Rev. James Townley was an English

England

England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

 dramatist and anonymous playwright, the second son of Charles Townley, a merchant.

Early and Personal life

Townley was born in 1714 probably at Tower Hill

Tower Hill

Tower Hill is an elevated spot northwest of the Tower of London, just outside the limits of the City of London, in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. Formerly it was part of the Tower Liberty under the direct administrative control of Tower...

, London

London

London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...

 , the second son of Charles Townley, of Clapham, Surrey

Surrey

Surrey is a county in the South East of England and is one of the Home Counties. The county borders Greater London, Kent, East Sussex, West Sussex, Hampshire and Berkshire. The historic county town is Guildford. Surrey County Council sits at Kingston upon Thames, although this has been part of...

 and Sarah Wilde, daughter of William Wilde of Long-Whatton in Leicestershire

Leicestershire

Leicestershire is a landlocked county in the English Midlands. It takes its name from the heavily populated City of Leicester, traditionally its administrative centre, although the City of Leicester unitary authority is today administered separately from the rest of Leicestershire...

. His mother died around the time of his birth. His older brother was the officer of arms

Officer of arms

An officer of arms is a person appointed by a sovereign or state with authority to perform one or more of the following functions:*to control and initiate armorial matters*to arrange and participate in ceremonies of state...

 Sir Charles Townley

Charles Townley (officer of arms)

Sir Charles Townley was a long-serving officer of arms at the College of Arms in London.-Early and private life:Charles Townley was born on Tower Hill in 1713, the son of Charles Townley, of Clapham, Surrey and Sarah Wilde, daughter of William Wilde of Long-Whatton in Leicestershire. His mother...

. Following his mothers death, his father remarried and had many more children. Townley was a descendant of a younger branch of the Town(e)ley family

Towneley (family)

The Towneley or Townley family are an English recusant family whose ancestry can be traced back to Norman England. They take their name from Towneley Hall in Burnley, Lancashire, which was the family seat until its sale in 1901.-The Towneleys of Towneley Hall:...

 of Towneley Hall

Towneley Park

Towneley Park comprises Towneley Hall, a large country house, and its surrounding estate on the outskirts of Burnley, Lancashire, England....

, Burnley

Burnley

Burnley is a market town in the Burnley borough of Lancashire, England, with a population of around 73,500. It lies north of Manchester and east of Preston, at the confluence of the River Calder and River Brun....

, Lancashire

Lancashire

Lancashire is a non-metropolitan county of historic origin in the North West of England. It takes its name from the city of Lancaster, and is sometimes known as the County of Lancaster. Although Lancaster is still considered to be the county town, Lancashire County Council is based in Preston...

, the head of which at this time was the antiquary Charles Towneley

Charles Towneley

Charles Townley was an English country gentleman, antiquary and collector of the Townley Marbles ....

.

He was educated at Merchant Taylors' School, London

Merchant Taylors' School, Northwood

Merchant Taylors' School is a British independent day school for boys, originally located in the City of London. Since 1933 it has been located at Sandy Lodge in the Three Rivers district of Hertfordshire ....

 and at St. John's College

St John's College, Oxford

__FORCETOC__St John's College is a constituent college of the University of Oxford, one of the larger Oxford colleges with approximately 390 undergraduates, 200 postgraduates and over 100 academic staff. It was founded by Sir Thomas White, a merchant, in 1555, whose heart is buried in the chapel of...

, Oxford

Oxford

The city of Oxford is the county town of Oxfordshire, England. The city, made prominent by its medieval university, has a population of just under 165,000, with 153,900 living within the district boundary. It lies about 50 miles north-west of London. The rivers Cherwell and Thames run through...

.

Around 1740, James married Jane, the daughter of Peter Bonnin of Lisbon, and they went on to have eight children: Charles, a notable engraver, James, George-Stephen, Jane, Sarah, Catherine, Mary and Elizabeth.

Career

He took holy orders

Holy Orders

The term Holy Orders is used by many Christian churches to refer to ordination or to those individuals ordained for a special role or ministry....

, being ordained an Anglican priest on May 28, 1738. He was lecturer at St. Dunstan's in the East

St Dunstan-in-the-East

St Dunstan-in-the-East was a Church of England parish church on St Dunstan's Hill, half way between London Bridge and the Tower of London in the City of London. The church was largely destroyed in the Second World War and the ruins are now a public garden....

, chaplain to the lord mayor, then under-master at Merchant Taylors' School until 1753, when he became grammar master at Christ's Hospital

Christ's Hospital

Christ's Hospital is an English coeducational independent day and boarding school with Royal Charter located in the Sussex countryside just south of Horsham in Horsham District, West Sussex, England...

. In 1760, he became head master of Merchant Taylors' School, where in 1762 and 1763 he revived the custom of dramatic performances. He retained his head-mastership until his death on July 5, 1778.

He had taken a keen interest in the theatre, and it has been asserted that many of David Garrick

David Garrick

David Garrick was an English actor, playwright, theatre manager and producer who influenced nearly all aspects of theatrical practice throughout the 18th century and was a pupil and friend of Dr Samuel Johnson...

's best productions and revivals owed much to his assistance. He was the author, although the fact was long concealed, of High Life below Stairs, a two-act farce presented at Drury Lane

Drury Lane

Drury Lane is a street on the eastern boundary of the Covent Garden area of London, running between Aldwych and High Holborn. The northern part is in the borough of Camden and the southern part in the City of Westminster....

 on October 31, 1759; also of False Concord (Covent Garden

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 site, and the Royal Opera House, which is also known as...

, March 20, 1764) and The Tutor (Drury Lane, February 4, 1765).