James Woodforde
Encyclopedia
James Woodforde was an English clergyman, best known as the author of The Diary of a Country Parson.
, Somerset
, England
on 27 June 1740. In adulthood he led an uneventful, unambitious life as a clergyman of the Church of England
: a life unremarkable but for one thing — for nearly 45 years he kept a diary
recording an existence the very ordinariness of which provides a unique insight into the everyday routines and concerns of 18th century rural England
.
The sixth child of the Reverend Samuel Woodforde, rector of Ansford and vicar of Castle Cary
, and his wife Jane Collins, James was one of four brothers (one of whom died in infancy) and the only one to attend public school — Winchester College
, and university — Oxford
. He was admitted to Winchester as a scholar in 1752 and enrolled at Oriel College, Oxford in 1758, migrating to New College
in the following year. His diary begins with the entry for 21 May 1759: "Made a Scholar of New College".
Woodforde was ordained and graduated BA
in 1763, became MA
in 1767 and BD
in 1775. He appears to have been a competent but uninspired student and the portrait he provides of Oxford during his two periods of residence as scholar and fellow (from 1758–1763 and from 1773–1776) only confirm Edward Gibbon
's famously damning opinion that it was a place where the dons' "dull and deep potations excuse the brisk intemperance of youth". The diary is a rich source of information on university life in eighteenth-century Oxford.
, mostly for his father, for ten years. From October 1763 to January 1764 he was the curate at Thurloxton
. This period of his life, under-represented in Beresford's abridged edition of the Diary, is thickly peopled with memorable characters from all strata of society, many of them immortalised with nicknames — Peter 'Cherry Ripe' Coles, 'Mumper' Clarke, 'Riddle' Tucker. The extended Woodforde family, including James's frequently drunken brothers, figure prominently in these Somerset years.
On his father's death in 1771, James failed to succeed to his parishes and, likewise, failed to win, or rather retain, the heart of Betsy White — "a mere Jilt". He returned to Oxford where he became sub-warden of his college and a pro-proctor of the university. He was unsuccessful in his application to become headmaster of Bedford School
, but in 1773, he was presented to the living of Weston Longville
in Norfolk
, one of the best in the gift of the college being worth £400 a year. He took up residence at Weston in May 1776.
Despite the wrench of leaving family and friends, he quickly settled down to a comfortable bachelor existence. He thought Norwich
"the fairest City in England by far" and always enjoyed a trip to the "sweet beach" at Yarmouth
. He was soon joined by his niece Nancy who, as housekeeper and companion, was with him until he died.
In Norfolk, his social life was more limited, but he enjoyed the fellowship of the local clergy who took it in turns to entertain one another to dinner — "our Rotation Club". Because he always recorded what was provided for dinner, which very occasionally was an elaborate banquet, he is often wrongly characterised as a glutton. Among the gentry in the eighteenth century, it was a matter of pride to provide a variety of dishes. Because Woodforde recorded them all, does not mean that he ate from them all.
Woodforde also provides a meticulous record of his accounts. This does not mean that he was either a miser or a spendthrift: he was advised to do so by his father. The daily entries are also accompanied by weather
notes. The diary also provides a wonderfully full account of the small community in which the diarist lived — of the births and deaths, comings and goings, illnesses and annual celebrations.
The diary not only covers 'the Squire and his Relations', but also the rector's servants, the farmers and labourers, carpenter and innkeeper, parish-clerk and many others. As a churchman, Woodforde himself was conscientious by the standards of his time, charitable and pious without being sanctimonious and again typical of his day, deeply suspicious of enthusiasm.
The value of the diary to the historian lies in the wealth of primary source material it provides, while the general reader can bring from it the authentic flavour of 18th-century English country life. A display about his life and writings is available in the Castle Cary and District Museum
in Somerset
.
, Max Beerbohm
and Siegfried Sassoon
among many thousands more — Beresford's selected his first volume from nearly half of the entire Diary. The subsequent volumes, each covering between four and six years, are more complete. A definitive edition has been published by the Parson Woodforde Society http://www.parsonwoodforde.org.uk. The MS Diary, consisting of 72 notebooks and 100 loose sheets, is deposited in the Bodleian Library
, Oxford.
