Henry Sanders (or Saunders; 1727–1785) was an English curate and local historian. He was curate of

Shenstone, Staffordshire Shenstone is a village and civil parish in The Lichfield District, Staffordshire, England, located between Lichfield and Sutton Coldfield. The parish also contains the village of Stonnall. Transport Shenstone is very well served with buses t ...

and is known for his book ''The History and Antiquities of Shenstone''.

Life

Sanders was born in

Dudley Dudley is a large market town and administrative centre in the county of West Midlands, England, southeast of Wolverhampton and northwest of Birmingham. Historically an exclave of Worcestershire, the town is the administrative centre of the ...

, where he was baptized on 16 January 1727. He was the son of Henry Rogers Sanders, an apothecary, and his wife Rebecca (Hawkes). His father's mother, Sarah, was daughter of Thomas Rogers, a Stourbridge glass dealer and great-grandfather of Thomas Rogers the banker.. He was educated partly at the expense of his father's elder brother Thomas, a surgeon who was patronized by

George Lyttelton, 1st Baron Lyttelton George Lyttelton, 1st Baron Lyttelton, (17 January 1709 – 22 August 1773), known between 1751 and 1756 as Sir George Lyttelton, 5th Baronet, was a British statesman. As an author himself, he was also a supporter of other writers and as a pat ...

. He was educated at

Dudley Grammar School This article details a number of defunct schools that were once located in the Metropolitan Borough of Dudley. For details of currently operating schools in the area, please see: ''List of schools in Dudley''. The Blue Coat School Cradley High ...

. In 1746 he matriculated at

Oriel College, Oxford Oriel College () is a constituent college of the University of Oxford in Oxford, England. Located in Oriel Square, the college has the distinction of being the oldest royal foundation in Oxford (a title formerly claimed by University College, wh ...

where he was a

servitor In certain universities (including some colleges of University of Oxford and the University of Edinburgh), a servitor was an undergraduate student who received free accommodation (and some free meals), and was exempted from paying fees for lecture ...

; he graduated B.A. in 1750. In 1754, having been ordained, he became curate, on modest pay, of

Wednesbury Wednesbury () is a market town in Sandwell in the county of West Midlands, England. It is located near the source of the River Tame. Historically part of Staffordshire in the Hundred of Offlow, at the 2011 Census the town had a population of ...

. In the same year he married Elizabeth Butler, daughter of John Butler of Wednesbury. Sanders became curate at

in 1755, where he served for fourteen years. His amiable qualities enabled him to make influential friends there, and he always expressed gratitude towards the place and its people. His last entry in the Shenstone register is dated 22 January 1770. Shortly afterwards he accepted an ushership at

King Edward's School, Birmingham King Edward's School (KES) is an independent school (UK), independent day school for boys in the British Public school (UK), public school tradition, located in Edgbaston, Birmingham. Founded by Edward VI of England, King Edward VI in 1552, it ...

. By the favour of his uncle's patron, Lord Lyttelton, Sanders was appointed to the mastership of

Halesowen Halesowen ( ) is a market town in the Metropolitan Borough of Dudley, in the county of West Midlands, England. Historically an exclave of Shropshire and, from 1844, in Worcestershire, the town is around from Birmingham city centre, and from ...

school in 1771. Dr. Pynson Wilmot, vicar of Halesowen, formerly a master of Dudley grammar school, obtained for him the

perpetual curacy Perpetual curate was a class of resident parish priest or incumbent curate within the United Church of England and Ireland (name of the combined Anglican churches of England and Ireland from 1800 to 1871). The term is found in common use mainly du ...

of Oldbury. He died in Halesowen in January 1785, and was buried by his special request in the churchyard of Shenstone on 4 February of that year. His wife had died in 1759. Their only son, John Butler Sanders (1750–1830), a curate in parishes in London, was an untiring supporter of the

Royal Humane Society The Royal Humane Society is a British charity which promotes lifesaving intervention. It was founded in England in 1774 as the ''Society for the Recovery of Persons Apparently Drowned'', for the purpose of rendering first aid in cases of near dro ...

Publication

Sanders devoted his spare time to writing ''The History and Antiquities of Shenstone''. It was published in 1794 by John Nichols, with a short account of the author by his son. It is a model parish history, containing elaborate accounts of the local manors, hamlets, farms, genealogies, and assessments. The work was extensively used by

Stebbing Shaw Stebbing Shaw (1762 – 28 October 1802) was an English cleric, local historian and topographer. He is remembered as a county historian of Staffordshire Life Stebbing Shaw was born in about the spring of 1762 near Stone, Staffordshire. His father ...

in his ''History of Staffordshire''.

References

Attribution * {{DEFAULTSORT:Sanders, Henry 1727 births 1785 deaths People from Shenstone, Staffordshire 18th-century antiquarians 18th-century English historians People from Dudley