Professor John Wrightson
FCS,
MRAC (1840 – 30 November 1916) was a British agriculturalist and the founder of
Downton Agricultural College (1880–1906) at
Downton in
Wiltshire
Wiltshire (; abbreviated Wilts) is a historic and ceremonial county in South West England with an area of . It is landlocked and borders the counties of Dorset to the southwest, Somerset to the west, Hampshire to the southeast, Gloucestershire ...
. In 1890 he reputedly became the first person in Britain to
surf, under the guidance of two Hawaiian princes,
David Kawānanakoa
David Laʻamea Kahalepouli Kinoiki Kawānanakoa (February 19, 1868 – June 2, 1908) was a prince of the Hawaiian Kingdom and founder of the House of Kawānanakoa. He was in the line of succession to the Hawaiian throne. After Hawaii's annexation ...
and
Jonah Kūhiō Kalanianaʻole
Jonah Kūhiō Kalanianaʻole (March 26, 1871 – January 7, 1922) was a prince of the Kingdom of Hawaiʻi until it was overthrown by a coalition of American and European businessmen in 1893. He later went on to become a representative in the Te ...
, who were studying at his college.
[
]
Early career
Wrightson was born in Haughton-le-Skerne
Haughton-le-Skerne is a village in the borough of Darlington in the ceremonial county of County Durham, England. It is situated in the north east of Darlington. The village lies to the west of the River Skerne.
At the centre of the village green, ...
in County Durham
County Durham ( ), officially simply Durham,UK General Acts 1997 c. 23Lieutenancies Act 1997 Schedule 1(3). From legislation.gov.uk, retrieved 6 April 2022. is a ceremonial county in North East England.North East Assembly About North East E ...
, the son of Thomas Wrightson (1800–1872) and Rebecca Gilchrist ''née'' Potter (1803–1884) and was the brother of Rebecca Ingram Head, Mary Wrightson, the Revd. William Garmondsway Wrightson and the Conservative politician Sir Thomas Wrightson. In 1863 Wrightson had been a foremost student at the Royal Agricultural College following which he was a professor of agriculture at the same college for 15 years (1864–1879). In 1868 he was initiated as a Freemason
Freemasonry or Masonry refers to fraternal organisations that trace their origins to the local guilds of stonemasons that, from the end of the 13th century, regulated the qualifications of stonemasons and their interaction with authorities ...
into the Cotteswold Lodge No 593. His interest in agricultural education was developed following a tour of Europe while acting as the Royal Agricultural Society's representative at the Vienna International Exposition of 1873; he was probably the first to introduce grass silage to Britain (or "sour hay", as he called it). It was Wrightson's view that agricultural education necessitated practical hands-on skills to be developed along with the scientific, and to that end he made good use of the 535 acres he had at Charford Manor, where he also lived and brought up his 11 children, at the same time stating, in a dig against other similar but less-endowed colleges, that "a sufficient farm is essential to an institution which pretends to teach farming."[Carrie de Silva]
''A Short History of Agricultural Education and Research''
Harper Adams University, (2015) pp. 96–97[Julian Fellowes’ great-grandfather and the real Downton (2015)]
/ref>
Downton Agricultural College
On leaving the Royal Agricultural College in 1879 Wrightson took a small number of important lecturing staff with him, including William Fream
William Fream (1854–1906) was an English writer on agriculture.
Life
Born at Gloucester, he was second son in the family of four sons and three daughters of John Fream, a builder and contractor, by his wife Mary Grant. As a boy he was a chorist ...
