John Hoadly (1711–1776) was an English cleric, known as a poet and dramatist. John Hoadly by Francis Hayman

Life

Born in Broad Street, London, on 8 October 1711, he was the youngest son of Bishop

Benjamin Hoadly Benjamin Hoadly (14 November 1676 – 17 April 1761) was an English clergyman, who was successively Bishop of Bangor, of Hereford, of Salisbury, and finally of Winchester. He is best known as the initiator of the Bangorian Controversy. Li ...

by his wife Sarah Curtis. After attending

Newcome's school Newcome's School was a fashionable boys' school in Hackney, then to the east of London, founded in the early 18th century. A number of prominent Whig families sent their sons there. The school closed in 1815, and the buildings were gutted in 182 ...

at Hackney, where he played the part of Phocyas in John Hughes's ''Siege of Damascus'',’ he was sent in 1730 to

Corpus Christi College, Cambridge Corpus Christi College (full name: "The College of Corpus Christi and the Blessed Virgin Mary", often shortened to "Corpus"), is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. From the late 14th century through to the early 19th century ...

. At about the same time he entered the

Middle Temple The Honourable Society of the Middle Temple, commonly known simply as Middle Temple, is one of the four Inns of Court exclusively entitled to call their members to the English Bar as barristers, the others being the Inner Temple, Gray's Inn an ...

in order to qualify for the bar. Having graduated LL.B. in 1735 Hoadly decided to become a clergyman, a career in which his father had patronage. On 29 November 1735 he was appointed chancellor of the diocese of Winchester, and was ordained deacon by his father on the following 7 December, and priest the 21st of the same month. He was immediately received into

Frederick, Prince of Wales Frederick, Prince of Wales, (Frederick Louis, ; 31 January 170731 March 1751), was the eldest son and heir apparent of King George II of Great Britain. He grew estranged from his parents, King George and Queen Caroline. Frederick was the fath ...

's household as his chaplain, as he afterwards was in that of the Princess Dowager, on 6 May 1751. Hoadly accumulated preferments. He obtained the rectory of Mitchelmersh,

Hampshire Hampshire (, ; abbreviated to Hants) is a ceremonial county, ceremonial and non-metropolitan county, non-metropolitan counties of England, county in western South East England on the coast of the English Channel. Home to two major English citi ...

, on 8 March 1737, that of Wroughton,

Wiltshire Wiltshire (; abbreviated Wilts) is a historic and ceremonial county in South West England with an area of . It is landlocked and borders the counties of Dorset to the southwest, Somerset to the west, Hampshire to the southeast, Gloucestershire ...

, on 8 September, and that of Alresford, Hampshire, and the eighth prebendal stall in Winchester Cathedral on 29 November of the same year. On 9 June 1743 he was instituted to the rectory of St. Mary, near

Southampton Southampton () is a port city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. It is located approximately south-west of London and west of Portsmouth. The city forms part of the South Hampshire built-up area, which also covers Po ...

, and on 16 December 1746 to the vicarage of Overton, Hampshire. On 4 January 1748 Thomas Herring,

archbishop of Canterbury The archbishop of Canterbury is the senior bishop and a principal leader of the Church of England, the ceremonial head of the worldwide Anglican Communion and the diocesan bishop of the Diocese of Canterbury. The current archbishop is Justi ...

, conferred on him the degree of LL.D. In May 1760 he was appointed to the mastership of St. Cross, Winchester. All these preferments he retained until his death (16 March 1776), except the rectory of Wroughton and the prebend of Winchester, which he resigned in June 1760.

Associates

David Garrick David Garrick (19 February 1717 – 20 January 1779) was an English actor, playwright, theatre manager and producer who influenced nearly all aspects of European theatrical practice throughout the 18th century, and was a pupil and friend of Sa ...

was a friend and correspondent of Hoadly's. Hoadly, Garrick and William Hogarth once enacted together ''Ragandjaw'', a parody on the ghost scene in Shakespeare's ''

Julius Cæsar Gaius Julius Caesar (; ; 12 July 100 BC – 15 March 44 BC), was a Roman general and statesman. A member of the First Triumvirate, Caesar led the Roman armies in the Gallic Wars before defeating his political rival Pompey in a civil war, and ...

