The Reverend The Reverend is an style (manner of address), honorific style most often placed before the names of Christian clergy and Minister of religion, ministers. There are sometimes differences in the way the style is used in different countries and c ...

Sir Henry Bate Dudley, 1st Baronet (25 August 1745 – 1 February 1824) was a British minister, magistrate and playwright. He was born in

Fenny Compton Fenny Compton is a village and parish in Warwickshire, England, about eight miles north of Banbury. In the 2001 census the parish had a population of 797, increasing to 808 at the 2011 census. Its name comes from the Anglo-Saxon ''Fennig Cumbtū ...

Warwickshire Warwickshire (; abbreviated Warks) is a county in the West Midlands region of England. The county town is Warwick, and the largest town is Nuneaton. The county is famous for being the birthplace of William Shakespeare at Stratford-upon-Avon an ...

, but in 1763 his father moved the family to Essex to take up a Rectory at

North Fambridge North Fambridge is a village and civil parish on the Dengie peninsula in the English county of Essex. North Fambridge is on the north bank of the River Crouch opposite South Fambridge and is served by North Fambridge railway station on the Cr ...

near

Chelmsford Chelmsford () is a city in the City of Chelmsford district in the county of Essex, England. It is the county town of Essex and one of three cities in the county, along with Southend-on-Sea and Colchester. It is located north-east of London a ...

. On his father's death, Bate Dudley took over the ministry.Obituary, 1824, pp. 273-276. In Essex, he owned

Bradwell Lodge Bradwell Lodge is a country house in the village of Bradwell-on-Sea, on the Dengie Peninsula in Essex, England. Originally a Tudor rectory, in the 18th century the house was purchased by the Reverend Sir Henry Bate Dudley. Bate Dudley engaged J ...

, a Tudor country house near

Bradwell-on-Sea Bradwell-on-Sea is a village and civil parish in Essex, England. The village is on the Dengie peninsula. It is located about north-northeast of Southminster and is east from the county town of Chelmsford. The village is in the District of Mald ...

and engaged the architect John Johnson to construct a large extension attached to the south side of the original house, designed in a Neoclassical style. Bate Dudley was a great supporter of, and chronicled the life of the artist

Thomas Gainsborough Thomas Gainsborough (14 May 1727 (baptised) – 2 August 1788) was an English portrait and landscape painter, draughtsman, and printmaker. Along with his rival Sir Joshua Reynolds, he is considered one of the most important British artists of ...

. Much of this work was published in the ''

Morning Herald The ''Morning Herald'' was an early daily newspaper in the United Kingdom. The newspaper was founded in 1780 by the Reverend Sir Henry Bate Dudley, former editor of ''The Morning Post''. It was initially a liberal paper aligned with the Prince o ...

'' which Bate Dudley owned and ran, and the ''

Morning Post ''The Morning Post'' was a conservative daily newspaper published in London from 1772 to 1937, when it was acquired by ''The Daily Telegraph''. History The paper was founded by John Bell. According to historian Robert Darnton, ''The Morning Po ...

'' with which he was also associated but had left to set up the ''Herald'' after a disagreement in 1780. Much of this was republished in 1915 in ''Life of Gainsborough'' by William Whitley. After meeting

James Townley Rev. James Townley (6 May 1714 – 15 July 1778) was an English dramatist, the second son of Charles Townley, a merchant. Early life, education and marriage Townley was born in 1714 probably at Tower Hill, London, the second son of Charles Town ...

and being influenced by his farce ''

High Life Below Stairs ''High Life Below Stairs'' is a 1759 comedy play by the British writer James Townley.Worrall p.30 An afterpiece, it premiered at Drury Lane on a double bill with a revival of Dryden's ''The Mourning Bride''. A popular hit, it was frequently revive ...

'' Bate Dudley started writing scripts for comic operas. Following his ''The Rival Candidates'', his libretto for ''The Flitch of Bacon'' (1778) was the first of his collaboration with the composer

William Shield William Shield (5 March 1748 – 25 January 1829) was an English composer, violinist and viola, violist. His music earned the respect of Haydn and Beethoven. Life and musical career Shield was born in Swalwell near Gateshead, County Durham, th ...

, whom he assisted in bringing to prominence. The Shield and Dudley operas also included ''The Woodman'' (1791) and '' Travellers in Switzerland'' (1794), and were produced at

Covent Garden Covent Garden is a district in London, on the eastern fringes of the West End, between St Martin's Lane and Drury Lane. It is associated with the former fruit-and-vegetable market in the central square, now a popular shopping and tourist si ...

. For a time, between 1804 and 1812, Bate Dudley moved from

Essex Essex () is a county in the East of England. One of the home counties, it borders Suffolk and Cambridgeshire to the north, the North Sea to the east, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent across the estuary of the River Thames to the south, and G ...

