Richard Paul Jodrell
Encyclopedia
Richard Paul Jodrell was a classical scholar and playwright
.
Jodrell was descended from an ancient family, originally of Derbyshire
, and afterwards of Staffordshire
. His great-grandfather, Paul Jodrell, who died in 1728, was for 43 years; Clerk of the House of Commons of Great Britain
. His father, of the same name, was Solicitor General
to Frederick Prince of Wales; and married Elizabeth, daughter of Richard Warner, of North Elmham
, in Norfolk
. They had three sons: the subject of this memoir; Sir Paul Jodrell, M. D., who was knighted in 1787, and having been physician to the Nabob of Arcot, died at Madras in 1803; and Henry Jodrell
, a Commissioner of Bankrupts, and M. P., who died in 1814.
Jodrell was born November 13, 1745; and, having lost his father in 1751, had lived in possession of his paternal estates for nearly 80 years. He was educated at Eton
and at Hertford College, Oxford
; and his attachment to his classical studies was evinced by his compositions in the Musae Etonenses, and by subsequent more laborious publications. To the supplementary Notes of Potter's Aeschylus, printed in 1778, he was a contributor; in 1781 he published, in two volumes 8vo., "Illustrations of Euripides, on the Ion and Bacchae;" and in 1790 another volume, "On the Akestis", the modern drama, also, as well as the ancient, shared Jotlrell's attention. "A Widow and no Widow", a dramatic piece of three acts by biro, was acted at the Haymarket in 1779, and printed in 1780, 8vo. It appears, from the Monthly Review (vol. Ixv. p. 233.), that living characters were depicted among the dramatis persona; "the artist is a coarse painter, but commonly hits offa striking likeness". At the same theatre, in 1783, was performed with success his "Seeing is Believing", in one act, printed in 1786. His tragedy, called "The Persian Heroine", having been rejected by the managers of the two great theatres (the particulars of which transactions are given in the Literary Anecdotes, vol. ix. p. 2.), was printed in 1786, 8vo. and 4 to. In the following year he published "Select Dramatic Pieces; some of which have been acted on provincial theatres, others have been written for private performance and country amusement"; and consisting of, "Who's Afraid?" a farce; the "Boarding School Miss", a comedy; "One and All", a farce; "The Disguise", a comedy (It was the first stage-play in Bengali produced in Kolkata
was by a Russian adventurer-cum-Indologist, Lebedev
, in 1795); "The Musico", a farce; and "The Bulse", a dramatic piece. He also published in 4to. 1785, "The Knight and Friars", an historic tale, from Heywood's Tuvelvcelov", - "the work of three mornings in the Christmas holidays."
In 1784 Jodrell became a member of the club founded at the Essex
Head, for the purpose of cheering the declining days of Dr. Johnson; and, it is believed, that he and the late Chamberlain Clark, who died a few days before him, were "positively the last" survivors of that celebrated literary fraternity. Jodrell was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society
in 1772, and of the Society of Antiquaries
in 1784. He was created D.C.L. at Oxford, July 4. 1793.
At the general election 1790, Jodrell was returned one of the barons in Parliament for Seaford
; but by the decision of a committee, which was not given until the second session, he was declared not duly elected on the 19th of March, 1792. However, when Sargent was made Clerk of the Ordnance, in Jan. 1794, he was re-elected for the same place; hut after the dissolution in 1796 he did not again sit in the House.
With advancing years, the mind of Jodrell had become obscured, and from the year 1822 he gradually sunk, until he reached total and absolute incapacity. It became necessary to throw legal protection over his person and property, which was effected, after the proper investigation, before a commission de lunatico inquirendo.
Jodrell married May 19. 1772, his second cousin, Vertue, eldest daughter and co-heiress of Edward Hase, of Sail, in Norfolk, who was the second son of John Hase, of Great Melton, in Norfolk, by Mary, daughter of Edward Lombe, of Weston, and aunt to Jodrell's mother. By this lady, who died May 23. 1806, he had five sons and two daughters: 1. Paul, and 2. Paul, who both died in infancy; 3. Sir Richard Paul Jodrell, of Magdalen Hall, Oxford, M. A. 1806, who succeeded to his baronetcy in 1817, on the death of his great uncle Sir John Lombe, who took that name instead of Hase in 1762, and was created a Baronet in 1784; he married, in 1814, Amelia Caroline King, daughter of the Earl of Kingston, and has several children; 4. Edward Jodrell, of Trinity College, Oxford
, M.A. 1811; he married, in 1812, Mary, fourth daughter of W. Lowndes Stone, of Brightwell, in Oxfordshire, Esq., and has issue; 5. the Rev. Sheldon Jodrell, of Trinity College, Cambridge, M.A. 1815, Rector of Saxlingham
in Norfolk
; 6. Sophia; and, 7. Louisa (twin with Sophia), who was married to Richard Jennings, and died in 1826.
