John MacEnery (27 November 1796 – 18 February 1841) was a

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...

priest from

Limerick Limerick ( ; ga, Luimneach ) is a western city in Ireland situated within County Limerick. It is in the province of Munster and is located in the Mid-West which comprises part of the Southern Region. With a population of 94,192 at the 2016 ...

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

and early

archaeologist Archaeology or archeology is the scientific study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of artifacts, architecture, biofacts or ecofacts, sites, and cultural landscap ...

who came to Devon as Chaplain to the Cary family at

Torre Abbey Torre Abbey is a historic building and art gallery in Torquay, Devon, which lies in the South West of England. It was founded in 1196 as a monastery for Premonstratensian canons, and is now the best-preserved medieval monastery in Devon and Co ...

in 1822. In 1825, 1826 and 1829, he investigated the prehistoric remains at

Kent's Cavern Kents Cavern is a cave system in Torquay, Devon, England. It is notable for its archaeological and geological features. The cave system is open to the public and has been a geological Site of Special Scientific Interest since 1952 and a Schedu ...

Devon Devon ( , historically known as Devonshire , ) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South West England. The most populous settlement in Devon is the city of Plymouth, followed by Devon's county town, the city of Exeter. Devon is ...

, having been shown the cave by

Thomas Northmore Thomas Northmore (1766–1851) was an English writer, inventor and geologist. Origins He was born at Cleve in the parish of St Thomas, Exeter, St Thomas, Exeter, in Devon, the eldest son of Thomas Northmore of Cleve, by his wife Elizabeth Osgood ...

. MacEnery concluded that the

palaeolithic The Paleolithic or Palaeolithic (), also called the Old Stone Age (from Greek: παλαιός ''palaios'', "old" and λίθος ''lithos'', "stone"), is a period in human prehistory that is distinguished by the original development of stone too ...

flint tools he found in the same

context Context may refer to: * Context (language use), the relevant constraints of the communicative situation that influence language use, language variation, and discourse summary Computing * Context (computing), the virtual environment required to su ...

s as the bones of extinct prehistoric mammals meant that early humans and the creatures such as

mammoth A mammoth is any species of the extinct elephantid genus ''Mammuthus'', one of the many genera that make up the order of trunked mammals called proboscideans. The various species of mammoth were commonly equipped with long, curved tusks and, ...

s co-existed. His contemporaries had great difficulty reconciling his findings to their pre- Darwinian, creationist view of the

earth's history The history of Earth concerns the development of planet Earth from its formation to the present day. Nearly all branches of natural science have contributed to understanding of the main events of Earth's past, characterized by constant geologic ...

. 20th century commentators suggest it was the influence of the theologian

William Buckland William Buckland Doctor of Divinity, DD, Royal Society, FRS (12 March 1784 – 14 August 1856) was an English theologian who became Dean of Westminster. He was also a geologist and paleontology, palaeontologist. Buckland wrote the first full ...

who persuaded MacEnery to doubt the evidence he saw before him, which led to MacEnery never publishing his work. However, Edward Vivian stated that it was simply the expense which caused him to abandon publication.E. Vivian (ed) Cavern Researches, or discoveries of organic remains, and of British and Roman reliques, in the Caves of Kent's Hole, Anstis Cove, Chudleigh, and Berry Head by the late Rev. J. MacEnery, F.G.S. 1859. MacEnery left Torquay and his cave research in 1830 and it was left to Vivian, whose heavily edited version of his work was published in 1859, and then later to

William Pengelly William Pengelly, Royal Society, FRS Geological Society, FGS (12 January 1812 – 16 March 1894) was a British geologist and amateur archaeologist who was one of the first to contribute proof that the Biblical chronology of the earth calculated ...

who publicised and explored the original manuscript of his findings in 1869, many years after MacEnery's death at age 43. John MacEnery studied for the priesthood in

St Munchin's College St. Munchin's College is a second-level education college located in Corbally, Limerick, Ireland. The school was founded in 1796. It is a Diocesan CollegeDiocese of Limerick > Education > Post Primary or minor seminary. College Crest The colle ...

, the Limerick Diocesan College then in Palmerstown County Limerick, where he was ordained in 1819. MacEnery retired early due to ill health following an accident and lived for a time in Rome and Paris before returning to Torre Abbey in 1838. He died on 18 February 1841, and is buried in Torre Churchyard,

Torquay Torquay ( ) is a seaside town in Devon, England, part of the unitary authority area of Torbay. It lies south of the county town of Exeter and east-north-east of Plymouth, on the north of Tor Bay, adjoining the neighbouring town of Paignton ...

References

External links

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Portrait of John MacEneryJohn MacEnery's grave
{{DEFAULTSORT:Macenery, John 1796 births 1841 deaths English archaeologists 19th-century English Roman Catholic priests Irish scientists 19th-century Irish Roman Catholic priests Catholic clergy scientists Irish archaeologists Clergy from County Limerick