Joseph Townsend
Encyclopedia
Joseph Townsend was a physician, geologist and vicar of Pewsey in Wiltshire, perhaps best known for his 1786 treatise A Dissertation on the Poor Laws in which he expounded a naturalistic theory of economics and opposed the provision of 'outdoor' relief to the able bodied poor under English Poor Laws
thus anticipating the Poor Law Amendment Act of 1834
. Townsend has been credited with anticipating Thomas Malthus'
argument against public welfare assistance in An Essay on the Principle of Population(1798). Unlike Malthus, however, Townsend advocated a system of social insurance, through compulsory membership of friendly societies which would meet the health and burial costs of the poor.
Educated at Cambridge, Townsend was ordained in the Church of England in 1763 and then studied Medicine at Edinburgh, he remained a practicising Anglican throughout his life, serving as the Rector of Pewsey from 1764 until his death. Townsend was also associated with the Countess of Huntingdon's Connection, establishing a chapel on her behalf in Dublin in 1767-8, and the Calvinist wing of Methodism in the late 1760s, and he is reputed to have allowed Methodists to preach from his pulpit in the 1780s. He was personal chaplain to the Duke of Atholl from 1769 and accompanied him on the 'grand tour'.
In the field of Medicine, Townsend was noted for the introduction of 'Townsend's Mixture' of Mercury and Potasium Iodide, as a treatment for syphilis. William Smith
, the pioneer of geological mapping, first outlined his theory of stratigraphy over lunch at Townsend's house at 29 Pulteney Street, Bath in June 1799 to Townsend and Rev Benjamin Richardson. Although he accepted Smith's stratigraphy he rejected his support of James Hutton
's 'uniformitarian' geology. Townsend defended the biblical creation story in The Character of Moses as an Historian,
Recording Events from the Creation to the
Deluge' (1813)
A Journey Through Spain in the Years 1786 and 1787, 1791.
A D Morris 'The Reverend Joseph Townsend MA MGS (1739-1816) physician and geologist--'Colossus of Roads Proc R Soc Med. 1969 May; 62(5): 471–477
John Chandler, A Concise History of Pewsey
'Pewsey', in Victoria County History of Wiltshire Vol 16
English Poor Laws
The English Poor Laws were a system of poor relief which existed in England and Wales that developed out of late-medieval and Tudor-era laws before being codified in 1587–98...
thus anticipating the Poor Law Amendment Act of 1834
Poor Law Amendment Act 1834
The Poor Law Amendment Act 1834, sometimes abbreviated to PLAA, was an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom passed by the Whig government of Lord Melbourne that reformed the country's poverty relief system . It was an Amendment Act that completely replaced earlier legislation based on the...
. Townsend has been credited with anticipating Thomas Malthus'
Thomas Malthus
The Reverend Thomas Robert Malthus FRS was an English scholar, influential in political economy and demography. Malthus popularized the economic theory of rent....
argument against public welfare assistance in An Essay on the Principle of Population(1798). Unlike Malthus, however, Townsend advocated a system of social insurance, through compulsory membership of friendly societies which would meet the health and burial costs of the poor.
Educated at Cambridge, Townsend was ordained in the Church of England in 1763 and then studied Medicine at Edinburgh, he remained a practicising Anglican throughout his life, serving as the Rector of Pewsey from 1764 until his death. Townsend was also associated with the Countess of Huntingdon's Connection, establishing a chapel on her behalf in Dublin in 1767-8, and the Calvinist wing of Methodism in the late 1760s, and he is reputed to have allowed Methodists to preach from his pulpit in the 1780s. He was personal chaplain to the Duke of Atholl from 1769 and accompanied him on the 'grand tour'.
In the field of Medicine, Townsend was noted for the introduction of 'Townsend's Mixture' of Mercury and Potasium Iodide, as a treatment for syphilis. William Smith
William Smith (geologist)
William 'Strata' Smith was an English geologist, credited with creating the first nationwide geological map. He is known as the "Father of English Geology" for collating the geological history of England and Wales into a single record, although recognition was very slow in coming...
, the pioneer of geological mapping, first outlined his theory of stratigraphy over lunch at Townsend's house at 29 Pulteney Street, Bath in June 1799 to Townsend and Rev Benjamin Richardson. Although he accepted Smith's stratigraphy he rejected his support of James Hutton
James Hutton
James Hutton was a Scottish physician, geologist, naturalist, chemical manufacturer and experimental agriculturalist. He is considered the father of modern geology...
's 'uniformitarian' geology. Townsend defended the biblical creation story in The Character of Moses as an Historian,
Recording Events from the Creation to the
Deluge' (1813)