Playwright
A playwright, also called a dramatist, is a person who writes plays.The term is not a variant spelling of "playwrite", but something quite distinct: the word wright is an archaic English term for a craftsman or builder...
.
Jodrell was descended from an ancient family, originally of Derbyshire
Derbyshire
Derbyshire is a county in the East Midlands of England. A substantial portion of the Peak District National Park lies within Derbyshire. The northern part of Derbyshire overlaps with the Pennines, a famous chain of hills and mountains. The county contains within its boundary of approx...
, and afterwards of Staffordshire
Staffordshire
Staffordshire is a landlocked county in the West Midlands region of England. For Eurostat purposes, the county is a NUTS 3 region and is one of four counties or unitary districts that comprise the "Shropshire and Staffordshire" NUTS 2 region. Part of the National Forest lies within its borders...
. His great-grandfather, Paul Jodrell, who died in 1728, was for 43 years; Clerk of the House of Commons of Great Britain
House of Commons of Great Britain
The House of Commons of Great Britain was the lower house of the Parliament of Great Britain between 1707 and 1801. In 1707, as a result of the Acts of Union of that year, it replaced the House of Commons of England and the third estate of the Parliament of Scotland, as one of the most significant...
. His father, of the same name, was Solicitor General
Solicitor General for England and Wales
Her Majesty's Solicitor General for England and Wales, often known as the Solicitor General, is one of the Law Officers of the Crown, and the deputy of the Attorney General, whose duty is to advise the Crown and Cabinet on the law...
to Frederick Prince of Wales; and married Elizabeth, daughter of Richard Warner, of North Elmham
North Elmham
North Elmham is a village and civil parish in the English county of Norfolk.It covers an area of and had a population of 1,428 in 624 households as of the 2001 census. For the purposes of local government, it falls within the district of Breckland....
, 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...
. They had three sons: the subject of this memoir; Sir Paul Jodrell, M. D., who was knighted in 1787, and having been physician to the Nabob of Arcot, died at Madras in 1803; and Henry Jodrell
Henry Jodrell
Henry Jodrell was an English barrister and Member of Parliament.Henry Jodrell was a son of Paul Jodrell, Solicitor-General to Frederick, Prince of Wales, and his wife Elizabeth. Richard Paul Jodrell, , classical scholar and playwright, and Sir Paul Jodrell , Physician to the Nabob of Arcot, were...
, a Commissioner of Bankrupts, and M. P., who died in 1814.
Jodrell was born November 13, 1745; and, having lost his father in 1751, had lived in possession of his paternal estates for nearly 80 years. He was educated at Eton
Eton College
Eton College, often referred to simply as Eton, is a British independent school for boys aged 13 to 18. It was founded in 1440 by King Henry VI as "The King's College of Our Lady of Eton besides Wyndsor"....
and at Hertford College, Oxford
Hertford College, Oxford
Hertford College is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England. It is located in Catte Street, directly opposite the main entrance of the original Bodleian Library. As of 2006, the college had a financial endowment of £52m. There are 612 students , plus various visiting...
; and his attachment to his classical studies was evinced by his compositions in the Musae Etonenses, and by subsequent more laborious publications. To the supplementary Notes of Potter's Aeschylus, printed in 1778, he was a contributor; in 1781 he published, in two volumes 8vo., "Illustrations of Euripides, on the Ion and Bacchae;" and in 1790 another volume, "On the Akestis", the modern drama, also, as well as the ancient, shared Jotlrell's attention. "A Widow and no Widow", a dramatic piece of three acts by biro, was acted at the Haymarket in 1779, and printed in 1780, 8vo. It appears, from the Monthly Review (vol. Ixv. p. 233.), that living characters were depicted among the dramatis persona; "the artist is a coarse painter, but commonly hits offa striking likeness". At the same theatre, in 1783, was performed with success his "Seeing is Believing", in one act, printed in 1786. His tragedy, called "The Persian Heroine", having been rejected by the managers of the two great theatres (the particulars of which transactions are given in the Literary Anecdotes, vol. ix. p. 2.), was printed in 1786, 8vo. and 4 to. In the following year he published "Select Dramatic Pieces; some of which have been acted on provincial theatres, others have been written for private performance and country amusement"; and consisting of, "Who's Afraid?" a farce; the "Boarding School Miss", a comedy; "One and All", a farce; "The Disguise", a comedy (It was the first stage-play in Bengali produced in Kolkata
Kolkata
Kolkata , formerly known as Calcutta, is the capital of the Indian state of West Bengal. Located on the east bank of the Hooghly River, it was the commercial capital of East India...
was by a Russian adventurer-cum-Indologist, Lebedev
Gerasim Lebedev
Gerasim Stepanovich Lebedev, also spelled Herasim Steppanovich Lebedeff , was a Russian adventurer, linguist, pioneer of Bengali theatre , translator, musician and writer. He was a pioneer of Indology.-Early life:...
