Sir Charles Edmund Isham, 10th Baronet (16 December 1819 – 7 April 1903) was an English landowner and gardener based at

Lamport Hall Lamport Hall in Lamport, Northamptonshire is a fine example of a Grade I listed building. It was developed from a Tudor manor but is now notable for its classical frontage. The Hall contains an outstanding collection of books, paintings and fur ...

, Northamptonshire. He is credited with beginning the tradition of

garden gnomes Garden gnomes () are lawn ornament figurines of small humanoid creatures based on the mythological creature and diminutive spirit which occur in Renaissance magic and alchemy, known as gnomes. They also draw on the German folklore of the dwarf. ...

in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

when he introduced a number of

terracotta Terracotta, also known as terra cotta or terra-cotta (; ; ), is a clay-based non-vitreous ceramic OED, "Terracotta""Terracotta" MFA Boston, "Cameo" database fired at relatively low temperatures. It is therefore a term used for earthenware obj ...

figures from

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

in the 1840s. Nicknamed "Lampy", the only gnome of the original batch to survive is on display at Lamport Hall and insured for £1 million.

Biography

Charles Edmund Isham was born on 16 December 1819 at the family estate at

, Northamptonshire. He was the second son of Sir Justinian Isham, 8th Baronet (1773–1845) and his wife, Mary Close (). Isham was educated at

Rugby School Rugby School is a Public school (United Kingdom), private boarding school for pupils aged 13–18, located in the town of Rugby, Warwickshire in England. Founded in 1567 as a free grammar school for local boys, it is one of the oldest independ ...

and

Brasenose College, Oxford Brasenose College (BNC) is one of the Colleges of the University of Oxford, constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom. It began as Brasenose Hall in the 13th century, before being founded as a college in 1509. The l ...

. In 1846, on the death of his elder brother, he succeeded to the

baronetcy A baronet ( or ; abbreviated Bart or Bt) or the female equivalent, a baronetess (, , or ; abbreviation Btss), is the holder of a baronetcy, a hereditary title awarded by the British Crown. The title of baronet is mentioned as early as the 14th ...

. He is recorded as being the

High Sheriff of Northamptonshire This is a list of the High Sheriffs of Northamptonshire. The High Sheriff is the oldest secular office under the Crown. Formerly the High Sheriff was the principal law enforcement officer in the county but over the centuries most of the respon ...

in 1851. In 1847, inspired by the writings of

John Claudius Loudon John Claudius Loudon (8 April 1782 – 14 December 1843) was a Scottish botanist, garden designer and author, born in Cambuslang in 1782. He was the first to use the term arboretum in writing to refer to a garden of plants, especially trees, co ...

, landscape gardener and horticulturalist, he commenced construction of a large rockery alongside his house. It was in this rockery that he first placed gnomes from

Nuremberg Nuremberg (, ; ; in the local East Franconian dialect: ''Nämberch'' ) is the Franconia#Towns and cities, largest city in Franconia, the List of cities in Bavaria by population, second-largest city in the States of Germany, German state of Bav ...

as ornamentation. Isham married Emily Vaughan, daughter of

Sir John Vaughan John Vaughan may refer to: Gentry * John Vaughan, 1st Earl of Carbery (1574/75–1634), Welsh courtier and MP for Carmarthenshire 1601, 1621 *John Vaughan, 3rd Earl of Carbery (1639–1713), Governor of Jamaica and President of the Royal Society, ...

and his wife Louisa Boughton on 26 October 1847. Emily died on 6 September 1898 aged 74. Sir Charles had three daughters. Isham died on 7 April 1903 at The Bungalow,

Horsham Horsham () is a market town on the upper reaches of the River Arun on the fringe of the Weald in West Sussex, England. The town is south south-west of London, north-west of Brighton and north-east of the county town of Chichester. Nearby to ...

, Sussex, at the age of 83. The baronetcy, and the entailed estate including Lamport Hall, was inherited by Sir Vere Isham, 11th Baronet, his first cousin once removed.

Isham's collection

In 1867 several extremely rare books and manuscripts were rediscovered in the library and loft of his family home. These included a fragment of Thomas Edwards' '' Cephalus and Procris; Narcissus'' which had been lost for 200 years and was the only existing part until a full copy was subsequently discovered at the Cathedral Library at Peterborough. Also discovered were first editions of Milton's ''

Paradise Lost ''Paradise Lost'' is an Epic poetry, epic poem in blank verse by the English poet John Milton (1608–1674). The poem concerns the Bible, biblical story of the fall of man: the temptation of Adam and Eve by the fallen angel Satan and their ex ...

'' and ''

Paradise Regained ''Paradise Regained'' is an epic poem by English poet John Milton, first published in 1671. The volume in which it appeared also contained the poet's closet drama '' Samson Agonistes''. ''Paradise Regained'' is connected by name to his earlie ...

'' in their original sheepskin bindings. Further discoveries included: * ''Emaricdulfe'' (1598) by E. C. Esquire * ''Fidessa'' (1596) by

Bartholomew Griffin Bartholomew Griffin (fl. 1596) was an English poet. He is known for his ''Fidessa'' sequence of sonnets, published in 1596. Works In August 1572 the Queen made a progress to Warwick, spending several days at Kenilworth Castle as guest of the Earl ...

* ''Laura'' (1597) by Robert Tofte * ''Cynthia'' (1598) by

Richard Barnfield Richard Barnfield (baptized 29 June 1574 – 1620) was an English poet. His relationship with William Shakespeare has long made him interesting to scholars. It has been suggested that he was the " rival poet" mentioned in Shakespeare's sonnet ...

For each of which only one or two other copies were known. The above four works found their way into the Britwell Court Library before being sold in February 1922 to A. S. W. Rosenbach for £3,600.

Personal life

Isham was

teetotal Teetotalism is the practice of voluntarily abstaining from the consumption of alcohol, specifically in alcoholic drinks. A person who practices (and possibly advocates) teetotalism is called a teetotaler (US) or teetotaller (UK), or said to be ...

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

and a non-smoker. He opposed

blood sport A blood sport or bloodsport is a category of sport or entertainment that involves bloodshed. Common examples of the former include combat sports such as cockfighting and dog fighting, and some forms of hunting and fishing. Activities charact ...

s and enjoyed spending his time working on the rockery in his garden and looking after the employees on his estate. Isham was a convinced

spiritualist Spiritualism may refer to: * Spiritual church movement, a group of Spiritualist churches and denominations historically based in the African-American community * Spiritualism (beliefs), a metaphysical belief that the world is made up of at least ...

. He was a member of the British National Association of Spiritualists.

Publications

''Sir Charles Isham on Spiritualism''
(1856)
''A Lamport Garland From the Library of Sir Charles Edmund Isham''
(1881)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Isham, Charles, 10th Baronet 1819 births 1903 deaths 19th-century English landowners 20th-century English landowners Alumni of Brasenose College, Oxford English gardeners English spiritualists High sheriffs of Northamptonshire Isham baronets People educated at Rugby School