''. Hoadly wrote the verses for '' A Rake's Progress'', the printed set of engraving by Hogarth. He was also a friend of

Sarah Fielding Sarah Fielding (8 November 1710 – 9 April 1768) was an English author and sister of the novelist Henry Fielding. She wrote ''The Governess, or The Little Female Academy'' (1749), thought to be the first novel in English aimed expressly at chil ...

Works

Hoadly assisted his brother

M.D. in writing ''The Contrast; or, a tragical comical Rehearsal of two modern Plays, and the Tragedy of Epaminondas'', which was brought out at the theatre in Lincoln's Inn Fields on 30 April 1731, and performed three times without success. It ridiculed living poets, especially James Thomson. At the desire of their father the bishop it was suppressed. ''The Contrast'' was never printed. It is extant in manuscript, in the

Bodleian Library The Bodleian Library () is the main research library of the University of Oxford, and is one of the oldest libraries in Europe. It derives its name from its founder, Sir Thomas Bodley. With over 13 million printed items, it is the second- ...

, having been rediscovered in 2004. Other works by Hoadly were: * ''Love's Revenge: a dramatic pastoral'' (anon.), 1734 (

737 737 most commonly refers to: * Boeing 737, an American narrow-body passenger airplane ** Boeing 737 Classic ** Boeing 737 MAX ** Boeing 737 Next Generation * AD 737, a year in the common era * 737 BC, a year * 737 (number), a number 737 may als ...

and 1745); set to music by Maurice Greene. * ''Jephtha, an oratorio'' (anon.), 1737; music by Greene. * ''Phoebe, a pastoral opera'' (anon.), 1748; music by Greene. * ''The Force of Truth, an oratorio'' (anon.), 1764. He wrote the fifth act of James Miller's tragedy ''

Mahomet the Imposter ''Mahomet the Imposter'' is a 1744 tragedy by the British writer James Miller. His final play, it was inspired by the 1736 French work '' Mahomet'' by Voltaire. It was Miller's only tragedy, as his other works were sentimental comedies.Nicoll p ...

'' (1744), and completed and revised George Lillo's adaptation of ''

Arden of Feversham ''Arden of Faversham'' (original spelling: ''Arden of Feversham'') is an Elizabethan play, entered into the Register of the Stationers Company on 3 April 1592, and printed later that same year by Edward White. It depicts the real-life murder ...

'' (1762). He is said to have assisted his brother Benjamin in the composition of '' The Suspicious Husband''.’ He left several dramas in manuscript: among others ''The Housekeeper, a Farce'', on the plan of James Townley's '' High Life Below Stairs'' (in favour of which it was rejected by Garrick); and a tragedy on the life of

Thomas Cromwell Thomas Cromwell (; 1485 – 28 July 1540), briefly Earl of Essex, was an English lawyer and statesman who served as chief minister to King Henry VIII from 1534 to 1540, when he was beheaded on orders of the king, who later blamed false charge ...

. Some of his poems are in

James Dodsley James Dodsley (1724–1797) was an English bookseller. Life Dodsley was born near Mansfield in Nottinghamshire in 1724. He was probably employed in the shop of his prosperous brother, Robert, by whom he was taken into partnership—the firm trad ...

's ''Collection''; they include a translation of

Edward Holdsworth Edward Holdsworth (1684–1746) was an English classical scholar, known as a neo-Latin poet. Early life The son of Thomas Holdsworth, rector of North Stoneham, Hampshire, he was born there on 6 August 1684, and baptised on 3 September. He was ed ...

's ''Muscipula''. He also edited his father's works (three volumes, 1773), to which he prefixed a short ''Life'' originally in the ''Biographia Britannica''.

Notes

;Attribution {{DEFAULTSORT:Hoadly, John 1711 births 1776 deaths 18th-century English Anglican priests English dramatists and playwrights Writers from London People from the City of London Alumni of Corpus Christi College, Cambridge People educated at Newcome's School English male dramatists and playwrights English male poets