John Sherren Brewer, Jr. (March 1809 – February 1879) was an English clergyman, historian and scholar. He was a brother of

E. Cobham Brewer Ebenezer Cobham Brewer (2 May 1810 in Norwich – 6 March 1897 in Edwinstowe, Nottinghamshire), was a British lexicographer and the author of ''A Guide to the Scientific Knowledge of Things Familiar'', ''Brewer's Dictionary of Phrase and Fable'' ...

, compiler of ''Brewer's Dictionary of Phrase & Fable''.

Birth and education

Brewer was born in

Norwich Norwich () is a cathedral city and district of Norfolk, England, of which it is the county town. Norwich is by the River Wensum, about north-east of London, north of Ipswich and east of Peterborough. As the seat of the See of Norwich, with ...

, the son of a

Baptist Baptists form a major branch of Protestantism distinguished by baptizing professing Christian believers only ( believer's baptism), and doing so by complete immersion. Baptist churches also generally subscribe to the doctrines of soul compe ...

schoolmaster. He matriculated at

Queen's College, Oxford The Queen's College is a constituent college of the University of Oxford, England. The college was founded in 1341 by Robert de Eglesfield in honour of Philippa of Hainault. It is distinguished by its predominantly neoclassical architecture, ...

in 1827, graduating B.A. in 1833, M.A. 1835.. He was ordained in the

Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the established Christian church in England and the mother church of the international Anglican Communion. It traces its history to the Christian church recorded as existing in the Roman province of Britai ...

in 1837, and became chaplain to a central London

workhouse In Britain, a workhouse () was an institution where those unable to support themselves financially were offered accommodation and employment. (In Scotland, they were usually known as poorhouses.) The earliest known use of the term ''workhouse' ...

. In 1839 he was appointed lecturer in classical literature at King's College London, and in 1858 he became professor of English language and

literature Literature is any collection of written work, but it is also used more narrowly for writings specifically considered to be an art form, especially prose fiction, drama, and poetry. In recent centuries, the definition has expanded to include ...

and lecturer in modern history, succeeding FD Maurice. In 1854, Maurice invited him to teach at the newly opened Working Men's College; from 1869 to 1872 he was the College's Vice Principal. Brewer's son Henry William Brewer (1836-1903) was a noted architectural artist. Henry William Brewer's sons were the artist Henry Charles Brewer and the creator of etchings

James Alphege Brewer James Alphege Brewer (1881-1946) was a well-known early 20th century producer of colour etchings - notably of English and European Cathedrals and churches and other scenes. Family & Early Life Brewer was born on 24th July 1881, in Kensington, ...

Journalism and history

From 1854 onwards, Brewer combined these duties with

journalistic Journalism is the production and distribution of reports on the interaction of events, facts, ideas, and people that are the "news of the day" and that informs society to at least some degree. The word, a noun, applies to the occupation (profes ...

work on the ''

Morning Herald The ''Morning Herald'' was an early daily newspaper in the United Kingdom. The newspaper was founded in 1780 by the Reverend Sir Henry Bate Dudley, former editor of ''The Morning Post''. It was initially a liberal paper aligned with the Prince ...

'', ''

Morning Post ''The Morning Post'' was a conservative daily newspaper published in London from 1772 to 1937, when it was acquired by ''The Daily Telegraph''. History The paper was founded by John Bell. According to historian Robert Darnton, ''The Morning Po ...

'' and ''

Standard Standard may refer to: Symbols * Colours, standards and guidons, kinds of military signs * Standard (emblem), a type of a large symbol or emblem used for identification Norms, conventions or requirements * Standard (metrology), an object th ...

''. In 1856 he was commissioned by the

Master of the Rolls The Keeper or Master of the Rolls and Records of the Chancery of England, known as the Master of the Rolls, is the President of the Civil Division of the Court of Appeal of England and Wales and Head of Civil Justice. As a judge, the Master of ...

to prepare a calendar of the state papers of King Henry VIII, work demanding a vast amount of research. He was also made Reader, and subsequently Preacher, at the

Rolls Chapel The Maughan Library () is the main university research library of King's College London, forming part of the Strand Campus. A 19th-century neo-Gothic building located on Chancery Lane in the City of London, it was formerly the home to the head ...

. He edite
''Fr. Rogeri Bacon Opera Quædam Hactenus Inedita''
(the edited Works of Roger Bacon) in 1859. In 1877 Benjamin Disraeli obtained for him the crown living of

Toppesfield __NOTOC__ Toppesfield is a village and civil parish in the Braintree district of Essex, England. The village is approximately north from the county town of Chelmsford, and west from the village of Great Yeldham. The parish contains the hamlet ...

Essex Essex () is a county in the East of England. One of the home counties, it borders Suffolk and Cambridgeshire to the north, the North Sea to the east, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent across the estuary of the River Thames to the south, and Grea ...

. There Brewer had time to continue his task of preparing his ''

Letters and Papers of the Reign of Henry VIII ''Letters and Papers of the Reign of Henry VIII'' (full title: ''Letters and Papers, Foreign and Domestic, of the Reign of Henry VIII: preserved in the Public Record Office, the British Museum, and elsewhere in England''; often abbreviated in citat ...

'', the "Introductions" to which (published separately, under the title ''The Reign of Henry VIII'', in 1884) form a scholarly and authoritative history of Henry VIII's reign. New editions of several standard historical works were also produced under Brewer's direction.

Primary sources

* ''Letters and papers, foreign and domestic, of the reign of Henry VIII: preserved in the Public Record Office, the British Museum and elsewhere, Volume 1'' edited by John S. Brewer, Robert H. Brodie, James Gairdner. (1862)
full text online vol 1full text vol 3

Notes

External links

Attribution

{{DEFAULTSORT:Brewer, John Sherren 1809 births 1879 deaths Clergy from Norwich Alumni of The Queen's College, Oxford 19th-century English Anglican priests 19th-century British historians Academics of King's College London English male non-fiction writers 19th-century English male writers Academics from Norwich