Robert Surtees (1 April 1779 – 13 February 1834) was a celebrated English historian and antiquary of his native

County Durham County Durham ( ), officially simply Durham,UK General Acts 1997 c. 23Lieutenancies Act 1997 Schedule 1(3). From legislation.gov.uk, retrieved 6 April 2022. is a ceremonial county in North East England.North East Assembly �About North East E ...

Early life

Surtees was born in South Bailey, Durham on 1 April 1779. He was the only surviving child of Dorothy Surtees (d. 1797) and Robert Surtees of

Mainsforth Mainsforth is a small village in County Durham, England. It is to the east of Ferryhill, and lies within the ecclesiastical parish of Bishop Middleham. The earliest settlement in Mainsforth may have been on Marble (Narble Hill). It has been sugge ...

(d. 1802), who were first cousins. His maternal grandparents were Robert Surtees of

Redworth Hall Redworth Hall is a 17th-century country house at Redworth, Heighington, County Durham, England now converted to a hotel. It is a listed building. History The present Redworth Hall was built in 1693 by George and Eleanor Crosier. There is a m ...

, and the former Dorothy Lambton (second daughter of Thomas Lambton of Hardwick). His aunt, Jane Surtees (co-heiresses of their father Robert Surtees), also married a first cousin, Lt. Crosier Surtees, who died in 1803 when returning from a banquet with Lord Barnard at

Raby Castle Raby Castle () is a medieval castle located near Staindrop in County Durham, England, among of deer park. It was built by John Neville, 3rd Baron Neville de Raby, between approximately 1367 and 1390. Cecily Neville, the mother of the Kings Ed ...

when he drunkenly fell into the moors and froze to death. They were grandparents of

Henry Surtees Henry John Surtees (18 February 1991 – 19 July 2009) was a British racing driver and the son of John Surtees. He died during a Formula Two race at Brands Hatch when he was struck by a wheel which came off another car which had spun into a wal ...

, who inherited Redworth Hall, and

Charles Surtees Charles Freville Surtees DL JP FRGS (13 November 1823 – 22 December 1906) was a Conservative Party politician in England. Early life Surtees was born on 13 November 1823 at Heighington, County Durham. He was the youngest son of four child ...

, who eventually inherited Mainsforth Hall. He was educated at

Kepier School Kepier School is a coeducational secondary school located in Houghton-le-Spring, England. Kepier School offers GCSEs, BTECs and OCR Nationals as programmes of study for pupils. The school also operates a five-year football academy program ...

, Houghton-le-Spring, and later at

Christ Church, Oxford Christ Church ( la, Ædes Christi, the temple or house, '' ædēs'', of Christ, and thus sometimes known as "The House") is a constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. Founded in 1546 by King Henry VIII, the college is uniqu ...

, graduating with a B.A. degree in 1800 and a M.A. degree in 1803. In school, he befriended Reginald Heber, later

The Right Reverend The Right Reverend (abbreviated The Rt Revd, The Rt Rev'd, The Rt Rev.) is a style (manner of address), style applied to certain religion, religious figures. Overview *In the Anglican Communion and the Roman Catholicism in the United Kingdom, ...

Bishop of Calcutta.

Career

In 1802, upon the death of his father, he inherited the family estate including Mainsforth Hall. Although a student of law he never practised as a lawyer, and instead devoted himself to the study of literature and antiquities. By 1804, Surtees had begun collecting material for what was to become his monumental

county history English county histories, in other words historical and topographical (or " chorographical") works concerned with individual ancient counties of England, were produced by antiquarians from the late 16th century onwards. The content was variable: ...

, ''The History of Durham''. He was a studious and sensitive man who did not always have good health. He was hospitable at Mainsforth, and guests included Sir

Walter Scott Sir Walter Scott, 1st Baronet (15 August 1771 – 21 September 1832), was a Scottish novelist, poet, playwright and historian. Many of his works remain classics of European and Scottish literature, notably the novels ''Ivanhoe'', ''Rob Roy (n ...

, with whom Surtees frequently corresponded. By 1816, the first volume of ''The History and Antiquities of the County Palatine of Durham'' was published ("compiled from original records preserved in public repositories and private collections by Robert Surtees"). Two further volumes followed and a final volume was published posthumously in 1840. The work covers much of the county but does not include

Weardale Weardale is a dale, or valley, on the east side of the Pennines in County Durham, England. Large parts of Weardale fall within the North Pennines Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB) – the second-largest AONB in England and Wales. Th ...

Teesdale Teesdale is a dale, or valley, in Northern England. The dale is in the River Tees’s drainage basin, most water flows stem from or converge into said river, including the Skerne and Leven. Upper Teesdale, more commonly just Teesdale, falls b ...

, the

Auckland Auckland (pronounced ) ( mi, Tāmaki Makaurau) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. The List of New Zealand urban areas by population, most populous urban area in the country and the List of cities in Oceania by po ...

Brancepeth Brancepeth is a village and civil parish in County Durham, in England. It is situated about from Durham on the A690 road between Durham and Weardale. The population of the civil parish taken at the 2011 census was 414. Brancepeth Castle was u ...

, or Durham Castle or

Cathedral A cathedral is a church that contains the '' cathedra'' () of a bishop, thus serving as the central church of a diocese, conference, or episcopate. Churches with the function of "cathedral" are usually specific to those Christian denomination ...

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 ...

compiled ''The History and Antiquities of North Durham'' (2 vols, 1830 and 1852) to supply the need.

Personal life

On 23 June 1807, he married Anne Robinson (b. 1785), a daughter of Ralph Robinson of Middle Herrington, Durham, but they had no children. Christian faith was central in Surtees's life and he regularly worshipped at

Bishop Middleham Bishop Middleham is a village in County Durham, in England. The population of the parish as taken at the 2011 census was 1,275 It is close to Sedgefield. History Bishop Middleham lies in a dry valley about 9 miles (14 km) south-east of ...

parish church. Never in good health, Surtees complained of a cold in January 1834, complications developed and he died on 13 February 1834, with his wife at his bedside. He was buried in Bishop Middleham churchyard, and a monument to him was later erected there. His wife Anne survived him, living in Mainsforth until her death in March 1868.

Legacy

Immediately following Surtees' death, in May 1834,

and other former friends established the Surtees Society to honour his memory and continue his work.

References

External links

Surtees Society website
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Surtees, Robert 1779 births 1834 deaths English antiquarians People educated at Kepier School History of County Durham Burials in County Durham People from Durham, England