, in 1795); "The Musico", a farce; and "The Bulse", a dramatic piece. He also published in 4to. 1785, "The Knight and Friars", an historic tale, from Heywood's Tuvelvcelov", - "the work of three mornings in the Christmas holidays."
In 1784 Jodrell became a member of the club founded at the Essex
Essex
Essex is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the East region of England, and one of the home counties. It is located to the northeast of Greater London. It borders with Cambridgeshire and Suffolk to the north, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent to the South and London to the south west...
Head, for the purpose of cheering the declining days of Dr. Johnson; and, it is believed, that he and the late Chamberlain Clark, who died a few days before him, were "positively the last" survivors of that celebrated literary fraternity. Jodrell was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society
Royal Society
The Royal Society of London for Improving Natural Knowledge, known simply as the Royal Society, is a learned society for science, and is possibly the oldest such society in existence. Founded in November 1660, it was granted a Royal Charter by King Charles II as the "Royal Society of London"...
in 1772, and of the Society of Antiquaries
Society of Antiquaries of London
The Society of Antiquaries of London is a learned society "charged by its Royal Charter of 1751 with 'the encouragement, advancement and furtherance of the study and knowledge of the antiquities and history of this and other countries'." It is based at Burlington House, Piccadilly, London , and is...
in 1784. He was created D.C.L. at Oxford, July 4. 1793.
At the general election 1790, Jodrell was returned one of the barons in Parliament for Seaford
Seaford (UK Parliament constituency)
The UK parliamentary constituency of Seaford was a Cinque Port constituency, similar to a parliamentary borough, in Seaford, East Sussex. A rotten borough, prone by size to undue influence by a patron, it was disenfranchised in the Reform Act of 1832...
; but by the decision of a committee, which was not given until the second session, he was declared not duly elected on the 19th of March, 1792. However, when Sargent was made Clerk of the Ordnance, in Jan. 1794, he was re-elected for the same place; hut after the dissolution in 1796 he did not again sit in the House.
With advancing years, the mind of Jodrell had become obscured, and from the year 1822 he gradually sunk, until he reached total and absolute incapacity. It became necessary to throw legal protection over his person and property, which was effected, after the proper investigation, before a commission de lunatico inquirendo.
Jodrell married May 19. 1772, his second cousin, Vertue, eldest daughter and co-heiress of Edward Hase, of Sail, in Norfolk, who was the second son of John Hase, of Great Melton, in Norfolk, by Mary, daughter of Edward Lombe, of Weston, and aunt to Jodrell's mother. By this lady, who died May 23. 1806, he had five sons and two daughters: 1. Paul, and 2. Paul, who both died in infancy; 3. Sir Richard Paul Jodrell, of Magdalen Hall, Oxford, M. A. 1806, who succeeded to his baronetcy in 1817, on the death of his great uncle Sir John Lombe, who took that name instead of Hase in 1762, and was created a Baronet in 1784; he married, in 1814, Amelia Caroline King, daughter of the Earl of Kingston, and has several children; 4. Edward Jodrell, of Trinity College, Oxford
Trinity College, Oxford
The College of the Holy and Undivided Trinity in the University of Oxford, of the foundation of Sir Thomas Pope , or Trinity College for short, is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England. It stands on Broad Street, next door to Balliol College and Blackwells bookshop,...
, M.A. 1811; he married, in 1812, Mary, fourth daughter of W. Lowndes Stone, of Brightwell, in Oxfordshire, Esq., and has issue; 5. the Rev. Sheldon Jodrell, of Trinity College, Cambridge, M.A. 1815, Rector of Saxlingham
Saxlingham
Saxlingham is a village that is located civil parish of Field Dalling in the English county of Norfolk.The village is 13.1 miles west of Cromer, 26 miles north-west of Norwich and 126 miles north-east of London. The village lies 3.6 miles west of the nearby town of Holt.The nearest railway station...
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...
; 6. Sophia; and, 7. Louisa (twin with Sophia), who was married to Richard Jennings, and died in 1826.