Joseph Gillow (5 October 1850,
Preston, Lancashire – 17 March 1921,
Westholme, Hale, Cheshire) was an
English Roman Catholic antiquary
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 ...
, historian and bio-bibliographer, "the
Plutarch of the English Catholics".
Biography
Born in Frenchwood House,
Lancashire,
to a
recusant English Roman Catholic family able to trace an uninterrupted pedigree back to
Conishead Priory in 1325, Gillow was the son of a
magistrate, Joseph Gillow (1801-1872), and his wife, Jane Haydock (1805-1872), a descendant of
Christopher Haydock
Christopher Haydock (by 1499 – 1566 or later) was an English politician.
He was the son of Gilbert Haydock of Cottam, near Preston, Lancashire. He was elected Mayor of Preston from 1528 to 1531. He was elected a Member (MP) of the Parliament ...
, a Lancashire politician and a member of another prominent recusant English Roman Catholic family, the Haydocks of
Cottam.
Joseph Gillow was educated at
Sedgley Park School, Wolverhampton (1862-1863) and
St Cuthbert's College, Ushaw (1864-1866), where his brothers and uncles had studied for the priesthood. At Ushaw, Gillow developed an abiding interest in Lancashire Catholicism, resulting in the publication of ''
The Tyldesley Diary
''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the m ...
'' in 1873.
In 1878 Gillow married Eleanor McKenna, daughter of John McKenna, of
Dunham Massey Hall,
with whom he had seven children. In marrying into the McKennas, Gillow secured himself a private income which allowed him to pursue his antiquarian interests.
[J.F.X. Bevan]
‘Gillow, Joseph (1850–1921)’
'' Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'', Oxford University Press, 2004; accessed 1 August 2008
Gillow published various researches into the history of Roman Catholicism in
Lancashire, but his greatest achievement was ''A Literary and Biographical History, or Bibliographical Dictionary of the English Catholics : from the Breach with Rome, in 1534, to the Present Time'' (5 vols, 1885-1902), available in Google Books. To fit his material into the five volumes allotted him by his publishers, he needed to abbreviate the later volumes.
Cardinal Gasquet
Francis Aidan Cardinal Gasquet (born Francis Neil Gasquet; 5 October 1846 – 5 April 1929) was an English Benedictine monk and historical scholar. He was created Cardinal in 1914.
Life
Gasquet was the third of six children of Raymond Gasquet ...
described the dictionary as a ‘veritable storehouse of information’, however, until 1986, no index was available.
Gillow was appointed honorary recorder of the
Catholic Record Society at its foundation in 1904, and was a frequent contributor.
Other works
'Lord Burghley's Map of Lancashire', ''Miscellanea of the Catholic Record Society, 4'' (London, 1907), pp. 162-216 and frontispiece* ''The Tyldseley Diary'' (editor)
* ''The Haydock Papers''
* ''St. Thomas Priory: the Story of a Staffordshire Mission''
* ''Lancashire Recusants''
* ''A Catalogue of the Martyrs in Englande for Profession of the Catholique Faith since the yeare of Our Lord 1535''
See also
*
Paulyn Gillow
*
Cardinal William Allen
William Allen (153216 October 1594), also known as Guilielmus Alanus or Gulielmus Alanus, was an English Cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church. He was an ordained priest, but was never a bishop. His main role was setting up colleges to train Eng ...
*
Richard Gillow
*
Robert Gillow
Robert Gillow (1704–1772) was an English furniture manufacturer, who founded Gillow & Co.
Early life
Robert Gillow was born on 2 August 1704 in Singleton, Lancashire to a prominent English recusant Roman Catholic family. He served an appre ...
*
Brian Gillow
Brian (sometimes spelled Bryan in English) is a male given name of Irish and Breton origin, as well as a surname of Occitan origin. It is common in the English-speaking world.
It is possible that the name is derived from an Old Celtic word mea ...
*
Leighton Hall, Lancashire
*
Eulogio Gillow y Zavalza
*
Gillows of Lancaster and London
References
External links
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Gillow, Joseph
1850 births
1921 deaths
English antiquarians
English Roman Catholics
English bibliographers
People from Hale, Greater Manchester
Writers from Preston, Lancashire
Alumni of Ushaw College
Clergy from Preston, Lancashire
19th-century English historians
20th-century English historians