Whilst Woodforde's sermon style has been characterised by the leading authority as "formal, competent, thorough and scholarly with a wide vocabulary", his diary-writing style is simple, straightforward, informal and even homely. The following extracts give something of their flavour:
The Revd James Woodforde was one of several Woodforde diarists. His niece Nancy, and his nephew Bill's three daughters all kept diaries, as did a number of his predecessors. Others were painters, including his nephew Samuel Woodforde
RA. Hence, a remarkably detailed account of his family exists, and is now documented online
.
Early life
James Woodforde was born at the Parsonage, AnsfordAnsford
Ansford is a village and parish in Somerset, England, situated on the northern edge of Castle Cary in the South Somerset district. The village has a population of 1,048....
, Somerset
Somerset
The ceremonial and non-metropolitan county of Somerset in South West England borders Bristol and Gloucestershire to the north, Wiltshire to the east, Dorset to the south-east, and Devon to the south-west. It is partly bounded to the north and west by the Bristol Channel and the estuary of the...
, England
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...
on 27 June 1740. In adulthood he led an uneventful, unambitious life as a clergyman of the Church of England
Church of England
The Church of England is the officially established Christian church in England and the Mother Church of the worldwide Anglican Communion. The church considers itself within the tradition of Western Christianity and dates its formal establishment principally to the mission to England by St...
: a life unremarkable but for one thing — for nearly 45 years he kept a diary
Diary
A diary is a record with discrete entries arranged by date reporting on what has happened over the course of a day or other period. A personal diary may include a person's experiences, and/or thoughts or feelings, including comment on current events outside the writer's direct experience. Someone...
recording an existence the very ordinariness of which provides a unique insight into the everyday routines and concerns of 18th century rural England
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...
.
The sixth child of the Reverend Samuel Woodforde, rector of Ansford and vicar of Castle Cary
Castle Cary
Castle Cary is a market town and civil parish in south Somerset, England, north west of Wincanton and south of Shepton Mallet.The town is situated on the River Cary, a tributary of the Parrett.-History:...
, and his wife Jane Collins, James was one of four brothers (one of whom died in infancy) and the only one to attend public school — Winchester College
Winchester College
Winchester College is an independent school for boys in the British public school tradition, situated in Winchester, Hampshire, the former capital of England. It has existed in its present location for over 600 years and claims the longest unbroken history of any school in England...
, and university — 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...
. He was admitted to Winchester as a scholar in 1752 and enrolled at Oriel College, Oxford in 1758, migrating to New College
New College, Oxford
New College is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom.- Overview :The College's official name, College of St Mary, is the same as that of the older Oriel College; hence, it has been referred to as the "New College of St Mary", and is now almost always...
in the following year. His diary begins with the entry for 21 May 1759: "Made a Scholar of New College".
Woodforde was ordained and graduated BA
Bachelor of Arts
A Bachelor of Arts , from the Latin artium baccalaureus, is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate course or program in either the liberal arts, the sciences, or both...
in 1763, became MA
Master of Arts (Oxbridge)
In the Universities of Oxford, Cambridge and Dublin, Bachelors of Arts of these universities are admitted to the degree of Master of Arts or Master in Arts on application after six or seven years' seniority as members of the university .There is no examination or study required for the degree...
in 1767 and BD
Bachelor of Divinity
In Western universities, a Bachelor of Divinity is usually an undergraduate academic degree awarded for a course taken in the study of divinity or related disciplines, such as theology or, rarely, religious studies....
in 1775. He appears to have been a competent but uninspired student and the portrait he provides of Oxford during his two periods of residence as scholar and fellow (from 1758–1763 and from 1773–1776) only confirm Edward Gibbon
Edward Gibbon
Edward Gibbon was an English historian and Member of Parliament...
's famously damning opinion that it was a place where the dons' "dull and deep potations excuse the brisk intemperance of youth". The diary is a rich source of information on university life in eighteenth-century Oxford.
Career
Upon leaving the university in 1763, Woodforde returned to Somerset where he worked as a curateCurate
A curate is a person who is invested with the care or cure of souls of a parish. In this sense "curate" correctly means a parish priest but in English-speaking countries a curate is an assistant to the parish priest...
