practice, he became a prolific writer on the law and political topics. In politics, he was an advocate of parliamentary and other reforms, identifying with the

Foxite Whig Foxite was a late 18th-century British political label for Whig followers of Charles James Fox. Fox was the generally acknowledged leader of a faction of the Whigs from 1784 to his death in 1806. The group had developed from successive earlier ...

faction. He also engaged in voluminous correspondence with prominent

author An author is the writer of a book, article, play, mostly written work. A broader definition of the word "author" states: "''An author is "the person who originated or gave existence to anything" and whose authorship determines responsibility f ...

s. His legal career was ended by a case in

Stanton, Suffolk Stanton is a village and civil parish in the West Suffolk district of Suffolk in eastern England, about nine miles north-east of Bury St Edmunds, on the A143 road to Diss. Close to the village lies the former WW II airfield RAF Shepherds Grov ...

. On the night of 3 October 1799, Sarah Lloyd, a 22 year old servant, was incited by a

suitor Courtship is the period wherein some couples get to know each other prior to a possible marriage. Courtship traditionally may begin after a betrothal and may conclude with the celebration of marriage. A courtship may be an informal and private m ...

to steal 40 shillings. She was caught, tried, and sentenced to

death by hanging Hanging is the suspension of a person by a noose or ligature around the neck.Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed. Hanging as method of execution is unknown, as method of suicide from 1325. The ''Oxford English Dictionary'' states that hanging in ...

. Capel Lofft fought strenuously but unsuccessfully for a reprieve. Lloyd was to be executed on 23 April 1800 in

Bury St Edmunds Bury St Edmunds (), commonly referred to locally as Bury, is a historic market town, market, cathedral town and civil parish in Suffolk, England.OS Explorer map 211: Bury St.Edmunds and Stowmarket Scale: 1:25 000. Publisher:Ordnance Survey – ...

. Lofft accompanied the cart transporting Lloyd on that morning, holding an

umbrella An umbrella or parasol is a folding canopy supported by wooden or metal ribs that is usually mounted on a wooden, metal, or plastic pole. It is designed to protect a person against rain or sunlight. The term ''umbrella'' is traditionally used ...

over Lloyd to shield her from rain, and remained by her side until she was hanged. The authorities took a dim view of Lofft's fight on Lloyd's behalf, and he was

struck off The General Medical Council (GMC) is a public body that maintains the official register of medical practitioners within the United Kingdom. Its chief responsibility is to "protect, promote and maintain the health and safety of the public" by c ...

the Roll (list of qualified lawyers). Lofft wrote the preface to poet and former Quaker

Thomas 'Clio' Rickman Thomas 'Clio' Rickman (1760–1834) was an English Quaker publisher of political pamphlets. He was born into a Quaker family, the youngest son of John Rickman (1715–1789), a brewer and the freeholder of the Bear Inn at Cliffe, near (now in) L ...

's ''An Ode, in Celebration of the Emancipation Of The Blacks of Saint Domingo, November 29, 1803''. He commended

Toussaint Louverture François-Dominique Toussaint Louverture (; also known as Toussaint L'Ouverture or Toussaint Bréda; 20 May 1743 – 7 April 1803) was a Haitian general and the most prominent leader of the Haitian Revolution. During his life, Louverture ...

– "of whom Posterity will know how to speak" – and hoped that "a Nation

aiti Aiti (in Corsican language, Corsican ''Àiti'', pronounced �aː.i.di is a Communes of France, commune in the Haute-Corse Departments of France, department of France on the island of Corsica. The inhabitants of the commune are known as ''Aï ...

which has emerged into Freedom should prove itself capable and worthy of the blessings icby its use of it". He became the patron of

Robert Bloomfield Robert Bloomfield (3 December 1766 – 19 August 1823) was an English labouring-class poet, whose work is appreciated in the context of other self-educated writers, such as Stephen Duck, Mary Collier and John Clare. Life Robert Bloomfield wa ...

, the author of ''The Farmer's Boy'', and was responsible for the publication of that work.

Byron George Gordon Byron, 6th Baron Byron (22 January 1788 – 19 April 1824), known simply as Lord Byron, was an English romantic poet and Peerage of the United Kingdom, peer. He was one of the leading figures of the Romantic movement, and h ...

