John Brickdale Blakeway (24 June 1765 – 10 March 1826) was an English barrister, cleric and topographer.

Life

The eldest son of Joshua Blakeway, of Shrewsbury, by Elizabeth, sister of Matthew Brickdale, Member of Parliament for

Bristol Bristol () is a city, ceremonial county and unitary authority in England. Situated on the River Avon, it is bordered by the ceremonial counties of Gloucestershire to the north and Somerset to the south. Bristol is the most populous city in ...

, he was born at Shrewsbury on 24 June 1765, and educated at Shrewsbury Free School. In 1775 he was moved to

Westminster School (God Gives the Increase) , established = Earliest records date from the 14th century, refounded in 1560 , type = Public school Independent day and boarding school , religion = Church of England , head_label = Hea ...

, where he remained till 1782. He went on to Oriel College, Oxford (B.A. 1786, M.A. 1795). On leaving university Blakeway entered Lincoln's Inn, and was called to the bar in 1789. When his prospects of family money changed, he decided to enter the

Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the established Christian church in England and the mother church of the international Anglican Communion. It traces its history to the Christian church recorded as existing in the Roman province of Britai ...

, and was ordained in 1793. In 1794 Blakeway was presented by his uncle, the Rev. Edward Blakeway, to the ministry of the

Royal Peculiar A royal peculiar is a Church of England parish or church exempt from the jurisdiction of the diocese and the province in which it lies, and subject to the direct jurisdiction of the monarch, or in Cornwall by the duke. Definition The church par ...

St Mary's Church, Shrewsbury St Mary's Church is a redundant Anglican church in St Mary's Place, Shrewsbury, Shropshire, England. It is recorded in the National Heritage List for England as a designated Grade I listed building, and is under the care of the Churches C ...

. On his uncle's death he became official of the peculiar, and also succeeded him in the vicarage of

Neen Savage Neen Savage is a civil parish and a hamlet in south east Shropshire, England. It is situated north of the small market town of Cleobury Mortimer. The River Rea, which was historically known as the River Neen, flows past the hamlet, and a notable ...

Shropshire Shropshire (; alternatively Salop; abbreviated in print only as Shrops; demonym Salopian ) is a landlocked historic county in the West Midlands region of England. It is bordered by Wales to the west and the English counties of Cheshire to ...

, and in the rectory of

Felton, Somerset Winford is a village and civil parish within the Chew Valley, Somerset, England. It is within the unitary authority of North Somerset about south of Bristol. The parish has a population of 2,153. The parish includes the village of Felton whi ...

. In 1800 he was presented to the vicarage of

Kinlet Kinlet is a small village and civil parish in the south-east of the county of Shropshire, England. The parish is on the northern edge of the Wyre Forest and is in the Bridgnorth District of Shropshire. The parish incorporates the hamlets of Kin ...

, Shropshire. Blakeway was elected a fellow of the

Society of Antiquaries of London A society is a group of individuals involved in persistent social interaction, or a large social group sharing the same spatial or social territory, typically subject to the same political authority and dominant cultural expectations. Soci ...

in 1807. From 1800 till 1816 he divided his time between Kinlet and Shrewsbury, but, finding it inconvenient to keep up two houses, he gave up Felton and Kinlet in that year, and thenceforward resided exclusively in his native town. He died at the Council House, Shrewsbury, on 10 March 1826 aged 60, and was buried in St. Mary's Church, where a monument, executed by John Carline, was erected to his memory.

Works

Blakeway's works were: *''An Attempt to ascertain the Author of the Letters published under the signature of Junius'', Shrewsbury, 1813. Blakeway argued that the

identity of Junius Junius was the pseudonym of a writer who contributed a series of political letters critical of the government of King George III to the ''Public Advertiser'', from 21 January 1769 to 21 January 1772 as well as several other London newspapers such ...

was

John Horne Tooke John Horne Tooke (25 June 1736 – 18 March 1812), known as John Horne until 1782 when he added the surname of his friend William Tooke to his own, was an English clergyman, politician, and philologist. Associated with radical proponents of parl ...

. *''The Sequel of an Attempt to ascertain the Author of the Letters published under the signature of Junius'', London, 1815. *''A History of Shrewsbury'', 2 vols., London, 1825, with Hugh Owen. *''The Sheriffs of Shropshire, with their armorial bearings, and notices, biographical and genealogical, of their families'', Shrewsbury, 1831. *Sermons, and a tract on ''Regeneration''.

Notes

External links

;Attribution {{DEFAULTSORT:Blakeway, John Brickdale 1765 births 1826 deaths 18th-century English Anglican priests 19th-century English Anglican priests English barristers Fellows of the Society of Antiquaries of London Writers from Shrewsbury People educated at Shrewsbury School People educated at Westminster School, London Alumni of Oriel College, Oxford Clergy from Shrewsbury 18th-century Anglican theologians 19th-century Anglican theologians