, in early 1880 founding the private Downton Agricultural College at Charford Manor, the third agricultural college in England, and which for a short period was called the Wiltshire and Hampshire Agricultural College. Here they experimented with growing flax
Flax, also known as common flax or linseed, is a flowering plant, ''Linum usitatissimum'', in the family Linaceae. It is cultivated as a food and fiber crop in regions of the world with temperate climates. Textiles made from flax are known in ...
and sorghum
''Sorghum'' () is a genus of about 25 species of flowering plants in the grass family (Poaceae). Some of these species are grown as cereals for human consumption and some in pastures for animals. One species is grown for grain, while many othe ...
and with soil chemistry while the discovery of the agricultural value of basic slag (a high phosphate black powdered product used to "sweeten" soil to produce forage with high sugars and high nutritional value) is attributed to the College.[Wiltshire College and its Precursors – Lacock Archives]
/ref> Among the College's students were Vernon Hamersley
Vernon Hamersley (1871–1946) was an Australian politician. He served the longest term ever as a Member of the Western Australian Legislative Council.
Biography Early life
Vernon Hamersley was born in Guildford, Western Australia. The son of S ...
, the Australian politician. Under Wrightson's direction Downton gained a similar reputation to that of the Royal Agricultural College and, like the Royal and Aspatria Agricultural College
The Aspatria Agricultural College was a seat of learning located in Aspatria, Cumberland, England. Established in 1874, it was the second educational institution of its kind in the United Kingdom. It was unique in many respects, being devised, co ...
, was exempt from the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors' land agency examinations. The college held an important flock of Hampshire Down
The Hampshire Down or Hampshire is a British breed of sheep. It originated in about 1829 from cross-breeding of Southdowns with the Old Hampshire breed, the Wiltshire Horn and the Berkshire Nott, all horned, white-faced sheep — these were na ...
sheep.[
In June 1884 railway carriages were derailed near the College, killing 4 people and injuring another 41. Wrightson, together with his staff and students, rushed to the scene of the accident to assist the injured and dying and were later awarded a silver cup for their efforts. In September 1890 at Bridlington, under the guidance of two expatriate Hawaiian princes, Princes ]David Kawānanakoa
David Laʻamea Kahalepouli Kinoiki Kawānanakoa (February 19, 1868 – June 2, 1908) was a prince of the Hawaiian Kingdom and founder of the House of Kawānanakoa. He was in the line of succession to the Hawaiian throne. After Hawaii's annexation ...
and Jonah Kūhiō Kalanianaʻole
Jonah Kūhiō Kalanianaʻole (March 26, 1871 – January 7, 1922) was a prince of the Kingdom of Hawaiʻi until it was overthrown by a coalition of American and European businessmen in 1893. He later went on to become a representative in the Te ...
, studying at Downton, Wrightson donned woolly bathers to reputedly become the first British surfer. In January 1891 a fire destroyed much of the building complex at Downton College including Wrightson's home as well as the collection of botanical, zoological and geological specimens collected over many years by Professor Ernest Clarke
Sir Ernest Clarke (21 February 1856 – 4 March 1923) was an English medical clerk for public health, historian of agriculture, Secretary of the Royal Agricultural Society, antiquarian, folklorist, bibliographer, author, editor, and scholar of ...
, a member of the academic staff. A firm believer in education for all, Wrightson was very involved in life in Downton village and taught children at the local state school.[
In 1906, as Wrightson approached retirement age, Downton closed – exacerbated by the fact that private fee-paying colleges were becoming increasingly less attractive with the development of publicly funded agricultural education. Wrightson left Downton in 1911 to concentrate on his writing and researches. However, in retirement Wrightson still took in several students each year and continued to write widely, including the much used ''Agriculture, Theoretical and Practical : A Textbook of Mixed Farming for Large and Small Farmers and for Agricultural Students'', co-authored with John Newsham in 1915. Other works included ''Sheep Breeds and Management'', Vinton & Company, Ltd, London (1895), and ''Agricultural Text-Book Embracing Soils, Manures, Rotations of Crops and Live Stock'', William Collins, Sons & Co., Ltd., London and Glasgow (c.1900).][
On Wrightson's death at ]Marylebone
Marylebone (usually , also , ) is a district in the West End of London, in the City of Westminster. Oxford Street, Europe's busiest shopping street, forms its southern boundary.
