Wilfrid Meynell (17 November 1852, Newcastle-upon-Tyne – 20 October 1948,

Pulborough Pulborough is a large village and civil parish in the Horsham district of West Sussex, England, with some 5,000 inhabitants. It is located almost centrally within West Sussex and is south west of London. It is at the junction of the north–sout ...

),Obituary, ''

The Times ''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper '' The Sunday Times'' (f ...

'', 22 October 1948, p.7. who sometimes wrote under the

pseudonym A pseudonym (; ) or alias () is a fictitious name that a person or group assumes for a particular purpose, which differs from their original or true name (orthonym). This also differs from a new name that entirely or legally replaces an individua ...

John Oldcastle, was a

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

newspaper publisher and editor. Born of an old

Yorkshire Yorkshire ( ; abbreviated Yorks), formally known as the County of York, is a historic county in northern England and by far the largest in the United Kingdom. Because of its large area in comparison with other English counties, functions have ...

family on his father's side, he was related to a family of distinguished Quakers on his mother's side: his grandfather was Samuel Tuke, and

James Hack Tuke James Hack Tuke (13 September 1819 – 13 January 1896) was an English philanthropist. Life Born at York, England in into a Quaker family, he was the son of Samuel Tuke and his wife Priscilla Hack; their seventh child, he had Daniel Hack Tuke ...

and

Daniel Hack Tuke Daniel Hack Tuke (19 April 18275 March 1895) was an English physician and expert on mental illness. Family Tuke came from a long line of Quakers from York who were interested in mental illness and concerned with those afflicted. His great-gr ...

were uncles.

Henry Scott Tuke Henry Scott Tuke (12 June 1858 – 13 March 1929), was an English visual artist; primarily a painter, but also a photographer. His most notable work was in the Impressionist style, and he is best known for his paintings of nude boys and you ...

was a cousin. In 1870, aged 18, Meynell became a

convert Conversion or convert may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * "Conversion" (''Doctor Who'' audio), an episode of the audio drama ''Cyberman'' * "Conversion" (''Stargate Atlantis''), an episode of the television series * "The Conversion" ...

to Roman Catholicism. He married the writer Alice Thompson in 1877. The pair's first effort at periodical publishing was ''The Pen'', a short-lived critical monthly review. In 1881 he accepted Cardinal Manning's invitation to edit the Catholic ''

Weekly Register The ''Weekly Register'' (also called the ''Niles Weekly Register'' and ''Niles' Register'') was a national magazine published in Baltimore, Maryland by Hezekiah Niles from 1811 to 1848. The most widely circulated magazine of its time, the ''Regis ...

'', and continued to do so until 1899. Meynell later founded and edited (1883–94) the magazine ''

Merry England "Merry England", or in more jocular, archaic spelling "Merrie England", refers to a utopian conception of English society and culture based on an idyllic pastoral way of life that was allegedly prevalent in Early Modern Britain at some time ...

'', in which he discovered and sponsored the poet

Francis Thompson Francis Joseph Thompson (16 December 1859 – 13 November 1907) was an English poet and Catholic mystic. At the behest of his father, a doctor, he entered medical school at the age of 18, but at 26 left home to pursue his talent as a writer a ...

. In 1887 Wilfred was given the Westminster Press by Cardinal Manning. Wilfred was an urgent Catholic propagandist, and he promptly installed two new printing presses. At his suggestion the Cardinal baptized them. One of the presses was named 'The Cardinal', the other 'Lady Butler' after his sister-in-law, also a Roman Catholic, at that time famed as a painter. A main function of this press was the printing of '' The Weekly Register'', founded in 1849 and also given to Wilfrid to own and edit. Meynell wrote biographies of Manning,

John Henry Newman John Henry Newman (21 February 1801 – 11 August 1890) was an English theologian, academic, intellectual, philosopher, polymath, historian, writer, scholar and poet, first as an Anglican ministry, Anglican priest and later as a Catholi ...

and

Pope Leo XIII Pope Leo XIII ( it, Leone XIII; born Vincenzo Gioacchino Raffaele Luigi Pecci; 2 March 1810 – 20 July 1903) was the head of the Catholic Church from 20 February 1878 to his death in July 1903. Living until the age of 93, he was the second-old ...

. He contributed to a wide range of periodicals including the ''

Contemporary Review ''The Contemporary Review'' is a British biannual, formerly quarterly, magazine. It has an uncertain future as of 2013. History The magazine was established in 1866 by Alexander Strahan and a group of intellectuals anxious to promote intelli ...

