John Noorthouck (1732–1816) was an English author, best known as a topographer of London.

Life

Born in London, he was the son of Herman Noorthouck, a bookseller who had a shop, the Cicero's Head, Great Piazza,

Covent Garden Covent Garden is a district in London, on the eastern fringes of the West End, between St Martin's Lane and Drury Lane. It is associated with the former fruit-and-vegetable market in the central square, now a popular shopping and tourist si ...

, and whose stock was sold off in 1730. Early in life John Noorthouck was patronised by

Owen Ruffhead Owen Ruffhead (1723 – 25 October 1769) was a miscellaneous writer, and the descendant of a Welsh family who were bakers to King George I of Great Britain. Legal consultant and writer The junior Owen Ruffhead was born in Piccadilly. When still a c ...

and William Strahan the printer. He gained his livelihood as an index-maker and corrector of the press. He was for almost fifty years a liveryman of the Company of Stationers, and spent most of his life in London, living in 1773 in

Barnard's Inn Barnard's Inn is a former Inn of Chancery in Holborn, London. It is now the home of Gresham College, an institution of higher learning established in 1597 that hosts public lectures. History Barnard's Inn dates back at least to the mid-thirt ...

Holborn Holborn ( or ) is a district in central London, which covers the south-eastern part of the London Borough of Camden and a part ( St Andrew Holborn Below the Bars) of the Ward of Farringdon Without in the City of London. The area has its roots ...

. In 1784, whilst living in Barnard's Inn, John Noorthouck describes himself as a Freemason. In the book ''Noorthouck's Masonry'', the Editor "J.N." states in the Preface starting at page vii, "The present editor esteems it a duty incumbent on him to advertise his brethren of the general alterations the following work has undergone with a view to improvement." The Preface ends with the details, "May 1, 1784, Bernard's Inn, London". In 1814, Noorthouck was living at

Oundle Oundle () is a market town on the left bank of the River Nene in North Northamptonshire, England, which had a population of 5,735 at the time of the United Kingdom Census 2011, 2011 census. It is north of London and south-west of Peterborough ...

Northamptonshire Northamptonshire (; abbreviated Northants.) is a county in the East Midlands of England. In 2015, it had a population of 723,000. The county is administered by two unitary authorities: North Northamptonshire and West Northamptonshire. It is ...

, where he died about July 1816.

Works

His major work was ''A New History of London, including Westminster and Southwark'', London, 1773, 4to, with copperplates. This book gives a history of London at all periods and a survey of the existing buildings. Noorthouck also published ''An Historical and Classical Dictionary'',’ 2 vols. London, 1776, consisting of biographies of persons of all periods and countries.

John Russell Smith John Russell Smith (1810–1894), known as Russell Smith, was an English bookseller and bibliographer. He is best known for his "Library of Old Authors" reprint series. Life He was born at Sevenoaks, Kent, and was apprenticed to John Bryant of W ...

in London, April 1852, offered for sale an unprinted autobiography by Noorthouck; it was later acquired by

Yale University Yale University is a private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and among the most prestigious in the wo ...

. Noorthouck revised the ''Constitutions of the Antient Fraternity of Free and Accepted Masons'', the constitutions of the Premier Grand Lodge of England first compiled by

James Anderson James Anderson may refer to: Arts *James Anderson (American actor) (1921–1969), American actor *James Anderson (author) (1936–2007), British mystery writer *James Anderson (English actor) (born 1980), British actor * James Anderson (filmmaker) ...

in 1723, and Noorthouck's edition was published by J. Rozea in 1784. The title page states that the revision was prepared under the direction of the Hall Committee. The preface to this book is signed 'J. N.', and it is dated Bernard's Inn (presumably

), May 1, 1784.

References

*'' Noorthouck's Masonry, Noorthouck, John (Ed.) May 1, 1784, Bernard's Inn, London.

Notes

;Attribution

External links

''A New History of London - Including Westminster and Southwark'' (1773) online
{{DEFAULTSORT:Noorthouck, John 1732 births 1816 deaths English writers English male writers