Sir Henry Dudley, 1st Baronet
Encyclopedia
The Reverend
Sir Henry Bate Dudley, 1st Baronet (25 August 1745 – 1 February 1824) was a British minister, magistrate and playwright. He was born in Fenny Compton
, Warwickshire
, but in 1763 his father moved the family to Essex to take up a Rectory at North Fambridge
near Chelmsford
. On his father's death, Bate Dudley took over the ministry.
Bate Dudley chronicled the life of the artist Thomas Gainsborough
. Much of this work was published in the Morning Herald
which Bate Dudley owned and ran, and the Morning Post
with which he was also associated but had left to set up the Herald after a disagreement in 1780. Much of this was republished in 1915 in Life of Gainsborough by William Whitley.
After meeting James Townley
and being influenced by his farce High Life Below Stairs Bate Dudley started writing comic operas. These included The Rival Candidates, The Woodman, and The Flitch of Bacon.
For a time, between 1804 and 1812, Bate Dudley moved from Essex
to Ireland
due to financial difficulties and took up a Rectory in Kilscoran and Kilglass
. He returned to Essex in 1812 to take up a rectory in Willingham
. In October of the same year he was created a baronet
, of Sloane Street, Chelsea, in the County of Middlesex, and of Kilscoran House in the County of Wexford.
Bate Dudley played a part in the suppression of the Ely
and Littleport
riots of May 1816
. These were part of a more widespread discontent which affected Norfolk
, Suffolk
, Huntingdonshire
and Cambridgeshire
. It had its roots in discontent over the enclosure
of the fenland
s, but the high price of bread, poor pay of agricultural workers, and unemployment of soldiers returning from the Napoleonic wars
were also factors. Bate Dudley, who was a magistrate at Ely
at the time, organised opposition to the rioters at Littleport, near Ely, where the insurgents were defeated, but only after troops opened fire on them.
The Reverend
The Reverend is a style most often used as a prefix to the names of Christian clergy and ministers. There are sometimes differences in the way the style is used in different countries and church traditions. The Reverend is correctly called a style but is often and in some dictionaries called a...
Sir Henry Bate Dudley, 1st Baronet (25 August 1745 – 1 February 1824) was a British minister, magistrate and playwright. He was born in Fenny Compton
Fenny Compton
Fenny Compton is a village and parish in Warwickshire, England, about eight miles north of Banbury. In the 2001 census the parish had a population of 797. Its church of St. Peter and St. Clare was built in the 14th century...
, Warwickshire
Warwickshire
Warwickshire is a landlocked non-metropolitan county in the West Midlands region of England. The county town is Warwick, although the largest town is Nuneaton. The county is famous for being the birthplace of William Shakespeare...
, but in 1763 his father moved the family to Essex to take up a Rectory at North Fambridge
North Fambridge
North Fambridge is a village and civil parish on the Dengie peninsula in the English county of Essex.North Fambridge is on the north bank of the River Crouch opposite South Fambridge and is served by North Fambridge railway station on the Crouch Valley Line...
near Chelmsford
Chelmsford
Chelmsford is the county town of Essex, England and the principal settlement of the borough of Chelmsford. It is located in the London commuter belt, approximately northeast of Charing Cross, London, and approximately the same distance from the once provincial Roman capital at Colchester...
. On his father's death, Bate Dudley took over the ministry.
Bate Dudley chronicled the life of the artist Thomas Gainsborough
Thomas Gainsborough
Thomas Gainsborough was an English portrait and landscape painter.-Suffolk:Thomas Gainsborough was born in Sudbury, Suffolk. He was the youngest son of John Gainsborough, a weaver and maker of woolen goods. At the age of thirteen he impressed his father with his penciling skills so that he let...
. Much of this work was published in the Morning Herald
Morning Herald
The Morning Herald was an early daily newspaper in the United Kingdom.The newspaper was founded in 1780 by the Reverend Sir Henry Bate Dudley, former editor of The Morning Post. It was initially a liberal paper aligned with the Prince of Wales, but later became aligned with the Tories...
which Bate Dudley owned and ran, and the Morning Post
Morning Post
The Morning Post, as the paper was named on its masthead, was a conservative daily newspaper published in London from 1772 to 1937, when it was acquired by The Daily Telegraph.- History :...
with which he was also associated but had left to set up the Herald after a disagreement in 1780. Much of this was republished in 1915 in Life of Gainsborough by William Whitley.
