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John Gilpin (18th century) was featured as the subject in a well-known comic 
A number of sites commemorate the exploits of John Gilpin, most notably Gilpin's Gallop, a street in the village of Stanstead St Margarets. This was said to have been on the original route taken by the horse and his unfortunate rider.
''John Gilpin's Ghost'' was a ballad (1795) by
Bartleby.com
– the poem in full
– the poem in full {{DEFAULTSORT:Gilpin, John 18th-century English businesspeople People from the City of London Year of birth missing Year of death missing
John Gilpin (18th century) was featured as the subject in a well-known comic ballad
A ballad is a form of verse, often a narrative set to music. Ballads derive from the medieval French ''chanson balladée'' or ''ballade'', which were originally "dance songs". Ballads were particularly characteristic of the popular poetry and ...
of 1782 by William Cowper
William Cowper ( ; 26 November 1731 – 25 April 1800) was an English poet and Anglican hymnwriter. One of the most popular poets of his time, Cowper changed the direction of 18th-century nature poetry by writing of everyday life and sce ...
, entitled '' The Diverting History of John Gilpin''. Cowper had heard the story from his friend Lady Austen.
Gilpin was said to be a wealthy draper
Draper was originally a term for a retailer or wholesaler of cloth that was mainly for clothing. A draper may additionally operate as a cloth merchant or a haberdasher.
History
Drapers were an important trade guild during the medieval period, ...
from Cheapside
Cheapside is a street in the City of London, the historic and modern financial centre of London, which forms part of the A40 London to Fishguard road. It links St. Martin's Le Grand with Poultry. Near its eastern end at Bank junction, where ...
in London, who owned land at Olney, Buckinghamshire
Olney (, rarely ) is a market town and civil parish in the unitary authority area of the City of Milton Keynes in Buckinghamshire, England. At the 2011 Census, it had a population of 6,477 people. It lies on the River Great Ouse and is the n ...
, near where Cowper lived. It is likely that he was a Mr Beyer, a linen draper of the Cheapside corner of Paternoster Row
Paternoster Row was a street in the City of London that was a centre of the London publishing trade, with booksellers operating from the street. Paternoster Row was described as "almost synonymous" with the book trade. It was part of an area cal ...
. The poem tells how Gilpin and his wife and children became separated during a journey to the Bell Inn, Edmonton
Edmonton ( ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Alberta. Edmonton is situated on the North Saskatchewan River and is the centre of the Edmonton Metropolitan Region, which is surrounded by Alberta's central region. The city ancho ...
, after Gilpin loses control of his horse, and is carried ten miles farther to the town of Ware
Ware may refer to:
People
* Ware (surname)
* William of Ware (), English Franciscan theologian
Places Canada
* Fort Ware, British Columbia
United Kingdom
* Ware, Devon
*Ware, Hertfordshire
* Ware, Kent
United States
* Ware, Elmore County ...
.
A number of sites commemorate the exploits of John Gilpin, most notably Gilpin's Gallop, a street in the village of Stanstead St Margarets. This was said to have been on the original route taken by the horse and his unfortunate rider.
''John Gilpin's Ghost'' was a ballad (1795) by John Thelwall
John Thelwall (27 July 1764 – 17 February 1834) was a radical British orator, writer, political reformer, journalist, poet, elocutionist and speech therapist.
. The '' John Gilpin'' clipper of 1852 was also named after him. A former public house in Cambridge
Cambridge ( ) is a College town, university city and the county town in Cambridgeshire, England. It is located on the River Cam approximately north of London. As of the 2021 United Kingdom census, the population of Cambridge was 145,700. Cam ...
was named John Gilpin. A sculpture by Angela Godfrey, which was inspired by Cowper's poem about Gilpin now sits in Fore Street, Edmonton, London
Edmonton is a town in north London, England within the London Borough of Enfield, a local government district of Greater London. The northern part of the town is known as Lower Edmonton or Edmonton Green, and the southern part as Upper Edmont ...
.
References
External links
*Bartleby.com
– the poem in full
– the poem in full {{DEFAULTSORT:Gilpin, John 18th-century English businesspeople People from the City of London Year of birth missing Year of death missing