An Civil parish#Ancient parishes, ancient parish and latterly a ...
in London in 1916 aged 76 the principal of the Royal Agricultural College, J. R. Ainsworth-Davis, wrote that Wrightson "... would always occupy an honoured place in the history of British agriculture, especially as regards the educational developments."[
His obituary in '']Nature
Nature, in the broadest sense, is the physics, physical world or universe. "Nature" can refer to the phenomenon, phenomena of the physical world, and also to life in general. The study of nature is a large, if not the only, part of science. ...
'' stated:
THE death of Prof. John Wrightson, on November 30, at seventy-six years of age, removes a well-known authority and writer from the agricultural world. As professor of agriculture (1864–79) at the Royal Agricultural College, Cirencester, he formed one of a small but eminent group of teachers, including Church and Fream, who have left a lasting mark on their subject. After his departure from Cirencester he founded Downton College, of which he was president until it closed in 1906 from inability to compete with State-aided institutions. Many of his former pupils, both at Cirencester and Downton, have done much to promote the improvement of agriculture. For some years Wrightson was professor of agriculture and agricultural chemistry at the Royal College of Science, and chief examiner to the Science and Art Department in the "Principles of Agriculture."
Personal life
Wrightson married Maria Isabella Hulton (1850–1923) in 1872 and was the father of Rebecca Elena Harrison (1873–1937); John Frederick Hulton Wrightson (1875–1944); Alyne Garmondsway Denton (born 1876); Thomas Reginald Wrightson (1878–1928); Act. Lieut.-Cdr Edmund Gilchrist Wrightson, DSO, RNR (1879–1953); Hilda Wrightson (1881–1961); Archibald Ingram Hulton Wrightson (1882–1953); Georgiana Maria Hulton Wrightson (1884–1956); Roger Armstrong Wrightson (1888–1959); Philip Blethyn Hulton Wrightson (1890–1958), and Cerdic William Wrightson (1892–1977). Julian Fellowes
Julian Alexander Kitchener-Fellowes, Baron Fellowes of West Stafford, (born 17 August 1949) is an English actor, novelist, film director and screenwriter, and a Conservative peer of the House of Lords.
He is primarily known as the author of s ...
, the writer and director of the television series '' Downton Abbey,'' is Wrightson's great-grandson.[
Wrightson died in 1916 at 29 Wimpole Street in ]Marylebone
Marylebone (usually , also , ) is a district in the West End of London, in the City of Westminster. Oxford Street, Europe's busiest shopping street, forms its southern boundary.
An Civil parish#Ancient parishes, ancient parish and latterly a ...
in London and was buried in Brookwood Cemetery in Surrey
Surrey () is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South East England, bordering Greater London to the south west. Surrey has a large rural area, and several significant urban areas which form part of the Greater London Built-up Area. ...
. In his will he left £18,072 14s to his widow. The National Portrait Gallery National Portrait Gallery may refer to:
*National Portrait Gallery (Australia), in Canberra
*National Portrait Gallery (Sweden), in Mariefred
*National Portrait Gallery (United States), in Washington, D.C.
*National Portrait Gallery, London, with s ...
in London holds five photographic portraits of Wrightson in its collection.Portraits of John Wrightson
– National Portrait Gallery, London
The National Portrait Gallery (NPG) is an art gallery in London housing a collection of portraits of historically important and famous British people. It was arguably the first national public gallery dedicated to portraits in the world when it ...
References
External links
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Wrightson, John
1840 births
1916 deaths
Academics of the Royal Agricultural University
Alumni of the Royal Agricultural University
English agriculturalists
English writers
Agriculture in England
British surfers
Surfing in England
English Freemasons
Freemasons of the United Grand Lodge of England
Burials at Brookwood Cemetery
People from the Borough of Darlington