'', ''

The Art Journal ''The Art Journal'' was the most important British 19th-century magazine on art. It was founded in 1839 by Hodgson & Graves, print publishers, 6 Pall Mall, with the title ''Art Union Monthly Journal'' (or ''The Art Union''), the first issue of 7 ...

'', ''

The Magazine of Art ''The Magazine of Art'' was an illustrated monthly British journal devoted to the visual arts, published from May 1878 to July 1904 in London and New York City by Cassell, Petter, Galpin & Co. It included reviews of exhibitions, articles about art ...

'', ''

Athenaeum Athenaeum may refer to: Books and periodicals * ''Athenaeum'' (German magazine), a journal of German Romanticism, established 1798 * ''Athenaeum'' (British magazine), a weekly London literary magazine 1828–1921 * ''The Athenaeum'' (Acadia U ...

'', the ''

Academy An academy (Attic Greek: Ἀκαδήμεια; Koine Greek Ἀκαδημία) is an institution of secondary or tertiary higher learning (and generally also research or honorary membership). The name traces back to Plato's school of philosop ...

'', the '' Saturday Review'', the ''

Pall Mall Budget The ''Pall Mall Budget'' was a weekly magazine published in London from 1868 until 1920. It was a weekly digest of articles from evening newspaper ''The Pall Mall Gazette'' (1865 to 1923). The ''Pall Mall Budget'' was re-launched in 1893 by Will ...

'', ''

Illustrated London News ''The Illustrated London News'' appeared first on Saturday 14 May 1842, as the world's first illustrated weekly news magazine. Founded by Herbert Ingram, it appeared weekly until 1971, then less frequently thereafter, and ceased publication i ...

'', the ''

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'' and ''

The Nineteenth Century ''The Nineteenth Century'' was a British monthly literary magazine founded in 1877 by James Knowles. It is regarded by historians as 'one of the most important and distinguished monthlies of serious thought in the last quarter of the nineteent ...

''. During March 1906, ''

The Windsor Magazine ''The Windsor Magazine'' was a monthly illustrated publication produced by Ward Lock & Co from January 1895 to September 1939 (537 issues). The title page described it as "An Illustrated Monthly for Men and Women". It was bound as six-monthly ...

'' published an article entitled ''Politics - Second Series'', co-authored by Meynell and

Bertram Fletcher Robinson Bertram Fletcher Robinson (22 August 1870 – 21 January 1907) was an English sportsman, journalist, author and Liberal Unionist Party campaigner. Between 1893 and 1907, he wrote nearly three hundred items, including a series of short stories th ...

. This article was recently republished in a book entitled ''The World of Vanity Fair'', edited by

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. By the 1920s, Meynell principally wrote for the '' Dublin Review'' and ''

The Tablet ''The Tablet'' is a Catholic international weekly review published in London. Brendan Walsh, previously literary editor and then acting editor, was appointed editor in July 2017. History ''The Tablet'' was launched in 1840 by a Quaker convert ...

''. Wilfrid and Alice Meynell had eight children, including the writer Viola Meynell, and the founder of

The Nonesuch Press Nonesuch Press was a private press founded in 1922 in London by Francis Meynell, his second wife Vera Mendel, and their mutual friend David Garnett,Miranda Knorr"The Nonesuch Press: A Product of Determination" An Exhibit of Rare Books at the Ok ...

Francis Meynell Sir Francis Meredith Wilfrid Meynell (12 May 1891 – 10 July 1975) was a British poet and printer at The Nonesuch Press. Early career He was the son of the journalist and publisher Wilfrid Meynell and the poet Alice Meynell, a suffragist a ...

. After his wife's death in 1922, Meynell lived out the last 25 years of his life mainly at Humphrey's Homestead, Greatham, near

West Sussex West Sussex is a county in South East England on the English Channel coast. The ceremonial county comprises the shire districts of Adur, Arun, Chichester, Horsham, and Mid Sussex, and the boroughs of Crawley and Worthing. Covering an ...

. He was appointed CBE in the

1943 Birthday Honours The King's Birthday Honours 1943 were appointments by King George VI to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by people of the British Empire. They were published on 2 June 1943 for the United Kingdom and Canada. The re ...

for services to literature.'Birthday Honours List', ''

'', 2 June 1943, p.4.

References

External links

* * *
Wilfrid Meynell collection
at Boston College {{DEFAULTSORT:Meynell, Wilfrid 1852 births 1948 deaths British publishers (people) British newspaper editors English Roman Catholics Converts to Roman Catholicism People from Horsham District