Thomas Bateman (8 November 1821 (baptised) – 28 August 1861) was an

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

antiquary and barrow-digger.

Biography

Thomas Bateman was born in

Rowsley Rowsley () is a village on the A6 road in the English county of Derbyshire. The population as at the 2011 census was 507. It is at the point where the River Wye flows into the River Derwent and prospered from mills on both. The border of the ...

Derbyshire Derbyshire ( ) is a ceremonial county in the East Midlands, England. It includes much of the Peak District National Park, the southern end of the Pennine range of hills and part of the National Forest. It borders Greater Manchester to the nor ...

, England, the son of the amateur archaeologist William Bateman. After the death of his father in 1835, Bateman was raised by his grandfather, and from the age of 16 he helped run the family estate at Middleton Hall in

Middleton-by-Youlgreave Middleton, often known as Middleton-by-Youlgreave or Middleton-by-Youlgrave to distinguish it from nearby Middleton-by-Wirksworth, is a village in the Peak District, Derbyshire, England. The appropriate civil parish is called Middleton and Sme ...

, during which time he became interested in archaeology: Sir

Richard Colt Hoare Sir Richard Colt Hoare, 2nd Baronet FRS (9 December 1758 – 19 May 1838) was an English antiquarian, archaeologist, artist, and traveller of the 18th and 19th centuries, the first major figure in the detailed study of the history of his home ...

's ''Ancient History of North and South Wiltshire'' influenced him greatly. He built Lomberdale Hall in 1844 as his private residence. Bateman had a long affair with Mary Ann Mason, but she was already married. He married Sarah Parker on 2 August 1847 and they had four daughters and a son. Sarah Bateman and her three daughters by Thomas Joseph Banks

Sarah Bateman and her three daughters by Thomas Joseph Banks

Bateman's first archaeological experience was observing the demolition of a

medieval In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire ...

church in Bakewell. He joined the

British Archaeological Association The British Archaeological Association (BAA) was founded in 1843 and aims to inspire, support and disseminate high quality research in the fields of Western archaeology, art and architecture, primarily of the mediaeval period, through lectures, co ...

in 1843 and in 1844, whilst at an archaeological congress in

Canterbury Canterbury (, ) is a cathedral city and UNESCO World Heritage Site, situated in the heart of the City of Canterbury local government district of Kent, England. It lies on the River Stour. The Archbishop of Canterbury is the primate of ...

, participated in the excavation of barrows in the surrounding countryside. The following year he excavated 38 barrows in

and Staffordshire, earning himself the nickname "The Barrow Knight". left, Thomas Bateman's museum at Lomberdale Hall, Middleton-by-Youlgreave In 1847, he published ''Vestiges of the Antiquities of Derbyshire'' which united his work with that of earlier excavators in the area. With the help of Samuel Carrington of Wetton he continued to excavate barrows, 50 in the period 1848–1849 and a further 22 between 1851 and 1861, when he died. His second book was ''Ten Years' Diggings in Celtic and Saxon Grave Hills in the Counties of

Derby Derby ( ) is a city and unitary authority area in Derbyshire, England. It lies on the banks of the River Derwent in the south of Derbyshire, which is in the East Midlands Region. It was traditionally the county town of Derbyshire. Derby g ...

, Stafford and York'', published in the year of his death and it had the details of his work including

Heath Wood barrow cemetery Heath Wood barrow cemetery is a Viking burial site near Ingleby, Derbyshire. Description Heath Wood contains a series of 59 barrows which is a Viking burial site near Ingleby, Derbyshire. The barrows are unusual because they are the only known S ...

Thomas Bateman by Llewellyn Jewitt, manchester art gallery, uk

He was buried, following his instructions, in

unconsecrated ground In Christian countries a churchyard is a patch of land adjoining or surrounding a church, which is usually owned by the relevant church or local parish itself. In the Scots language and in both Scottish English and Ulster-Scots, this can also ...

on a hillside in Middleton. His tomb is a Grade II listed building. After his death, his son sold most of Bateman's collections, parts of which were acquired by the Sheffield City Museum (now called the

Weston Park Museum Weston Park Museum is a museum in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England. It is one mile west of Sheffield city centre within Weston Park. It is Sheffield's largest museum and is housed in a Grade II* listed building and managed by Museums Sheffi ...

) in 1893, including the celebrated

Benty Grange helmet The Benty Grange helmet is an Anglo-Saxon boar-crested helmet from the 7th century AD. It was excavated by Thomas Bateman in 1848 from a tumulus at the Benty Grange farm in Monyash in western Derbyshire. The grave had probably been loot ...

found in Benty Grange, Derbyshire. A daughter Clara Theodora Bateman married

Harcourt Clare Sir Harcourt Everard Clare was born in 1854, Market Bosworth, Leicestershire, England. He was well known in Lancashire where, in 1896, when he took up a post as Clerk at Lancashire County Council, which he kept until his death, at Bank Hall, in 1 ...

. In 2006, a bequest allowed Derbyshire Libraries to purchase a collection that had been amassed by Bateman by inserting documents into the four Derbyshire volumes of Lysons' ''

Magna Britannia ''Magna Britannia, being a concise topographical account of the several counties of Great Britain'' was a topographical and historical survey published by the antiquarians Daniel Lysons and his brother Samuel Lysons in several volumes between 18 ...

''. Among the prints was an image of his museum at his home which is dated from around his death. A long description of his museum is found in

Eliza Meteyard Eliza Meteyard (1816–1879) was an English writer. She was known for journalism, essays, novels, and biographies, particularly as an authority on Wedgwood pottery and its creator. She did living writing for periodicals. Life The daughter of Wi ...

's novel ''Dora and her Papa''.

Publications

Vestiges of the Antiquities of Derbyshire, and the Sepulchral Usages of Its Inhabitants
(1848), with Stephen Glover * * *

References

* Marsden, B.M., 2007, ''The Barrow Knight'', Ryestone Books

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Bateman, Thomas 1821 births 1861 deaths English archaeologists People from Derbyshire Dales (district) Fellows of the Ethnological Society of London