John Horsley
FRS (1685 – 12 January 1732) was a British
antiquarian
An antiquarian or antiquary () is an fan (person), aficionado or student of antiquities or things of the past. More specifically, the term is used for those who study history with particular attention to ancient artifact (archaeology), artifac ...
, known primarily for his book ''Britannia Romana'' or ''The Roman Antiquities of Britain'' which was published in 1732.
Early life
John Hodgson, in a memoir published in 1831, held that Horsley was born in 1685, at
Pinkie House, in the parish of
Inveresk,
Midlothian
Midlothian (; gd, Meadhan Lodainn) is a historic county, registration county, lieutenancy area and one of 32 council areas of Scotland used for local government. Midlothian lies in the east-central Lowlands, bordering the City of Edinburgh, ...
, and that his father was a Northumberland
nonconformist
Nonconformity or nonconformism may refer to:
Culture and society
* Insubordination, the act of willfully disobeying an order of one's superior
*Dissent, a sentiment or philosophy of non-agreement or opposition to a prevailing idea or entity
** ...
, who had migrated to
Scotland, but returned to England soon after the
Glorious Revolution
The Glorious Revolution; gd, Rèabhlaid Ghlòrmhor; cy, Chwyldro Gogoneddus , also known as the ''Glorieuze Overtocht'' or ''Glorious Crossing'' in the Netherlands, is the sequence of events leading to the deposition of King James II and ...
of 1688. John Hodgson Hinde, in the ''
Archaeologia Aeliana
The Society of Antiquaries of Newcastle upon Tyne, the oldest provincial antiquarian society in England, was founded in 1813. It is a registered charity under English law.
It has had a long-standing interest in the archaeology of the north-east ...
'' of February 1865, held that he was a native of
Newcastle-on-Tyne, the son of Charles Horsley, a member of the Tailors' Company of the town. David Boyd Haycock writing in the ''
Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'' comments that none of the suggestions made for Horsley's background is verifiable.
He was educated at the
Royal Grammar School, Newcastle and at
Edinburgh University, where he graduated
MA on 29 April 1701. There is evidence that he "was settled in
Morpeth as a
Presbyterian minister as early as 1709." Hodgson, however, thought that up to 1721, at which time he was residing at
Widdrington, "he had not received ordination, but preached as a licentiate."
Educator
Horsley communicated to the ''
Philosophical Transactions
''Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society'' is a scientific journal published by the Royal Society. In its earliest days, it was a private venture of the Royal Society's secretary. It was established in 1665, making it the first journa ...
'' notes on the rainfall at Widdrington in the years 1722 and 1723. At Morpeth Horsley opened a private school, attracting pupils irrespective of religious connection, among them
Newton Ogle, later
dean of Winchester. He gave lectures on
mechanics and
hydrostatics in Morpeth,
Alnwick
Alnwick ( ) is a market town in Northumberland, England, of which it is the traditional county town. The population at the 2011 Census was 8,116.
The town is on the south bank of the River Aln, south of Berwick-upon-Tweed and the Scottish bor ...
and Newcastle, and was elected a
Fellow of the Royal Society on 23 April 1730, or in May, 1729.
Death
Horsley died of
apoplexy on 12 January 1732, on the eve of the publication of the ''Britannia Romana'' and was buried in Morpeth.
Family
He married Anne Hamilton daughter of Rev
William Hamilton, minister of
Cramond near
Edinburgh and later Principal of
Edinburgh University.
Works
It is as an archaeologist and antiquarian that Horsley is now known. His major work, ''Britannia Romana'', or ''The Roman Antiquities of Britain'' was published in 1732. One of Horsley's achievements in this book was to identify for the first time which
legions of the
Roman army
The Roman army (Latin: ) was the armed forces deployed by the Romans throughout the duration of Ancient Rome, from the Roman Kingdom (c. 500 BC) to the Roman Republic (500–31 BC) and the Roman Empire (31 BC–395 AD), and its medieval continu ...
were stationed in Britain.
There was in the
British Museum a copy with notes by
John Ward.
He also published two sermons and a handbook to his lectures on mechanics, etc., and projected a history of Northumberland and
Durham, collections for which were found among his papers.
Notes
References
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Horsley, John
1685 births
1732 deaths
People from Morpeth, Northumberland
People educated at the Royal Grammar School, Newcastle upon Tyne
British antiquarians
British historians
Fellows of the Royal Society
Alumni of the University of Edinburgh