Thomas Dingley or Dineley (died 1695) was an English antiquary.

Life

He was the son and heir of Thomas Dingley, controller of customs at

Southampton Southampton () is a port city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. It is located approximately south-west of London and west of Portsmouth. The city forms part of the South Hampshire built-up area, which also covers Po ...

; he was born about the middle of the seventeenth century, and, on his own account educated by

James Shirley James Shirley (or Sherley) (September 1596 – October 1666) was an English dramatist. He belonged to the great period of English dramatic literature, but, in Charles Lamb's words, he "claims a place among the worthies of this period, not so m ...

, the dramatist, who for some years kept a school in

Whitefriars, London Whitefriars is an area in the Ward of Farringdon Without in the City of London. Until 1540, it was the site of a Carmelite monastery, from which it gets its name. History The area takes its name from the medieval Carmelite religious house, known ...

. In 1670 he was admitted a student of

Gray's Inn The Honourable Society of Gray's Inn, commonly known as Gray's Inn, is one of the four Inns of Court (professional associations for barristers and judges) in London. To be called to the bar in order to practise as a barrister in England and Wale ...

. In the following year he became one of the suite of Sir George Downing, then returning as ambassador to the States-General of the United Provinces.

Henry Somerset, 1st Duke of Beaufort Henry Somerset, 1st Duke of Beaufort, Knight of the Garter, KG, Privy Council of England, PC (162921 January 1700) was a Welsh politician who sat in the House of Commons of England, House of Commons at various times between 1654 and 1667, when ...

, as

Lord President of Wales The Court of the Council in the Dominion and Principality of Wales, and the Marches of the same, commonly called the Council of Wales and the Marches () or the Council of the Marches, was a regional administrative body based in Ludlow Castle wi ...

, took Dingley with him in 1684 on an official progress. Dingley was made an honorary

freeman Freeman, free men, or variant, may refer to: * a member of the Third Estate in medieval society (commoners), see estates of the realm * Freeman, an apprentice who has been granted freedom of the company, was a rank within Livery companies * Free ...

of the boroughs of

Brecknock Brecon (; cy, Aberhonddu; ), archaically known as Brecknock, is a market town in Powys, mid Wales. In 1841, it had a population of 5,701. The population in 2001 was 7,901, increasing to 8,250 at the 2011 census. Historically it was the count ...

and

Monmouth Monmouth ( , ; cy, Trefynwy meaning "town on the Monnow") is a town and community in Wales. It is situated where the River Monnow joins the River Wye, from the Wales–England border. Monmouth is northeast of Cardiff, and west of London. I ...

, wrote and sketched. Dingley lived much at

Dilwyn Dilwyn is a village in Herefordshire, England located about from the city of Hereford and from its nearest town, Leominster. It is situated on the northern edge of a broad valley that stretches from the River Wye through to Leominster. Runnin ...

Herefordshire Herefordshire () is a county in the West Midlands of England, governed by Herefordshire Council. It is bordered by Shropshire to the north, Worcestershire to the east, Gloucestershire to the south-east, and the Welsh counties of Monmouthshire ...

, when not travelling. From the administration of his effects, granted in May 1695, it is known that he was at

Leuven Leuven (, ) or Louvain (, , ; german: link=no, Löwen ) is the capital and largest city of the province of Flemish Brabant in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is located about east of Brussels. The municipality itself comprises the historic ...

Flanders Flanders (, ; Dutch: ''Vlaanderen'' ) is the Flemish-speaking northern portion of Belgium and one of the communities, regions and language areas of Belgium. However, there are several overlapping definitions, including ones related to culture, ...

when he died.

Works

Dingley left in manuscript a journal of his ''Travails through the Low Countreys, Anno Domini 1674'', illustrated by sketches in pen and ink. Subsequently, he made a tour in France, and wrote a similar illustrated record of his journey. In 1680 he visited Ireland, perhaps in a military capacity, and the account of what he there saw, and his observations on the history of the country, were published in 1870, as a reprint from the pages of the journal of the Kilkenny and South East of Ireland Archaeological Society. The manuscripts of all these accounts of travel came into the possession of Sir F. S. Winnington of Stanford Court, Worcestershire. The manuscript of Dingley's journal of the progress in Wales was kept by the Dukes of Beaufort. Part of it, under the title of ''Notitia Cambro-Britannica'', was edited by Charles Baker in 1864, and printed for private circulation by the 8th Duke of Beaufort. A facsimile edition of the whole work, ''The Account of the Official Progress of His Grace Henry, the First Duke of Beaufort through Wales in 1684'' was sponsored by the

Cambrian Archaeological Association The Cambrian Archaeological Association ( cy, Cymdeithas Hynafiaethau Cymru) was founded in 1846 to examine, preserve and illustrate the ancient monuments and remains of the history, language, manners, customs, arts and industries of Wales and the ...

in 1888. The ''History from Marble'', a collection of epitaphs, church notes, and sketches of domestic and other buildings (published by 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 an ...

1867–1868), ranges over most of the midland and western counties in England. Dingley's notes and sketches were known to

Treadway Russell Nash Treadway Russell Nash (24 June 1724 page 459 – 26 January 1811Chambers, p464) was an English clergyman, now known as an early historian of Worcestershire and the author of ''Collections for the History of Worcestershire'', an important source d ...

and Theophilus Jones, who made use of them in their histories of Worcestershire and Brecon. The manuscript passed to Sir F. S. Winnington. Dingley's collections also formed the groundwork of

Richard Rawlinson Richard Rawlinson FRS (3 January 1690 – 6 April 1755) was an English clergyman and antiquarian collector of books and manuscripts, which he bequeathed to the Bodleian Library, Oxford. Life Richard Rawlinson was a younger son of Sir Thomas R ...

's ''History and Antiquities of the Cathedral Church of Hereford''.

References

* ;Attribution {{DEFAULTSORT:Dingley, Thomas Year of birth missing 1695 deaths English antiquarians Writers from Southampton