Charles Merivale (8 March 1808 – 27 December 1893) was an English historian and churchman, for many years

dean of Ely Cathedral The position of Dean of Ely Cathedral, in East Anglia, England, in the Diocese of Ely was created in 1541 after the Dissolution of the Monasteries. The first Dean of Ely had been the last Benedictine prior of Ely. List of deans Early modern ...

. He was one of the main instigators of the inaugural Oxford and Cambridge Boat Race which took place at Henley in 1829.

Life

Early life

Merivale was the second son of John Herman Merivale (1770–1844) and Louisa Heath Drury, daughter of

Joseph Drury Joseph Drury (11 February 1750 – 9 January 1834) was Head Master of Harrow School 1785–1805, and first of a dynasty of Drurys to teach at Harrow. Life Drury was educated at Westminster School and Trinity College, Cambridge. Admitted to Trini ...

, headmaster of Harrow. He was educated at Harrow School under

George Butler George Butler may refer to: Arts and entertainment * George Butler (filmmaker) (1944–2021), American filmmaker * George Butler (record producer) (1931–2008), American record producer * George Bernard Butler (1838–1907), American painter * Ge ...

from 1818 to 1824, where his chief schoolfriends were

Charles Wordsworth Charles Wordsworth (22 August 1806 – 5 December 1892) was Bishop of St Andrews, Dunkeld and Dunblane in Scotland. He was a classical scholar, and taught at public schools in England and Scotland. He was a rower, cricketer and athlete and he ...

and

Richard Chenevix Trench Richard Chenevix Trench (Richard Trench until 1873; 9 September 1807 – 28 March 1886) was an Anglican archbishop and poet. Life He was born in Dublin, Ireland, the son of Richard Trench (1774–1860), barrister-at-law, and the Dublin write ...

. He took part in the Eton versus Harrow cricket match in 1824. In 1824 he was offered a post in the

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

n civil service, and went for a short time to

Haileybury College Haileybury may refer to: Australia * Haileybury (Melbourne), a school in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia **Haileybury Rendall School, an offshoot in Berrimah, North Territory, Australia China * Haileybury International School, an international ...

, where he did well in Oriental languages. Deciding against an Indian career, he went up to

St John's College, Cambridge St John's College is a Colleges of the University of Cambridge, constituent college of the University of Cambridge founded by the House of Tudor, Tudor matriarch Lady Margaret Beaufort. In constitutional terms, the college is a charitable corpo ...

in 1826. Among other distinctions he came out as fourth classic in 1830, and in 1833 was elected fellow of St John's. He was a member of the Apostles' Club, his fellow-members including

Tennyson Alfred Tennyson, 1st Baron Tennyson (6 August 1809 – 6 October 1892) was an English poet. He was the Poet Laureate during much of Queen Victoria's reign. In 1829, Tennyson was awarded the Chancellor's Gold Medal at Cambridge for one of his ...

, A. H. Hallam,

Monckton Milnes Richard Monckton Milnes, 1st Baron Houghton, FRS (19 June 1809 – 11 August 1885) was an English poet, patron of literature and a politician who strongly supported social justice. Background and education Milnes was born in London, the son of ...

, W. H. Thompson,

Trench A trench is a type of excavation or in the ground that is generally deeper than it is wide (as opposed to a wider gully, or ditch), and narrow compared with its length (as opposed to a simple hole or pit). In geology, trenches result from eros ...

and

James Spedding James Spedding (28 June 1808 – 9 March 1881) was an English author, chiefly known as the editor of the works of Francis Bacon. Life He was born in Cumberland, the younger son of a country squire, and was educated at Bury St Edmunds and Trinity ...

. Merivale was the main protagonist on the Cambridge side in instigating the Oxford and Cambridge Boat Race held at

Henley on Thames Henley-on-Thames ( ) is a town and civil parish on the River Thames in Oxfordshire, England, northeast of Reading, west of Maidenhead, southeast of Oxford and west of London (by road), near the tripoint of Oxfordshire, Berkshire and Bucking ...

in 1829. He rowed at number four in the Cambridge boat in the race which Oxford won.

Clerical career

Merivale was ordained deacon in 1833 and priest in 1834 and undertook college and university work successfully. He was appointed select preacher at

Whitehall Whitehall is a road and area in the City of Westminster, Central London. The road forms the first part of the A roads in Zone 3 of the Great Britain numbering scheme, A3212 road from Trafalgar Square to Chelsea, London, Chelsea. It is the main ...

in 1839. In 1848 he took the college living of St Mary's Church, Lawford, near Manningtree in Essex. He was appointed

Chaplain to the Speaker of the House of Commons The Chaplain to the Speaker of the House of Commons, also known as the Speaker's Chaplain, is a Church of England priest who officiates at services held at the Palace of Westminster and its associated chapel, St Mary Undercroft. The Chaplain a ...

in 1863. In 1869, he declined the professorship of modern history at

Cambridge Cambridge ( ) is a university city and the county town in Cambridgeshire, England. It is located on the River Cam approximately north of London. As of the 2021 United Kingdom census, the population of Cambridge was 145,700. Cambridge bec ...

, but in the same year accepted from

Gladstone William Ewart Gladstone ( ; 29 December 1809 – 19 May 1898) was a British statesman and Liberal politician. In a career lasting over 60 years, he served for 12 years as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, spread over four non-conse ...

the deanery of Ely, and until his death devoted himself to the best interests of the cathedral, also receiving many honorary academical distinctions.

Personal life

Memorial to Charles Merivale in Ely Cathedral

Merivale married Judith Mary Sophia Frere, youngest daughter of George Frere in 1850. Their son John Herman Merivale was the first English professor of mining.

Death

Merivale died at Ely at the age of 85. There is a memorial to him in Ely Cathedral and St Mary's Church, Lawford. Memorial to Charles Merivale in St Mary's Church, Lawford

Memorial to Charles Merivale in St Mary's Church, Lawford

Works

Merivale's principal work was ''A History of the Romans under the Empire'' in eight volumes, which came out between 1850 and 1862. It was intended to fill the gaps between the focus of the works by Mommsen and

Gibbon Gibbons () are apes in the family Hylobatidae (). The family historically contained one genus, but now is split into four extant genera and 20 species. Gibbons live in subtropical and tropical rainforest from eastern Bangladesh to Northeast India ...

. He condensed his treatment and expanded his scope ten years later to complete ''A General History of Rome from the Foundation of the City to the Fall of Augustulus'' (1875). He wrote several smaller historical works like ''The Roman Triumvirates'' (1876), and published sermons, lectures, and

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...

verses. His rendering of

John Keats John Keats (31 October 1795 – 23 February 1821) was an English poet of the second generation of Romantic poets, with Lord Byron and Percy Bysshe Shelley. His poems had been in publication for less than four years when he died of tuberculo ...

's ''Hyperion'' into Latin verse (1862) received high praise.

References

''Autobiography of Dean Merivale''
with selections from his correspondence, edited by his daughter, Judith A. Merivale (1899) *''Family Memorials'', by Anna W. Merivale (1884).

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Merivale, Charles 1808 births 1893 deaths People educated at Harrow School Alumni of St John's College, Cambridge Cambridge University Boat Club rowers English male rowers 19th-century English historians 19th-century English Anglican priests Deans of Ely English autobiographers Scholars of Roman history English–Latin translators 19th-century Latin-language writers