John Alfred Langford (12 September 1823 – 24 January 1903) was an English journalist, poet and antiquary in
Birmingham
Birmingham ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands (county), West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1. ...
.
Early life
Born in Crawley's Court, Bradford Street, Birmingham,
Warwickshire
Warwickshire (; abbreviated Warks) is a county in the West Midlands region of England. The county town is Warwick, and the largest town is Nuneaton. The county is famous for being the birthplace of William Shakespeare at Stratford-upon-Av ...
, Langford was the second surviving son of John Langford, who came to Birmingham from Wales in 1815, started business in 1828 as a chairmaker. He owed his early education to his mother, Harriet Eaton, a paralysed invalid.
After attending a private school in Brixhall Street,
Deritend
Deritend is a historic area of Birmingham, England, built around a crossing point of the River Rea. It is first mentioned in 1276. Today Deritend is usually considered to be part of Digbeth.
History
Deritend was a crossing point of the River R ...
(1829–33), Langford entered his father's chair-making business at ten, and was apprenticed when thirteen in 1836. He read widely for himself. At 19, while still an apprentice, he married, and at 21 was a journeyman earning a guinea a week.
While still young he studied at Birmingham's Mechanics' Institute.
Later Langford drew on his early experiences as a pattern for
self-help.
Activism and journalism
In 1846 Langford became secretary of the newly established Birmingham Co-operative Society. In August 1847 he joined the new Unitarian
Church of the Saviour, founded by
George Dawson, originator of the doctrine of the "
Civic Gospel". In the winter of 1850–1 he taught evening classes in the schools of Dawson's church, gave up chair-making, and opened a small news vendor's and bookseller's shop. From 1852 to 1855 he carried on a printing business (45 Ann Street).
In 1848, he became one of a group of friends who met regularly at one another's houses to discuss philosophical, political and social matters. They called themselves the "Inner Circle", and it became their custom to prepare some written presentation in advance. In 1850, three of the members, Langford,
William Harris William or Will or Willie Harris may refer to:
Politicians and political activists
*William Harris (born 1504) (1504–?), MP for Newport, Cornwall
*William Harris (died 1556), MP for Maldon (UK Parliament constituency), Maldon
*William Harris (MP ...
and Henry Latham, published a volume of poems that had emerged from these sessions, entitled ''Thoughts from the Inner Circle''.
Langford became sub-editor of the newly founded radical ''Birmingham Daily Press'' (7 May 1855). This was well received, but a commercial failure: it merged with the ''Birmingham Mercury'' in 1857, and ceased publication entirely in November 1858. From 1862 to 1868 he was closely associated with the ''
Birmingham Daily Gazette
The ''Birmingham Gazette'', known for much of its existence as ''Aris's Birmingham Gazette'', was a newspaper that was published and circulated in Birmingham, England, from the eighteenth to the twentieth centuries. Founded as a weekly publicatio ...
'', a liberal-conservative daily paper, from which he withdrew on account of his radical views. He was honorary secretary of a Birmingham branch of the "Friends of Italy", formed in 1851, aided in the organisation of the
Liberal Party
The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world. The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left.
__TOC__ Active liberal parties
This is a li ...
when its headquarters were at Birmingham under the control of
Francis Schnadhorst
Francis Schnadhorst (24 August 1840 – 2 January 1900) was a Birmingham draper and English Liberal Party politician. He briefly held elected office on Birmingham Council, and was offered the chance to stand for Parliament in winnable seats, but ...
, and joined Dawson in running the ''Birmingham Morning News'', an advanced liberal paper (2 January 1871 to 27 May 1876). After the
split in the Liberal Party in 1886 he allied himself with the
Gladstone Liberals, but then gradually dropped out of political work.
Langford helped in the acquisition for the public of
Aston Hall
Aston Hall is a Grade I listed Jacobean house in Aston, Birmingham, England, designed by John Thorpe and built between 1618 and 1635. It is a leading example of the Jacobean prodigy house.
In 1864, the house was bought by Birmingham Corpor ...
and its park in 1858, and served as manager with a residence at the Hall until the purchase of the property by the corporation in 1864. He was teacher of English literature in the
Birmingham and Midland Institute
The Birmingham and Midland Institute (popularly known as the Midland Institute) (), is an institution concerned with the promotion of education and learning in Birmingham, England. It is now based on Margaret Street in Birmingham city centre. It ...