After meeting James Townley
James Townley
Rev. James Townley was an English dramatist and anonymous playwright, the second son of Charles Townley, a merchant.-Early and Personal life:...
and being influenced by his farce High Life Below Stairs Bate Dudley started writing comic operas. These included The Rival Candidates, The Woodman, and The Flitch of Bacon.
For a time, between 1804 and 1812, Bate Dudley moved from 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...
to Ireland
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
due to financial difficulties and took up a Rectory in Kilscoran and Kilglass
Kilglass
Kilglass or Kilglas is a village in County Sligo, Ireland. The wider Parish of Kilglass includes, as well as the village itself, the nearby town of Enniscrone....
. He returned to Essex in 1812 to take up a rectory in Willingham
Willingham
- Places :* Willingham, Cambridgeshire* Willingham By Stow, Lincolnshire* Willingham St Mary, Suffolk* Cherry Willingham, Lincolnshire- Persons :* Bill Willingham, American comic book writer and artist* Calder Willingham, American writer...
. In October of the same year he was created a baronet
Baronet
A baronet or the rare female equivalent, a baronetess , is the holder of a hereditary baronetcy awarded by the British Crown...
, of Sloane Street, Chelsea, in the County of Middlesex, and of Kilscoran House in the County of Wexford.
Bate Dudley played a part in the suppression of the Ely
Ely, Cambridgeshire
Ely is a cathedral city in Cambridgeshire, England, 14 miles north-northeast of Cambridge and about by road from London. It is built on a Lower Greensand island, which at a maximum elevation of is the highest land in the Fens...
and Littleport
Littleport, Cambridgeshire
Littleport is the largest village in East Cambridgeshire, England, approximately north of Ely and south-east of Welney. It lies on the Bedford Level South section of the River Great Ouse, close to Burnt Fen and Mare Fen...
riots of May 1816
Ely and Littleport riots 1816
The Ely and Littleport riots, also known as the Littleport riots, began in Littleport, Cambridgeshire, on 22 May 1816, against a background of similar unrest throughout the country following the Napoleonic Wars. A group of 56 Littleport residents met at The Globe Inn to discuss the high...
. These were part of a more widespread discontent which affected 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...
, Suffolk
Suffolk
Suffolk is a non-metropolitan county of historic origin in East Anglia, England. It has borders with Norfolk to the north, Cambridgeshire to the west and Essex to the south. The North Sea lies to the east...
, Huntingdonshire
Huntingdonshire
Huntingdonshire is a local government district of Cambridgeshire, covering the area around Huntingdon. Traditionally it is a county in its own right...
and Cambridgeshire
Cambridgeshire
Cambridgeshire is a county in England, bordering Lincolnshire to the north, Norfolk to the northeast, Suffolk to the east, Essex and Hertfordshire to the south, and Bedfordshire and Northamptonshire to the west...
. It had its roots in discontent over the enclosure
Enclosure
Enclosure or inclosure is the process which ends traditional rights such as mowing meadows for hay, or grazing livestock on common land. Once enclosed, these uses of the land become restricted to the owner, and it ceases to be common land. In England and Wales the term is also used for the...
of the fenland
Fenland
Fenland is a local government district in Cambridgeshire, England. Its council is based in March, and covers the neighbouring market towns of Chatteris, Whittlesey, and Wisbech, often called the "capital of the fens"...
s, but the high price of bread, poor pay of agricultural workers, and unemployment of soldiers returning from the Napoleonic wars
Napoleonic Wars
The Napoleonic Wars were a series of wars declared against Napoleon's French Empire by opposing coalitions that ran from 1803 to 1815. As a continuation of the wars sparked by the French Revolution of 1789, they revolutionised European armies and played out on an unprecedented scale, mainly due to...
were also factors. Bate Dudley, who was a magistrate at Ely
Ely, Cambridgeshire
Ely is a cathedral city in Cambridgeshire, England, 14 miles north-northeast of Cambridge and about by road from London. It is built on a Lower Greensand island, which at a maximum elevation of is the highest land in the Fens...
at the time, organised opposition to the rioters at Littleport, near Ely, where the insurgents were defeated, but only after troops opened fire on them.
Comic operas
- Sir Henry Bate Dudley, The Rival Candidates, 1775.
- Sir Henry Bate Dudley, The Woodman, 1791.
- William Shield, Sir Henry Bate Dudley, The Flitch of Bacon, 1779.