, mostly for his father, for ten years. From October 1763 to January 1764 he was the curate at Thurloxton
Thurloxton
Thurloxton is a village and civil parish north east of Taunton, and south west of Bridgwater on the south-eastern slopes of the Quantock Hills in the Sedgemoor district of the county of Somerset, in England...
. This period of his life, under-represented in Beresford's abridged edition of the Diary, is thickly peopled with memorable characters from all strata of society, many of them immortalised with nicknames — Peter 'Cherry Ripe' Coles, 'Mumper' Clarke, 'Riddle' Tucker. The extended Woodforde family, including James's frequently drunken brothers, figure prominently in these Somerset years.
Bedford School
Bedford School is not to be confused with Bedford Modern School or Bedford High School or Old Bedford School in Bedford, TexasBedford School is an HMC independent school for boys located in the town of Bedford, England, United Kingdom...
, but in 1773, he was presented to the living of Weston Longville
Weston Longville
Weston Longville is a civil parish in the English county of Norfolk, approximately north-west of Norwich. Its name is derived from the Manor of Longaville in Normandy, France, which owned the local land in the 12th century....
in Norfolk
Norfolk
Norfolk is a low-lying county in the East of England. It has borders with Lincolnshire to the west, Cambridgeshire to the west and southwest and Suffolk to the south. Its northern and eastern boundaries are the North Sea coast and to the north-west the county is bordered by The Wash. The county...
, one of the best in the gift of the college being worth £400 a year. He took up residence at Weston in May 1776.
Despite the wrench of leaving family and friends, he quickly settled down to a comfortable bachelor existence. He thought Norwich
Norwich
Norwich is a city in England. It is the regional administrative centre and county town of Norfolk. During the 11th century, Norwich was the largest city in England after London, and one of the most important places in the kingdom...
"the fairest City in England by far" and always enjoyed a trip to the "sweet beach" at Yarmouth
Great Yarmouth
Great Yarmouth, often known to locals as Yarmouth, is a coastal town in Norfolk, England. It is at the mouth of the River Yare, east of Norwich.It has been a seaside resort since 1760, and is the gateway from the Norfolk Broads to the sea...
. He was soon joined by his niece Nancy who, as housekeeper and companion, was with him until he died.
In Norfolk, his social life was more limited, but he enjoyed the fellowship of the local clergy who took it in turns to entertain one another to dinner — "our Rotation Club". Because he always recorded what was provided for dinner, which very occasionally was an elaborate banquet, he is often wrongly characterised as a glutton. Among the gentry in the eighteenth century, it was a matter of pride to provide a variety of dishes. Because Woodforde recorded them all, does not mean that he ate from them all.
Woodforde also provides a meticulous record of his accounts. This does not mean that he was either a miser or a spendthrift: he was advised to do so by his father. The daily entries are also accompanied by weather
Weather
Weather is the state of the atmosphere, to the degree that it is hot or cold, wet or dry, calm or stormy, clear or cloudy. Most weather phenomena occur in the troposphere, just below the stratosphere. Weather refers, generally, to day-to-day temperature and precipitation activity, whereas climate...
notes. The diary also provides a wonderfully full account of the small community in which the diarist lived — of the births and deaths, comings and goings, illnesses and annual celebrations.
The diary not only covers 'the Squire and his Relations', but also the rector's servants, the farmers and labourers, carpenter and innkeeper, parish-clerk and many others. As a churchman, Woodforde himself was conscientious by the standards of his time, charitable and pious without being sanctimonious and again typical of his day, deeply suspicious of enthusiasm.
The value of the diary to the historian lies in the wealth of primary source material it provides, while the general reader can bring from it the authentic flavour of 18th-century English country life. A display about his life and writings is available in the Castle Cary and District Museum
Castle Cary and District Museum
Castle Cary and District Museum is a small local museum in Castle Cary, Somerset, England.The museum is housed in the Market house, a grade II* listed building built in 1855 in anticipation of increased trade after the projected arrival of the railway in 1856, by F.C. Penrose...
in Somerset
Somerset
The ceremonial and non-metropolitan county of Somerset in South West England borders Bristol and Gloucestershire to the north, Wiltshire to the east, Dorset to the south-east, and Devon to the south-west. It is partly bounded to the north and west by the Bristol Channel and the estuary of the...
.
