James Raine
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James Raine (1791–1858) was an English
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 ...
and
topographer Topography is the study of the forms and features of land surfaces. The topography of an area may refer to the land forms and features themselves, or a description or depiction in maps. Topography is a field of geoscience and planetary scie ...
. A
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 Britain ...
clergyman from the 1810s, he held a variety of positions, including librarian to the dean and chapter of Durham and rector of Meldon in Northumberland. A friend of Robert Surtees, whom he assisted in his work, he founded the
Surtees Society The Surtees Society is a text publication society and registered charity (No. 1003812) based in Durham in northern England. The society was established on 27 May 1834 by James Raine, following the death (on 11 February) of the renowned County D ...
in Robert's honour after the latter's death in 1834. Raine served as secretary for the society, and by the time of his death in 1858 he had edited seventeen volumes for it, in addition to numerous other published works.


Early life

James Raine was the son of James Raine, by his wife Anne, daughter of William Moore. He was born at Ovington in the parish of Wycliffe on 23 January 1791. He was educated at Kirby Hill School, and subsequently at Richmond Grammar School. From 1812 to 1827 he was second master of
Durham School Durham School is an independent boarding and day school in the English public school tradition located in Durham, North East England and was an all-boys institution until 1985, when girls were admitted to the sixth form. The school takes pupils a ...
. Raine was ordained deacon on 25 September 1814, and priest on 20 September 1818. In 1816 he became librarian to the dean and chapter of Durham, and in 1822 he was presented by that body to the
rectory A clergy house is the residence, or former residence, of one or more priests or ministers of religion. Residences of this type can have a variety of names, such as manse, parsonage, rectory or vicarage. Function A clergy house is typically ow ...
of Meldon in Northumberland. Protracted litigation concerning the tithe at Meldon harassed Raine for many years; but in 1846 the
House of Lords The House of Lords, also known as the House of Peers, is the Bicameralism, upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Membership is by Life peer, appointment, Hereditary peer, heredity or Lords Spiritual, official function. Like the ...
decided the dispute in his favour. In 1825 he was instituted principal surrogate in the
consistory court A consistory court is a type of ecclesiastical court, especially within the Church of England where they were originally established pursuant to a charter of King William the Conqueror, and still exist today, although since about the middle of th ...
, and in 1828 to the living of St Mary in the South Bailey in the city of Durham. These several preferments he held until his death. The degree of M. A. was conferred upon him by the
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 ...
, at the request of Bishop Barrington, in November 1825. He was incorporated ''ad eundem gradum'' in the
university of Durham Durham University (legally the University of Durham) is a collegiate university, collegiate public university, public research university in Durham, England, Durham, England, founded by an Act of Parliament in 1832 and incorporated by royal charte ...
, and the same body conferred upon him the degree of D. C. L. in 1857, in recognition of his literary eminence and of his long service as judge of the ecclesiastical court.


Surtees Society

Raine formed in 1812 an acquaintance with Robert Surtees, lasting until the death of Surtees in 1834. He began by helping friends with topographical works. The county historians, John Hodgson,
Cuthbert Sharp Sir Cuthbert Sharp (1781–1849) was an English soldier, official and antiquary. Life The son of Cuthbert Sharp and of Susannah (sister of Brass Crosby), Sharp was an English soldier, official, and shipbuilder. He was born at Hartlepool, County Du ...
, and Surtees, all recorded their debts; Surtees stated that the ''History of Durham'' would never have been finished without Raine (Introduction to ''History of Durham'', vol. i. p. x). Raine subsequently became
literary executor The literary estate of a deceased author consists mainly of the copyright and other intellectual property rights of published works, including film, translation rights, original manuscripts of published work, unpublished or partially completed wo ...
to his friend, with the duty of arranging and editing the fourth volume of the ''History of Durham''. This volume appeared in 1840. In 1827 he had performed a similar service for his friend Hodgson, having edited vol. iii. of part 2 of the ''History of Northumberland'' during the absence of the author abroad. In 1828 Raine published his first independent work of importance—a monograph dealing with the position of the burial-place of
St Cuthbert Cuthbert of Lindisfarne ( – 20 March 687) was an Anglo-Saxon saint of the early Northumbrian church in the Celtic tradition. He was a monk, bishop and hermit, associated with the monasteries of Melrose and Lindisfarne in the Kingdom of Nor ...
. It established his position as an antiquarian. In 1830 the first part of his ''History of North Durham'' appeared; the second part, completing the volume, was not published until 1852. This important work, undertaken at the suggestion of Surtees, and begun shortly after the appearance of Surtees's first volume, is the complement of the latter's ''History of Durham''. It embraces the history of certain outlying and detached districts, including
Norhamshire Norhamshire was an exclave of County Durham in England. It was first mentioned in 995, when it formed part of the lands of the priory at Lindisfarne. When the lands north of the River Tees were partitioned into Northumberland and County Durham it ...
and
Holy Island Sacred space, sacred ground, sacred place, sacred temple, holy ground, or holy place refers to a location which is deemed to be sacred or hallowed. The sacredness of a natural feature may accrue through tradition or be granted through a bless ...
, which, when the book was first undertaken, formed a part of the county of Durham, but some of which were subsequently annexed by statute to the county of Northumberland. On the death of Surtees in 1834 the idea of founding a society to maintain his memory and name originated with Raine. The object of the society as originally devised was "to publish such unedited manuscripts as illustrate the intellectual, moral, religious, and social conditions of those parts of England which lie between the Humber and the Firth of Forth, and on the west from the Mersey to the Clyde, from the earliest period to the Restoration". The
Surtees Society The Surtees Society is a text publication society and registered charity (No. 1003812) based in Durham in northern England. The society was established on 27 May 1834 by James Raine, following the death (on 11 February) of the renowned County D ...
was constituted on 27 May 1834, at a meeting held at Durham, and Raine was appointed its first secretary. From this time he devoted great energy and industry to the interests of the society, editing for it seventeen volumes, and establishing it on a permanent basis. It proved the pioneer of many similar societies, which adopted its rules and methods.