, in a note to his ''English Bards and Scotch Reviewers'', ridiculed Lofft as "the

Maecenas Gaius Cilnius Maecenas ( – 8 BC) was a friend and political advisor to Octavian (who later reigned as emperor Augustus). He was also an important patron for the new generation of Augustan poets, including both Horace and Virgil. During the rei ...

of shoemakers and preface-writer general to distressed versemen; a kind of ''gratis accoucheur'' to those who wish to be delivered of rhyme, but do not know how to bring forth." Lofft had an interest in

astronomy Astronomy () is a natural science that studies astronomical object, celestial objects and phenomena. It uses mathematics, physics, and chemistry in order to explain their origin and chronology of the Universe, evolution. Objects of interest ...

and is known to have observed several transits and

eclipses An eclipse is an astronomical event that occurs when an astronomical object or spacecraft is temporarily obscured, by passing into the shadow of another body or by having another body pass between it and the viewer. This alignment of three ce ...

. These include the

transits of Mercury frameless, upright=0.5 A transit of Mercury across the Sun takes place when the planet Mercury passes directly between the Sun and a superior planet. During a transit, Mercury appears as a tiny black dot moving across the Sun as the planet obsc ...

on 7 May 1799 and 9 November 1802, the

solar eclipse A solar eclipse occurs when the Moon passes between Earth and the Sun, thereby obscuring the view of the Sun from a small part of the Earth, totally or partially. Such an alignment occurs during an eclipse season, approximately every six month ...

s on 16 June 1806 and 19 November 1816, and the

lunar eclipse A lunar eclipse occurs when the Moon moves into the Earth's shadow. Such alignment occurs during an eclipse season, approximately every six months, during the full moon phase, when the Moon's orbital plane is closest to the plane of the Earth ...

s on 4 December 1797 and 10 June 1816. The deaths of Lofft's father and uncle in 1811 left him with a large property and

family estate An estate is a large parcel of land under single ownership, which would historically generate income for its owner. British context In the UK, historically an estate comprises the houses, outbuildings, supporting farmland, and woods that s ...

. A supporter of

Napoleon Napoleon Bonaparte ; it, Napoleone Bonaparte, ; co, Napulione Buonaparte. (born Napoleone Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French military commander and political leader who ...

, he wrote

letters to the editor A letter to the editor (LTE) is a letter sent to a publication about an issue of concern to the reader. Usually, such letters are intended for publication. In many publications, letters to the editor may be sent either through conventional mail ...

of the

Morning Chronicle ''The Morning Chronicle'' was a newspaper founded in 1769 in London. It was notable for having been the first steady employer of essayist William Hazlitt as a political reporter and the first steady employer of Charles Dickens as a journalist. It ...

(31 July and 10 August 1815) opposing the Government's decision to send Napoleon to

St Helena Saint Helena () is a British overseas territory located in the South Atlantic Ocean. It is a remote volcanic tropical island west of the coast of south-western Africa, and east of Rio de Janeiro in South America. It is one of three constitu ...

. Lofft attempted to serve a writ of ''

habeas corpus ''Habeas corpus'' (; from Medieval Latin, ) is a recourse in law through which a person can report an unlawful detention or imprisonment to a court and request that the court order the custodian of the person, usually a prison official, t ...

'' (a legal instrument against wrongful imprisonment) while the captive Napoleon was being held aboard a ship in Plymouth. In 1816 Lofft moved to Europe for his daughters' education. He died in 1824 at Montcalieri, near

Turin Turin ( , Piedmontese language, Piedmontese: ; it, Torino ) is a city and an important business and cultural centre in Northern Italy. It is the capital city of Piedmont and of the Metropolitan City of Turin, and was the first Italian capital ...

Family

Lofft married Anne, daughter of

Henry Emlyn Henry Emlyn (1729–1815) was an English architect. Life Emlyn resided at Windsor. He was elected a Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries of London on 25 June 1795. He died at Windsor on 10 December 1815 and was buried nine days later in St Georg ...

, in 1778. Their fourth son Capell Lofft the younger (1806–1873), was also a writer. An "editor, Tory Socialist and High Church Anglican who likes a drink, a pie and a hearty rendition of “God Save the Queen,” appears currently in ''The Critic'' (London) under the name Capel Lofft.

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Lofft, Capel 1751 births 1824 deaths Alumni of Peterhouse, Cambridge People educated at Eton College English abolitionists English barristers