Nicholas Pocock (1814–1897) was an English academic and cleric, known as a historical writer.

Life

Born at

Falmouth, Cornwall Falmouth ( ; kw, Aberfala) is a town, civil parish and port on the River Fal on the south coast of Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. It has a total resident population of 21,797 (2011 census). Etymology The name Falmouth is of English ...

in January 1814, he was eldest son of Nicholas Pocock of Falmouth and grandson of

Nicholas Pocock Nicholas Pocock (2 March 1740 – 9 March 1821) was an English artist known for his many detailed paintings of naval battles during the age of sail. Birth and early career at sea Pocock was born in Bristol in 1740, the son of a seaman.Chatte ...

the marine painter;

Isaac Pocock Isaac Pocock (2 March 1782 – 23 August 1835) was an English dramatist and painter of portraits and historical subjects. He wrote melodramas, farces and light operatic comedies, many being stage adaptations of existing novels. Of his 40 or so w ...

and William Innes Pocock were his uncles. He was educated at a private school in

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. Devo ...

by the Rev. John Manly, and on 3 February 1831 matriculated at

The Queen's College, Oxford The Queen's College is a constituent college of the University of Oxford, England. The college was founded in 1341 by Robert de Eglesfield in honour of Philippa of Hainault. It is distinguished by its predominantly neoclassical architecture, ...

, as Michel exhibitioner; in 1834 he was elected scholar. He graduated B.A. that year with a first class in the final mathematical school, and a second class in literae humaniores In 1835 he won the Johnson mathematical scholarship, and the senior mathematical scholarship in 1836. In 1837 he graduated M.A. In 1838 Pocock became Michel fellow of Queen's, where later he was mathematical lecturer. He had a reputation as mathematical tutor, and among his pupils was Bartholomew Price; he was public examiner in mathematics in 1839, 1844, and 1848, and in literae humaniores in 1842 and 1852. He was ordained deacon in 1838 and priest in 1855, but never held any ecclesiastical preferment. He married in 1852 Edith, a daughter of

James Cowles Prichard James Cowles Prichard, FRS (11 February 1786 – 23 December 1848) was a British physician and ethnologist with broad interests in physical anthropology and psychiatry. His influential ''Researches into the Physical History of Mankind'' touched ...

, and moved to

Clifton, Bristol Clifton is both a suburb of Bristol, England, and the name of one of the city's thirty-five council wards. The Clifton ward also includes the areas of Cliftonwood and Hotwells. The eastern part of the suburb lies within the ward of Clifton D ...

, where he spent the remainder of his life with the exception of a year when he was in charge of

Codrington College Codrington College is an Anglican theological college in St. John, Barbados now affiliated with the University of the West Indies at Cave Hill. It is one of the oldest Anglican theological colleges in the Americas. It was affiliated to the Un ...

Barbados Barbados is an island country in the Lesser Antilles of the West Indies, in the Caribbean region of the Americas, and the most easterly of the Caribbean Islands. It occupies an area of and has a population of about 287,000 (2019 estimate) ...

. He died at Clifton on 4 March 1897, survived by his widow, sons and daughters.

Works

Pocock did much to undermine the traditional

Protestant Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century against what its followers perceived to b ...

view of the

Reformation The Reformation (alternatively named the Protestant Reformation or the European Reformation) was a major movement within Western Christianity in 16th-century Europe that posed a religious and political challenge to the Catholic Church and in ...

. His major work was his edition of Gilbert Burnet's ''History of the Reformation'', published in seven volumes by the Clarendon Press in 1864–65. The seventh volume consisted of Pocock's discussion on Burnet's authorities, sources, and errors. In 1847 Pocock edited the third edition of

Henry Hammond Henry Hammond (18 August 1605 – 25 April 1660) was an English churchman, who supported the Royalist cause during the English Civil War. Early life He was born at Chertsey in Surrey on 18 August 1605, the youngest son of John Hammond (c. 155 ...

's ''Miscellaneous Theological Works'', and in 1852 published ''The First two Books of Euclid … with additional figures''. Later he devoted himself almost exclusively to the history of the Reformation in England. The series ''Records of the Reformation'' issued by the Clarendon Press in 1871 was stopped at the year 1535, because of poor sales: and Pocock's collections remained mostly in manuscript, though some were published in ''Troubles connected with the Prayer-Book of 1549'' (Camden Society, 1884). Pocock also edited, for the

Camden Society The Camden Society was a text publication society founded in London in 1838 to publish early historical and literary materials, both unpublished manuscripts and new editions of rare printed books. It was named after the 16th-century antiquary a ...

, Nicholas Harpsfield's ''Treatise of the Pretended Divorce of Catherine of Aragon'' (1878). Other works included: * ''The Ritual Commission'', Bristol, 1872. * ''The Abolition of the Thirty-nine Articles'', 3 parts, London, 1874. * ''The Principles of the Reformation'', London, 1875. * ''The Recovery from the Principles of the Reformation'', London, 1877. He contributed articles on Reformation history to the '' Saturday Review'', the ''Union Review'', ''

Quarterly Review The ''Quarterly Review'' was a literary and political periodical founded in March 1809 by London publishing house John Murray. It ceased publication in 1967. It was referred to as ''The London Quarterly Review'', as reprinted by Leonard Scott, f ...

'', ''Church Quarterly Review'' and ''

English Historical Review ''The English Historical Review'' is a bimonthly peer-reviewed academic journal that was established in 1886 and published by Oxford University Press (formerly Longman). It publishes articles on all aspects of history – British, European, and ...

'', and to '' The Athenæum'' and '' The Academy''. He also wrote for the '' Dictionary of National Biography''.

Notes

Attribution {{DEFAULTSORT:Pocock, Nicholas 1814 births 1897 deaths 19th-century English Anglican priests 19th-century English historians Fellows of The Queen's College, Oxford People from Falmouth, Cornwall