William Hutton (30 September 1723 – 20 September 1815) was an English poet and historian. Originally from

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 ...

, he moved to

Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1.145 million in the city proper, 2.92 million in the West ...

and became the first significant historian of the city, publishing his ''History of Birmingham'' in 1781.

Biography

A Unitarian

nonconformist Nonconformity or nonconformism may refer to: Culture and society * Insubordination, the act of willfully disobeying an order of one's superior *Dissent, a sentiment or philosophy of non-agreement or opposition to a prevailing idea or entity ** ...

born in

, William Hutton went to school when five years old. Aged seven years he was employed in a Derby

Silk Mill A silk mill is a factory that makes silk for garments using a process called silk throwing. Traditionally, silk mills were concentrated in Japan, England, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Italy and Switzerland. The silk throwing process Silk is a natur ...

on a seven-year apprenticeship. In 1737 he took a second apprenticeship as a stocking maker in

Nottingham Nottingham ( , locally ) is a city and unitary authority area in Nottinghamshire, East Midlands, England. It is located north-west of London, south-east of Sheffield and north-east of Birmingham. Nottingham has links to the legend of Robi ...

under his uncle. In 1746, after his uncle had died, he taught himself bookbinding, and three years later opened a shop in

Southwell, Nottinghamshire Southwell (, ) is a minster and market town in the district of Newark and Sherwood in Nottinghamshire, England. It is home to the grade-I listed Southwell Minster, the cathedral of the Anglican Diocese of Southwell and Nottingham. The populatio ...

. This was not successful and he moved to

in 1750 and opened a small bookshop. Hutton married Sarah Cock from

Aston-on-Trent Aston-on-Trent is a village and civil parish in the South Derbyshire district, in the county of Derbyshire, England. The parish had a population of 1,682 at the 2011 Census. It is adjacent to Weston-on-Trent and near Chellaston, very close to th ...

in 1755 and they had three sons and a daughter,

Catherine Hutton Catherine Hutton (11 February 1756 – 13 March 1846) was an English novelist and letter-writer. Born in Birmingham, the daughter of historian William Hutton, Hutton became a friend of the scientist and discoverer of oxygen Joseph Priestley a ...

(1756–1846), who became a writer. In 1756, Hutton opened a paper warehouse – the first in Birmingham – which became profitable. He built a country house on Bennetts Hill in

Washwood Heath Washwood Heath is a ward in Birmingham, within the formal district of Hodge Hill, roughly two miles north-east of Birmingham city centre, England. Washwood Heath covers the areas of Birmingham that lie between Nechells, Bordesley Green, Stec ...

, and bought a house in High Street. He published his ''History of Birmingham'' in 1782 and was also elected as Fellow of the Antiquarian Society of Scotland (F. A. S. S.). He was elected overseer of the poor, and in 1787, to the Court of Requests, a

small claims court Small-claims courts have limited jurisdiction to hear civil cases between private litigants. Courts authorized to try small claims may also have other judicial functions, and go by different names in different jurisdictions. For example, it may ...

for 19 years, handling over 100,000 claims. Both Hutton's houses were destroyed in the Birmingham Riots in 1791 (the

Priestley Riots The Priestley Riots (also known as the Birmingham Riots of 1791) took place from 14 July to 17 July 1791 in Birmingham, England; the rioters' main targets were religious dissenters, most notably the politically and theologically controversial Jo ...

) leading to his historical account in ''Narrative of the riots''. He managed to recover £5,390 in a claim for damages against the town. William Hutton is generally held to be the first person in modern times to walk the entire length of Hadrian's Wall, producing an account of his 1801 journey in ''The History of the Roman Wall''. Walking 600 miles from his Birmingham home, along the wall, and back home again, he wrote in the preface, "I have given a short sketch of my approach to this famous Bulwark; have described it as it appears in the present day, and stated my return. Perhaps, I am the first man that ever traveled the whole length of this Wall, and probably the last that will ever attempt it ...". Hutton lived chiefly on a

vegetarian Vegetarianism is the practice of abstaining from the consumption of meat (red meat, poultry, seafood, insects, and the flesh of any other animal). It may also include abstaining from eating all by-products of animal slaughter. Vegetariani ...

diet.

Legacy

Hutton completed his autobiography '' The Life of William Hutton'' just before his death in 1815. He is commemorated by a

blue plaque A blue plaque is a permanent sign installed in a public place in the United Kingdom and elsewhere to commemorate a link between that location and a famous person, event, or former building on the site, serving as a historical marker. The term i ...

Waterstone's Waterstones, formerly Waterstone's, is a British book retailer that operates 311 shops, mainly in the United Kingdom and also other nearby countries. As of February 2014, it employs around 3,500 staff in the UK and Europe. An average-sized Wa ...

bookshop on High Street, near the start of

New Street, Birmingham New Street is a street in central Birmingham, England. It is one of the city's principal thoroughfares and shopping streets linking Victoria Square to the Bullring Shopping Centre. It gives its name to New Street railway station, although ...

and as a Bas relief on Derby's Exeter Bridge close to the Mill where he did his apprenticeship. A memorial exists in St Margaret's Church, Ward End. There is a portrait of William Hutton by an unknown artist in Derby Museum and Art Gallery.

Works

*''An History of Birmingham'' (1781) *''Journey to London'' (1784) *''Courts of requests'' (1787) *''Battle of Bosworth field'' (1788) *''History of Blackpool'' (1788) *''A dissertation on juries with a description of the Hundred Court'' (1788) *''History of the Hundred Courts'' (1790) *''History of Derby'' (1791) *''The Barbers, a poem'' (1793) *''Edgar and Elfrida, a poem'' (1793) *''The History of the Roman Wall'' (1802) *''Remarks upon North Wales'' (1803) *''Tour to Scarborough'' (1803) *''Poems, chiefly tales'' (1804) *''Trip to Coatham'' (1808) *''The Life of William Hutton, F.A.S.S. including a particular account of the riots of Birmingham in 1791, and the history of his family, written by himself, and published by his daughter, Catherine Hutton'' (1816) *''The Life of William Hutton, Stationer, of Birmingham, and the history of his family, written by himself '' (1841).

References

Sources

Literary Heritage West Midlands
*Breeze, D.J. (2006) ''J. Collingwood Bruce's Handbook to the Roman Wall'' (Newcastle) * Jewitt, Llewellynn (1869) ''The Life of William Hutton, and the History of the Hutton Family''

External links

* *
''The life of William Hutton''
at archive.org

* * ''The History of the Roman Wall'' (1802) by William Hutton on

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Hutton, William 1723 births 1815 deaths People from Derby 19th-century English historians English booksellers English Unitarians English male poets English male non-fiction writers 18th-century English historians