(1868–1874); and promoted the public libraries of the day, publishing an account of them and of the
Birmingham Art Gallery in 1871.
Last years
Langford was member of the Birmingham School Board (1874–85 and 1886–91). In 1875–6 he made a tour round the world with his friend
Richard Tangye
Sir Richard Trevithick Tangye (24 November 183314 October 1906) was a British manufacturer of engines and other heavy equipment.
Biography
Richard Tangye was born at Illogan, near Redruth, Cornwall, the fifth son in a family of six sons and thr ...
. He died on 24 January 1903 in his 80th year at 85 Fernley Road,
Sparkhill
Sparkhill is an inner-city area of Birmingham, England, situated between Springfield, Hall Green and Sparkbrook.
Historically part of Worcestershire, Sparkhill once existed as a rural area with its main industry being agriculture until the 1 ...
, Birmingham. He was buried at
Key Hill Cemetery
Key Hill Cemetery, ( OS grid reference SP059882), originally called Birmingham General Cemetery, is a cemetery in Hockley (the Jewellery Quarter), Birmingham, England. It opened in 1836 as a nondenominational cemetery (in practice nonconfor ...
,
Hockley
Hockley is a large village and civil parish in Essex in the East of England located between Chelmsford and Southend-on-Sea, or, more specifically, between Rayleigh and Rochford. It came to prominence during the coming of the railway in the 189 ...
.
Works
Langford's major publications were ''Century of Birmingham Life, 1741–1841'' (2 vols. Birmingham, 1868), and ''Modern Birmingham and its Institutions'' (2 vols. 1873–7). Both works were largely compiled from the files of ''
Aris's Birmingham Gazette
The ''Birmingham Gazette'', known for much of its existence as ''Aris's Birmingham Gazette'', was a newspaper that was published and circulated in Birmingham, England, from the eighteenth to the twentieth centuries. Founded as a weekly publicatio ...
'' and its successor, the ''Birmingham Daily Gazette''. Other works were:
* ''Religious Scepticism and Infidelity; their History, Cause, Cure, and Mission'', 1850.
* ''English Democracy; its History and Principles'', 1853; 2nd edit. 1855.
* ''Staffordshire and Warwickshire Past and Present'' (with C. S. Mackintosh and J. C. Tildesley), 1884, 4 vols.
Langford contributed to periodicals, including ''Howitt's Journal''.
William Howitt
William Howitt (18 December 1792 – 3 March 1879), was a prolific English writer on history and other subjects. Howitt Primary Community School in Heanor, Derbyshire, is named after him and his wife.
Biography
Howitt was born at Heanor, Derbysh ...
wrote about a meeting with him in June 1847, under the title of ''A Visit to a Working-man'' (''Howitt's Journal'', ii. 242–4). In a pamphlet he defended George Dawson against an attack by
George Gilfillan
__NOTOC__
Rev George Gilfillan (30 January 1813 – 13 August 1878) was a Scottish author and poet. One of the spasmodic poets, Gilfillan was also an editor and commentator, with memoirs, critical dissertations in many editions of earlier Britis ...
in ''
Tait's Edinburgh Magazine
''Tait's Edinburgh Magazine'' was a monthly periodical founded in 1832. It was an important venue for liberal political views, as well as contemporary cultural and literary developments, in early-to-mid-nineteenth century Britain.
The magazine wa ...
'' (1848, pp. 279–285).
As an "artisan poet", he was published during 1850 in ''Cooper's Journal'', edited by
Thomas Cooper.
In verse were: commemorative poems on Shakespeare in 1859 and 1864; ''The Drama of a Life'' (in 5 scenes) and ''Aspiranda'' (1852); ''The King and the Commoner'', a historical play (Birmingham, 1870); and ''A Life for Love, and other Poems'' (Birmingham, 1900).
Family
By his first wife, Anne Swinton (d. 1847) who had worked for his father, Langford had four children, of whom only a daughter, wife of Dr George Craig, survived. By his second wife, Mary Anne, oldest daughter of F. Price, a printer, whom he married 7 April 1849, he had six children.
Notes
External links
Online Books page
;Attribution
{{DEFAULTSORT:Langford, John Alfred
1823 births
1903 deaths
English male journalists
English antiquarians
People from Birmingham, West Midlands
Burials at Key Hill Cemetery