Writings
The five-volume edition of the diary has one flaw: it is only a selection, and, unaware of how popular it would prove — with Virginia WoolfVirginia Woolf
Adeline Virginia Woolf was an English author, essayist, publisher, and writer of short stories, regarded as one of the foremost modernist literary figures of the twentieth century....
, Max Beerbohm
Max Beerbohm
Sir Henry Maximilian "Max" Beerbohm was an English essayist, parodist and caricaturist best known today for his 1911 novel Zuleika Dobson.-Early life:...
and Siegfried Sassoon
Siegfried Sassoon
Siegfried Loraine Sassoon CBE MC was an English poet, author and soldier. Decorated for bravery on the Western Front, he became one of the leading poets of the First World War. His poetry both described the horrors of the trenches, and satirised the patriotic pretensions of those who, in Sassoon's...
among many thousands more — Beresford's selected his first volume from nearly half of the entire Diary. The subsequent volumes, each covering between four and six years, are more complete. A definitive edition has been published by the Parson Woodforde Society http://www.parsonwoodforde.org.uk. The MS Diary, consisting of 72 notebooks and 100 loose sheets, is deposited in the Bodleian Library
Bodleian Library
The Bodleian Library , the main research library of the University of Oxford, is one of the oldest libraries in Europe, and in Britain is second in size only to the British Library...
, Oxford.
Whilst Woodforde's sermon style has been characterised by the leading authority as "formal, competent, thorough and scholarly with a wide vocabulary", his diary-writing style is simple, straightforward, informal and even homely. The following extracts give something of their flavour:
11 Jan. 1763 - Went on the River again this Morning a skating, and I have improved in the out Stroke a good deal, I was on the Ice from 12 this Morning , 'till 5 this Afternoon; and I gave a Fellow for putting on my Skates , and sometimes altering then - 0 : 0 : 2.
13 Nov. 1769 - We had News this Morning of Mr Wilkes gaining his Point against Lord Halifax and 400 Pounds Damages given him. Cary & Ansford Bells rung most part of the Day on the Occasion.
14 April 1775 - We breakfasted, dined, suppd & slept at NorwichNorwichNorwich is a city in England. It is the regional administrative centre and county town of Norfolk. During the 11th century, Norwich was the largest city in England after London, and one of the most important places in the kingdom...
. We took a Walk over the city in the morning & we both agreed it was the fairest City in England by far.
1 Jan. 1778 - This morning very early about 1. o'clock a most dreadful Storm of Wind with Hail & Snow happened here and the Wind did not quite abait till the Evening. - A little before 2. o'clock I got up, my bedstead rocking under me, and never in my Life that I know of , did I remember the Wind so high or of so long continuance — I expected every Moment that some Part or other of my House must have been blown down, but blessed be God the whole stood, only a few Tiles displaced...My Chancel received great Damage as did my Barn — the Leads from my Chancel were almost all blown up with some Parts of the Roof — the North West Window blown in & smashed all to pieces.
25 Dec. 1786 - It being Christmas Day, I had the following old men dine at my House on roast beef & plumb Pudding and after Dinner half a Pint of strong ale and a shilling to each to cary home to their Wives — Richd Buck, Thos Cushing, Thos Cary, Thos Carr, Nathaniel Heavers, John Buckman, and my Clerk Js Smith.
25 Jan. 1795 - We breakfasted, dined &c. again at home. The frost this Morning more severe than Yesterday. It froze the Chamber Pots above Stairs.
The Revd James Woodforde was one of several Woodforde diarists. His niece Nancy, and his nephew Bill's three daughters all kept diaries, as did a number of his predecessors. Others were painters, including his nephew Samuel Woodforde
Samuel Woodforde
Samuel Woodforde was an 18th-century British painter.Woodforde was born at Castle Cary, Somerset. He was the second son of Heighes Woodforde, an accountant of Ansford and Anne. He was a lineal descendant of the painter Samuel Woodford, and nephew of the diarist, James Woodforde...
RA. Hence, a remarkably detailed account of his family exists, and is now documented online
Internet
The Internet is a global system of interconnected computer networks that use the standard Internet protocol suite to serve billions of users worldwide...
.
External links
- Parson Woodforde Society - Society dedicated to studying Woodforde's life.