John Feltham ( fl. 1780–1803) was an English writer, particularly for travel and antiquarian works. He is known for the ''Picture of London'', an annual guide book that appeared from around 1800.

Life

Feltham has been tentatively identified as the son of Thomas Hall Feltham, a clockmaker in

Salisbury Salisbury ( ) is a cathedral city in Wiltshire, England with a population of 41,820, at the confluence of the rivers Avon, Nadder and Bourne. The city is approximately from Southampton and from Bath. Salisbury is in the southeast of Wil ...

. He took work in the

West Country The West Country (occasionally Westcountry) is a loosely defined area of South West England, usually taken to include all, some, or parts of the counties of Cornwall, Devon, Dorset, Somerset, Bristol, and, less commonly, Wiltshire, Gloucesters ...

, and lived for a time in

Honiton Honiton ( or ) is a market town and civil parish in East Devon, situated close to the River Otter, north east of Exeter in the county of Devon. Honiton has a population estimated at 11,822 (based on mid-year estimates for the two Honiton Ward ...

, in east

Devon Devon ( , historically known as Devonshire , ) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South West England. The most populous settlement in Devon is the city of Plymouth, followed by Devon's county town, the city of Exeter. Devon is ...

. There he encountered Eliza Gould, who was running a school at

South Molton South Molton is a town in Devon, England. It is part of the North Devon local government district. The town is on the River Mole. According to the 2001 census the civil parish of South Molton had a population of 4,093, increasing to 5,108 at the ...

, elsewhere in the same county. They became involved, and engaged in 1795, but he broke it off, and did not give financial support to her school as she certainly had hoped. After 1796, he moved to Salisbury, and then in 1799 to London. He died by 1815.

Works

Feltham contributed to the ''

Gentleman's Magazine ''The Gentleman's Magazine'' was a monthly magazine founded in London, England, by Edward Cave in January 1731. It ran uninterrupted for almost 200 years, until 1922. It was the first to use the term ''magazine'' (from the French ''magazine'' ...

'' from 1786, and wrote a letter on

animal rights Animal rights is the philosophy according to which many or all sentient animals have moral worth that is independent of their utility for humans, and that their most basic interests—such as avoiding suffering—should be afforded the sa ...

in the ''

European Magazine ''The European Magazine'' (sometimes referred to as ''European Magazine'') was a monthly magazine published in London. Eighty-nine semi-annual volumes were published from 1782 until 1826. It was launched as the ''European Magazine, and London Rev ...

'' in 1796, that responded to

Mary Wollstonecraft Mary Wollstonecraft (, ; 27 April 1759 – 10 September 1797) was a British writer, philosopher, and advocate of women's rights. Until the late 20th century, Wollstonecraft's life, which encompassed several unconventional personal relationsh ...

. He also contributed poems to an anthology by

Richard Polwhele Richard Polwhele (6 January 1760 – 12 March 1838) was a Cornish people, Cornish clergyman, poetry, poet and historian of Cornwall and Devon. Biography Richard Polwhele's ancestors long held the manor of Treworgan, 4 3/4 miles south-east of ...

. ''A Tour Through the Island of Mann'' (1798) was a travel work, about the

Isle of Man ) , anthem = "O Land of Our Birth" , image = Isle of Man by Sentinel-2.jpg , image_map = Europe-Isle_of_Man.svg , mapsize = , map_alt = Location of the Isle of Man in Europe , map_caption = Location of the Isle of Man (green) in Europe ...

. Feltham and his patron Joseph Haskins had undertaken a large-scale walking tour in 1797, and this book resulted from part of it. It was edited with notes by Robert Airey for the Manx Society, in 1861, as ''Feltham's Tour through the Isle of Man, in 1797 and 1798''. A work on monumental inscriptions in the Isle of Man was published for the first time in 1868. ''The Picture of London'', an annual guide book, appeared by 1802, an edition that is noted in particular for a historical dissertation, "The Porter Brewery", on the drink

porter Porter may refer to: Companies * Porter Airlines, Canadian regional airline based in Toronto * Porter Chemical Company, a defunct U.S. toy manufacturer of chemistry sets * Porter Motor Company, defunct U.S. car manufacturer * H.K. Porter, Inc., ...

. An influential account, attributing to Ralph Harwood in 1722 the origination of this variety of beer, it is no longer given much credence. An edition by John Britton, ''The Original Picture of London'', appeared in 1826, but the title had become generic soon after Feltham died. John Badcock had published ''A Living Picture of London'' in 1818. ''Leigh's New Picture of London'' ( Samuel Leigh) also appeared by 1818, ''Mogg's New Picture of London'' (

Edward Mogg Edward Mogg was a publisher in London in the 19th century. He issued maps and travel guides to London and other localities in England and Wales. ''Mogg's'' publications appear in works of fiction such as Robert Smith Surtees' ''Mr. Sponge's Sporti ...

) in 1848. ''A View of London, or, The stranger's guide through the British metropolis'' had appeared by 1804. Other works by Feltham included: *''The English Enchiridion, a selection of apothegms, moral maxims, &c.'' (1799) *''A Popular View of the Structure and Economy of the Human Body'' (1803) *''Guide to all the Watering and Sea-bathing Places'' (1803, later edition 1813)

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Feltham, John English travel writers English antiquarians 18th-century English people 19th-century English people