Edward Wedlake Brayley (177323 September 1854) was an English historian and
topographer
Topography is the study of the forms and features of land surfaces. The topography of an area may refer to the land forms and features themselves, or a description or depiction in maps.
Topography is a field of geoscience and planetary sc ...
. Brayley collaborated with his life-long friend,
John Britton, on the first 6 volumes of ''
The Beauties of England and Wales
''The Beauties of England and Wales'' (1801–1815) is a series of books describing the topography and local history of England and Wales. Produced by a variety of London publishers, the work appeared in 18 multi-part volumes arranged by county, ...
''.
Early life
Brayley was born at
Lambeth, Surrey. He was apprenticed to the enamelling trade, but developed an early interest in literature.
After completing his apprenticeship, Brayley was employed by
Henry Bone
Henry Bone (6 February 1755 – 17 December 1834) was an English enamel painter who was officially employed in that capacity by three successive monarchs, George III, George IV and William IV. In his early career he worked as a porcelain a ...
(later a Royal Academician) to prepare and fire enamelled plates for small pictures in rings and trinkets. Later, when Bone was working on some exceptionally large enamels, Brayley prepared the plates for Bone's use and fired the finished pictures, continuing to do so for some years after he had become eminent as a topographer.
Career
His close friendship with John Britton lasted for sixty-five years. They entered into a literary partnership, and after minor success with songs and plays, they became joint editors of ''
The Beauties of England and Wales
''The Beauties of England and Wales'' (1801–1815) is a series of books describing the topography and local history of England and Wales. Produced by a variety of London publishers, the work appeared in 18 multi-part volumes arranged by county, ...
'', themselves writing many of the volumes.
Having reached an agreement with a publisher, in 1800 Britton and Brayley set off from London through several English counties, and visited every county of North Wales in search of materials for the work. The first volume appeared in 1801, and contained descriptions of
Bedfordshire
Bedfordshire (; abbreviated Beds) is a ceremonial county in the East of England. The county has been administered by three unitary authorities, Borough of Bedford, Central Bedfordshire and Borough of Luton, since Bedfordshire County Council ...
,
Berkshire, and
Buckinghamshire. Accounts of the other counties followed in alphabetical order. The first six volumes, ending with Herefordshire, were jointly executed by Brayley and Britton, the greater part of the text being supplied by Brayley, while Britton did most of the travelling, correspondence, collecting of books and documents, and dealt with the illustrators and engravers.
Although originally it had been announced that it would be in about six volumes, and finished within three years, ''The Beauties of England and Wales'' eventually extended to twenty-five large volumes, published over nearly twenty years. Disagreements between the writers and publishers led to Britton and Brayley's withdrawal from the project, and Brayley's name does not appear in any volumes published after the description of London.
In 1823 he was elected a fellow of the
Society of Antiquaries and he was appointed librarian and secretary of the
Russell Institution in Great Coram Street in 1825, remaining in the positions until his death. He died in London on 23 September 1854.
Works
His works include:
*''Sir Reginalde or the Black Tower'' (1803)
*''
Views in Suffolk, Norfolk and Northamptonshire, illustrative of works of Robt. Bloomfield'' (1806)
*''Lambeth Palace'' (1806); ''The History of the Abbey Church of Westminster'' (2 vols., 1818)
*''Topographical Sketches of Brighthelmston'' (1825)
*''Historical and Descriptive Accounts of Theatres of London'' (1826)
*''Londiniana'' (1829); and a ''History of Surrey'' (5 vols., 1841–1848)
Personal life
He was the father of
Edward William Brayley, who was a well-known geographer, librarian, and science author.
Death
Brayley died on 23 September 1854.
References
*
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Brayley, Edward
Brayley, Edward Wedlake
English antiquarians
People from Lambeth
Brayley, Edward Wedlake