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

due to financial difficulties and took up a Rectory in Kilscoran and

Kilglass Kilglass or Kilglas () is a rural townland in County Sligo, Ireland, in the hinterland of Enniscrone. The area is the location of an Anglican church, built in 1829 with funding provided by the Board of First Fruits, and renovated in 1996. Th ...

. He returned to England in 1812 to take up a rectory in

Willingham, Cambridgeshire Willingham is a village in Cambridgeshire, England. It is located in the South Cambridgeshire district and sits just outside the border of the Fens, just south of the River Great Ouse. Located approximately 12 miles (19 km) northwest of Camb ...

. In October of the same year he was created a

baronet A baronet ( or ; abbreviated Bart or Bt) or the female equivalent, a baronetess (, , or ; abbreviation Btss), is the holder of a baronetcy, a hereditary title awarded by the British Crown. The title of baronet is mentioned as early as the 14th ...

, of Sloane Street, Chelsea, in the County of Middlesex, and of Kilscoran House in the County of Wexford. Bate Dudley played a part in the suppression of the

Ely Ely or ELY may refer to: Places Ireland * Éile, a medieval kingdom commonly anglicised Ely * Ely Place, Dublin, a street United Kingdom * Ely, Cambridgeshire, a cathedral city in Cambridgeshire, England ** Ely Cathedral Ely Cathedral, formal ...

and

Littleport Littleport is a large village in East Cambridgeshire, in the Isle of Ely, Cambridgeshire, England. It lies about north-east of Ely and south-east of Welney, on the Bedford Level South section of the River Great Ouse, close to Burnt Fen and ...

riots of May 1816. These were part of a more widespread discontent which affected

Norfolk Norfolk () is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in East Anglia in England. It borders Lincolnshire to the north-west, Cambridgeshire to the west and south-west, and Suffolk to the south. Its northern and eastern boundaries are the No ...

Suffolk Suffolk () is a ceremonial county of England in East Anglia. It borders Norfolk to the north, Cambridgeshire to the west and Essex to the south; the North Sea lies to the east. The county town is Ipswich; other important towns include Lowes ...

Huntingdonshire Huntingdonshire (; abbreviated Hunts) is a non-metropolitan district of Cambridgeshire and a historic county of England. The district council is based in Huntingdon. Other towns include St Ives, Godmanchester, St Neots and Ramsey. The popul ...

and

Cambridgeshire Cambridgeshire (abbreviated Cambs.) is a Counties of England, county in the East of England, bordering Lincolnshire to the north, Norfolk to the north-east, Suffolk to the east, Essex and Hertfordshire to the south, and Bedfordshire and North ...

. It had its roots in discontent over the

enclosure Enclosure or Inclosure is a term, used in English landownership, that refers to the appropriation of "waste" or " common land" enclosing it and by doing so depriving commoners of their rights of access and privilege. Agreements to enclose land ...

of the

fenlands The Fens, also known as the , in eastern England are a naturally marshy region supporting a rich ecology and numerous species. Most of the fens were drained centuries ago, resulting in a flat, dry, low-lying agricultural region supported by a ...

, but the high price of bread, poor pay of agricultural workers, and unemployment of soldiers returning from the

Napoleonic wars The Napoleonic Wars (1803–1815) were a series of major global conflicts pitting the French Empire and its allies, led by Napoleon I, against a fluctuating array of European states formed into various coalitions. It produced a period of Fren ...

were also factors. Bate Dudley, who was a magistrate at

at the time, organised opposition to the rioters at Littleport, near Ely, where the insurgents were defeated, but only after troops opened fire on them.

Comic operas

*Sir Henry Bate Dudley, ''The Rival Candidates'', 1775. *William Shield, Sir Henry Bate Dudley, ''The Flitch of Bacon'', 1779. *William Shield, Sir Henry Bate Dudley, ''The Woodman'', 1791. *William Shield, Sir Henry Bate Dudley, ''Travellers in Switzerland'', 1794.See Fenner, ''Opera in London'', pp. 385-87 (as above).

References

Bibliography

*s.n.
"Obituary: Sir Henry Bate Dudley, Bart."
''The Gentleman's magazine'', pp. 273–276, 638–639, Vol. 135, 1824 *Edward Royle, ''Revolutionary Britannia?: reflections on the threat of revolution in Britain, 1789-1848'', Manchester University Press, 2000 . *William T. Whitley, ''Art of England 1821-1837'', Read Books, 2007 . {{DEFAULTSORT:Dudley, Henry 1745 births 1824 deaths Baronets in the Baronetage of the United Kingdom 19th-century English Anglican priests English dramatists and playwrights English justices of the peace English male dramatists and playwrights People from Stratford-on-Avon District People from Maldon District