Thomas Pearce (1820–1885) was an English clergyman, known under the pseudonym "Idstone" as an author on dogs.

Life

He was born at Hatford, the son of Francis Joseph Pearce, a clergyman who died when he was aged two, and his wife Mary Ann Rickards. He then moved to be with her, in

Leicestershire Leicestershire ( ; postal abbreviation Leics.) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the East Midlands, England. The county borders Nottinghamshire to the north, Lincolnshire to the north-east, Rutland to the east, Northamptonshire t ...

. s:Alumni Oxonienses: the Members of the University of Oxford, 1715-1886/Pearce, Thomas (4)Chandler, p. 119 Thomas Pearce matriculated at

Lincoln College, Oxford Lincoln College (formally, The College of the Blessed Mary and All Saints, Lincoln) is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford, situated on Turl Street in central Oxford. Lincoln was founded in 1427 by Richard Fleming, the ...

in June 1838, as did his elder brother Francis Joseph at Exeter College. The family moved to Oxford at this period. Thomas graduated B.A. in 1843, and M.A. in 1849. Ordained in the

Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the established Christian church in England and the mother church of the international Anglican Communion. It traces its history to the Christian church recorded as existing in the Roman province of Britain ...

in 1845, Pearce then held a number of curacies in southern England. He was in 1845 at

Goldenhill Goldenhill is an area on the northern edge of Stoke-on-Trent, in Staffordshire, England. It is centred along the High Street, part of the A50 road that runs from south-east to north-west. It is about north of Tunstall, Staffordshire, Tunstall an ...

; in 1847 at

Highcliffe Highcliffe-on-Sea (usually simply Highcliffe) is a seaside town in Dorset in England, administered since April 2019 as part of the unitary authorities of England, unitary authority of Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole. It forms part of the So ...

; in 1851 at

Waterperry Waterperry is a village beside the River Thame, about east of Oxford in Oxfordshire and close to the county boundary with Buckinghamshire. The Church of England parish church of Saint Mary the Virgin is partly Saxon and has notable medieval ...

; and in 1852 in Sparsholt, which was at that time in Berkshire.Chandler, p. 122 Pearce became vicar of

Morden, Dorset Morden (otherwise Moreden) is a civil parish in the Purbeck district of south Dorset, England. Morden is about north-west of Poole. At the 2011 census the civil parish had 141 households and a population of 323. As well as the village of Morde ...

in 1853. He was also rector of

Charborough Charborough is an historic former parish and manor in Dorset, England. It survives today as a hamlet, situated on an affluent of the River Stour, 6 miles west of Wimborne Minster, but without any of its former administrative powers, and is today ...

from 1871. He died on 24 September 1885. His interests including breeding champion

setter The setter is a type of gundog used most often for hunting game such as quail, pheasant, and grouse. In the UK, the four setter breeds, together with the pointers, usually form a subgroup within the gundog group as they share a common fun ...

s, shooting

snipe A snipe is any of about 26 wading bird species in three genera in the family Scolopacidae. They are characterized by a very long, slender bill, eyes placed high on the head, and cryptic/camouflaging plumage. The ''Gallinago'' snipes have a near ...

, and collecting birds.

Works

Pearce wrote articles for '' The Field'', from 1865. His works included: *''The Dog: with directions for his treatment'' (1872) *''The Idstone Papers'' (1872) The compilation ''The Dogs of the British Islands'' (1866) was mostly from Pearce's work. The pseudonym Idstone, from a hamlet now in

Oxfordshire Oxfordshire is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the north west of South East England. It is a mainly rural county, with its largest settlement being the city of Oxford. The county is a centre of research and development, primarily ...

, is connected to Pearce family properties that lay in the civil parish of

Ashbury, Oxfordshire Ashbury is a village and large civil parish at the upper end (west) of the Vale of White Horse. It was part of Berkshire until the 1974 boundary changes transferred it to Oxfordshire. The village is centred east of Swindon in neighbouring Wilt ...

. It was a pen name, published in lists of related sporting authors.

Family

Pearce married on 14 July 1852 Fanny Georgina Blake. Her father

Charles Henry Blake Charles Henry Blake (1794–1872) was a British indigo planter and industrialist in India, who became a property developer and railway company director in London. Early life He was the son of Benjamin Blake, a sea captain turned indigo planter in ...

(1794–1872), born in Calcutta and in early life an indigo planter, became a property speculator in London. They had three sons and a daughter: #Frank Charles born 1853. He became a colleague of

John Henry Walsh John Henry Walsh FRCS (21 October 1810 – 12 February 1888) was an English sports writer born in Hackney, London who wrote under the pseudonym "Stonehenge." Walsh was educated in private schools and became a fellow of the Royal College of Surge ...

("Stonehenge") on the staff of ''The Field'', and

Sewallis Shirley Sewallis Shirley may refer to: * Sewallis Edward Shirley, 10th Earl Ferrers (1847–1912), British peer *Sewallis Shirley (MP) (1844–1904), British politician *Sewallis Shirley (1709–1765) Sewallis Shirley (19 October 1709 – 31 October 1765 ...

, founder of

The Kennel Club The Kennel Club ("KC") is the official kennel club of the United Kingdom. It is the oldest recognised kennel club in the world. Its role is to oversee various canine activities including dog shows, dog agility and working trials. It also opera ...

, chose him, to edit the initial ''Kennel Club Stud Book'' of 1874. #Evelyn Thomas (c.1855–1894), became an indigo planter in

Bihar Bihar (; ) is a state in eastern India. It is the 2nd largest state by population in 2019, 12th largest by area of , and 14th largest by GDP in 2021. Bihar borders Uttar Pradesh to its west, Nepal to the north, the northern part of West Be ...

, then a tea planter in Checher and

Sylhet Sylhet ( bn, সিলেট) is a metropolitan city in northeastern Bangladesh. It is the administrative seat of the Sylhet Division. Located on the north bank of the Surma River at the eastern tip of Bengal, Sylhet has a subtropical climate an ...

. #Ethel Katharine (1856–1940), who spent time a journalist, and is known as an authority on Dorset heathland flies, through her series of books ''Typical Flies'' of the 1920s illustrated with her own photographs. #Nigel Douglas Frith (1862–1939).

References

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Pearce, Thomas 1820 births 1885 deaths 19th-century English Anglican priests Dogs in the United Kingdom Alumni of Lincoln College, Oxford English nature writers