James Nasmith (1740–1808) was an English clergyman, academic and antiquary.
Life
The son of a carrier who came from Scotland, and plied between
Norwich
Norwich () is a cathedral city and district of Norfolk, England, of which it is the county town. Norwich is by the River Wensum, about north-east of London, north of Ipswich and east of Peterborough. As the seat of the See of Norwich, with ...
and London, he was born at Norwich late in 1740. He was sent by his father to
Amsterdam
Amsterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Amstel'') is the capital and most populous city of the Netherlands, with The Hague being the seat of government. It has a population of 907,976 within the city proper, 1,558,755 in the urban ar ...
for a year to complete his school education, and entered in 1760 Corpus Christi College, Cambridge, where he graduated B.A. 1764, M.A. 1767, and D.D. 1797. In 1765 he was elected to a fellowship in his college, he acted for some time as its sub-tutor, and in 1771 he was the junior proctor of the university. Having been ordained in the English church, he served for some years as the minister of the sequestrated benefice of
Hinxton
Hinxton is a village in South Cambridgeshire, England.
The River Cam runs through the village, as does the Cambridge to Liverpool Street railway, though the village has no station. Hinxton parish's southern boundaries form the border between Ca ...
,
Cambridgeshire
Cambridgeshire (abbreviated Cambs.) is a county in the East of England, bordering Lincolnshire to the north, Norfolk to the north-east, Suffolk to the east, Essex and Hertfordshire to the south, and Bedfordshire and Northamptonshire to the ...
.
He was nominated by his college in 1773 to the rectory of St Mary Abchurch with St Laurence Pountney, London, but before he could be instituted he exchanged for the rectory of
Snailwell
Snailwell is a small village and civil parish in East Cambridgeshire, England around north of Newmarket.
History
The parish of Snailwell covers an area of in the extension of eastern Cambridgeshire that surrounds the town of Newmarket in Suff ...
, Cambridgeshire. When the headship of his college became vacant in 1778; but he declined the offer of it, and was promoted by Bishop James Yorke in 1796 to the rectory of
Leverington
Leverington is a village and civil parish in the Fenland District of Cambridgeshire, England. The settlement is to the north of Wisbech.
At the time of the 2001 Census, the parish's population was 2,914 people, including Four Gotes, increasin ...
, in the
Isle of Ely
The Isle of Ely () is a historic region around the city of Ely in Cambridgeshire, England. Between 1889 and 1965, it formed an administrative county.
Etymology
Its name has been said to mean "island of eels", a reference to the creatures th ...
.
As magistrate for Cambridgeshire and chairman for many years of the sessions at Cambridge and Ely, he studied the Poor Laws and other economic questions affecting his district. He was also for some time chaplain to
John Hobart, 2nd Earl of Buckinghamshire
John Hobart, 2nd Earl of Buckinghamshire (17 August 17233 August 1793) was a British nobleman and politician.
Biography
The son of John Hobart, 1st Earl of Buckinghamshire by his first wife Judith Britiffe, he was educated at Westminster Scho ...
. After a long illness he died at Leverington on 16 October 1808, aged 67, and was buried in the church, where his widow erected a monument to his memory on the north side of the chancel. He had married in 1774 Susanna, daughter of John Salmon, rector of Shelton, Norfolk, and sister of Benjamin Salmon, fellow of his college. She died at Norwich on 11 November 1814, aged 75, bequeathing sums to charity.
Works
Nasmith devoted his leisure to antiquarian research, and he was elected
Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries
A fellow is a concept whose exact meaning depends on context.
In learned or professional societies, it refers to a privileged member who is specially elected in recognition of their work and achievements.
Within the context of higher education ...
on 30 November 1769. He was occupied in arranging and cataloguing the manuscripts which Archbishop
Matthew Parker
Matthew Parker (6 August 1504 – 17 May 1575) was an English bishop. He was the Archbishop of Canterbury in the Church of England from 1559 until his death in 1575. He was also an influential theologian and arguably the co-founder (with a p ...
gave to his college. The catalogue was finished in February 1775, and presented by him to the Master and Fellows, who directed that it should be printed under his direction, and that the profits of the sale should be given to him.
Nasmith edited:
* ''Catalogus librorum manuscriptorum quos collegio Corporis Christi in Acad. Cantabrigiensi legavit Matthæus Parker, archiepiscopus Cantuariensis'', 1777.
* ''Itineraria Symonis Simeonis et Willelmi de Worcestre, quibus accedit tractatus de Metro'', 1778.
* ''Notitia Monastica, or an Account of all the Abbies, Priories, and Houses of Friers formerly in England and Wales'', by Thomas Tanner. Additions consisted mainly of references to books and manuscripts. Many copies of this edition were destroyed by fire on 8 February 1808.
Nasmith was also author of:
* ''The Duties of Overseers of the Poor and the Sufficiency of the present system of Poor Laws considered. A charge to the Grand Jury at Ely Quarter Sessions, 2 April. With remarks on a late publication on the Poor Laws by Robert Saunders'', 1799.
* ''An Examination of the Statutes now in force relating to the Assize of Bread'', 1800.
Saunders, a critic from
Lewisham
Lewisham () is an area of southeast London, England, south of Charing Cross. It is the principal area of the London Borough of Lewisham, and was within the historic county of Kent until 1889. It is identified in the London Plan as one of ...
of corruption in the oversight of the existing Poor Law system, replied to these pamphlets in ''An Abstract of Observations on the Poor Laws, with a Reply to the Remarks of the Rev. James Nasmith'', 1802. He is felt to have got the better of the debate.J. R. Poynter, ''Society and Pauperism: English ideas on poor relief, 1795-1834'' (1969) p. 190 Google Books. /ref>
The assistance of Nasmith is acknowledged in the preface to Henry Swinden's ''History of Great Yarmouth'', which was edited by