Death and works

Raine died at
Crook Hall Crook Hall, sited near Lanchester, County Durham, some north west of the city of Durham, was one of two Roman Catholic seminaries which temporarily replaced the Douai seminary in Douai, France when that college was suppressed soon after the Frenc ...
, near Durham, on 6 December 1858, and was buried in Durham Cathedral yard. Raine married, on 28 January 1828, Margaret, the eldest daughter of the Reverend Thomas Peacock and sister of George Peacock (1791–1858),
dean of Ely The position of Dean of Ely Cathedral, in East Anglia, England, in the Diocese of Ely was created in 1541 after the Dissolution of the Monasteries. The first Dean of Ely had been the last Benedictine prior of Ely. List of deans Early modern ...
, and had by her three daughters and one son, the Reverend
James Raine James Raine (1791–1858) was an English antiquarian and topographer. A Church of England clergyman from the 1810s, he held a variety of positions, including librarian to the dean and chapter of Durham and rector of Meldon in Northumberlan ...
, chancellor and canon-residentiary of York. One of the three daughters became the famous novelist Margaret Hunt. A portrait of Raine, engraved by W. Walker, after a picture by Clement Burlison, is prefixed to his ''History of North Durham''. Raine published: * ''Proof that the Holy Communion in both kinds was administered to the Laity within the Parish of Norham and Diocese of Durham before the Reformation'', Durham, 1825 * ''Codicum manuscriptorum Ecclesiæ Cathedralis Dunelmensis Catalogus'', 1825 * ''Saint Cuthbert, with an Account of the state in which his Remains were found upon the opening of his Tomb in Durham Cathedral'', Durham, 1828 * ''A Brief Account of Durham Cathedral'', 1833 * ''Catterick Church, in the County of York; a Copy of the Contract for its building, dated in 1412, with Remarks and Notes'', London, 1834 * ''A Brief Historical Account of the Episcopal Castle or Palace of Auckland'', 1852 * ''The History and Antiquities of North Durham, as subdivided into the Shires of Norham Island and Bedlington'', London, 1852 * ''A Memoir of the Rev. J. Hodgson'', 2 vols. 1857 * ''Marske, a small Contribution towards Yorkshire Topography'', 1860 Raine edited for the Surtees Society the following volumes: * ''Reginaldus Monachus Dunelmensis'', 1835 * ''Wills and Inventories illustrative of the History of the Northern Counties of England'', 1835 * ''The Towneley Mysteries'', 1836 * ''Durham Sanctuary'', 1837 * ''Finchall Priory, the Charters of Endowment of'', 1837 * ''Miscellanea Biographica'', 1838 * ''The Priory of Coldingham'', 1841 * ''A Description of Ancient Monuments within the Monastical Church of Durham'', 1842 * ''The Correspondence of M. Hutton, Arch. of York'', 1843 * ''The Durham Household Book'', 1844 * ''Depositions and Ecclesiastical Proceedings from the Courts of Durham'', 1845 * ''The Injunctions of R. Barnes, Bishop of Durham'', 1850 * ''A Memoir of R. Surtees by G. Taylor, with Additions'', 1852 * ''The Obituary Rolls of W. Ebchester and J. Burnby, Priors of Durham'', 1856


References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Raine, James 1791 births 1858 deaths English antiquarians People educated at Durham School People from Richmond, North Yorkshire Clergy from Yorkshire Surtees Society