James Wilson was an 18th-century songwriter from
Hexham
Hexham ( ) is a market town and civil parishes in England, civil parish in Northumberland, England, on the south bank of the River Tyne, formed by the confluence of the North Tyne and the South Tyne at Warden, Northumberland, Warden nearby, and ...
,
Northumberland
Northumberland () is a county in Northern England, one of two counties in England which border with Scotland. Notable landmarks in the county include Alnwick Castle, Bamburgh Castle, Hadrian's Wall and Hexham Abbey.
It is bordered by land on ...
.
Early life
James Wilson was a schoolteacher by trade.
After spending some time teaching in
Hexham
Hexham ( ) is a market town and civil parishes in England, civil parish in Northumberland, England, on the south bank of the River Tyne, formed by the confluence of the North Tyne and the South Tyne at Warden, Northumberland, Warden nearby, and ...
, he suffered financial embarrassment and had to move away.
He chose
Morpeth
Morpeth may refer to:
*Morpeth, New South Wales, Australia
** Electoral district of Morpeth, a former electoral district of the Legislative Assembly in New South Wales
* Morpeth, Ontario, Canada
* Morpeth, Northumberland, England, UK
** Morpeth (UK ...
, where he met a fellow schoolteacher, who was also a poet and songwriter,
Wallis Ogle, who managed to find him a post at
Causey Park Bridge
Causey Park Bridge is a village in Northumberland, England. It is about to the north of Morpeth and a similar distance inland from the North Sea coast.
Governance
Causey Park Bridge is in the parliamentary constituency of Berwick-upon-Twe ...
School (spelt "Cawsey" in
John Bell's
Rhymes of Northern Bards
''Rhymes of Northern Bards'' (full title – "Rhymes of Northern Bards: being a curious collection of old and new Songs and Poems, Peculiar to the Counties of Newcastle upon Tyne, Newcastle, Northumberland and County Durham, Durham – Edited b ...
), where shortly after he died.
He was a poet and songwriter and had 4 songs published in Bell's
Rhymes of Northern Bards
''Rhymes of Northern Bards'' (full title – "Rhymes of Northern Bards: being a curious collection of old and new Songs and Poems, Peculiar to the Counties of Newcastle upon Tyne, Newcastle, Northumberland and County Durham, Durham – Edited b ...
in 1812.
While living in
Morpeth
Morpeth may refer to:
*Morpeth, New South Wales, Australia
** Electoral district of Morpeth, a former electoral district of the Legislative Assembly in New South Wales
* Morpeth, Ontario, Canada
* Morpeth, Northumberland, England, UK
** Morpeth (UK ...
he collected together some of his works into a volume and they were published in a chapbook printed by
T Angus,
Newcastle Newcastle usually refers to:
*Newcastle upon Tyne, a city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England
*Newcastle-under-Lyme, a town in Staffordshire, England
*Newcastle, New South Wales, a metropolitan area in Australia, named after Newcastle ...
in 1778.
Works
These include:
* The Banks of the Tyne
[
* A Few Lines on Laying the Foundation Stone of Hexham Bridge][
* Ode - "Addressed to Sir Walter Blackett, Bart." - was "wrote" by the author on the very day the building of Hexham Bridge was undertaken][
* A Song by Mr James Wilson of Cawsey Park on Mr Coughan and family, leaving Hebron Hill][
]
See also
* Geordie dialect words
Geordie () is a nickname for a person from the Tyneside area of North East England, and the dialect used by its inhabitants, also known in linguistics as Tyneside English or Newcastle English. There are different definitions of what constitute ...
* Rhymes of Northern Bards
''Rhymes of Northern Bards'' (full title – "Rhymes of Northern Bards: being a curious collection of old and new Songs and Poems, Peculiar to the Counties of Newcastle upon Tyne, Newcastle, Northumberland and County Durham, Durham – Edited b ...
References
External links
Rhymes of Northern Bards
English male poets
English male songwriters
People from Hexham
18th-century deaths
18th-century births
Geordie songwriters
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