Thomas Zouch
Encyclopedia
Thomas Zouch was an English clergyman and antiquary, best known as a student of the works and life of Izaak Walton
.
, was a younger son of Charles Zouch (died 27 March 1754), vicar of Sandal Magna, who married, on 14 July 1719, Dorothy (died 17 March 1760), daughter of Gervase Norton of Wakefield. Henry Zouch
was his elder brother.
After his father had given him some elementary classical instruction, Thomas Zouch was sent to the free grammar school of Wakefield
, under John Clarke. He was admitted pensioner at Trinity College, Cambridge
, on 8 July 1756, under the tutorship of Stephen Whisson, and became scholar of his college on 6 May 1757. He won a Craven scholarship in 1760, and graduated B.A. as third wrangler in 1761. Zouch proceeded M.A. in 1764, and D.D. in 1805.
Zouch remained at Cambridge until 1770. He was ordained deacon in 1761, and gained the members' prize for a Latin essay twice — in 1762 as a middle bachelor, and in 1763 as a senior bachelor. In 1762 he was elected minor fellow of his college, and became major fellow in 1764, sub-lector primus 1765–6, and lector linguæ Latinæ 1768. He was also appointed assistant tutor, at an annual salary of £60, to Thomas Postlethwaite
, and in addition took private pupils, among whom was Pepper Arden, baron Alvanley. On 8 Feb. 1768 he delivered in the college chapel a funeral oration in Latin on the death of Robert Smith
, the master. The official verses on the accession of George III
contained a Latin poem by him; to those on that king's marriage he contributed a Greek poem, and he supplied English verses for the sets on the birth of the Prince of Wales
and the peace of Paris, which are quoted with praise in the Monthly Review
(xxviii. 27–9, xxix. 43). The Greek verses in four of the university sets which bear the name of Michael Lort
are said to have been composed by Zouch. He won the Seatonian prize in 1765 with a poem on the ‘Crucifixion.’ It was printed in that year, and included in the collections of Musæ Seatonianæ (1772 pp. 223–41, 1787 pp. 223–41, 1808 i. 183–98).
Under the pressure of hard work Zouch's health broke down, and on 12 July 1770 he was instituted, on the presentation of his university, to the rectory of Wycliffe
, on the south bank of the River Tees
. The patronage was vested in the Roman Catholic family of Constable, and, as they resisted his nomination, it cost him much trouble and expense to establish his right to the living. The church and parsonage are delightfully situated, and the interest of this small parish was heightened in his eyes by its reputed connection with John Wycliffe
. Zouch remained in this pleasant position until 1793, and for the first ten years (from 1770 to 1780) took private pupils, three at a time. His sister Anne had married Sir William Lowther
, rector of Swillington
, and the list of Zouch's pupils included his two nephews, William
and John Lowther
) and Sir Levett Hanson
. Here he found much time for study on his own account, and he acquired a full knowledge of French
, Italian
, Hebrew
, as well as ‘a certain portion of Chaldee
and Arabic
learning.’ He thoroughly explored this district of Yorkshire for rare botanical specimens, and became so well known for his zeal in the pursuit that on 15 May 1788, within two months of its first meeting, he was elected a fellow of the Linnean Society. Marmaduke Tunstall
, a distinguished antiquary and naturalist, was the squire of the parish.
When Richard Pepper Arden was appointed master of the rolls
in 1788, Zouch became his chaplain, and in 1791 obtained the position of deputy-commissary of the archdeaconry of Richmond. William Pitt
, under obligation to the family of Lowther, wrote to Sir William Lowther in January 1791 that he hoped to procure the living of Catterick
for Zouch. Though Pitt did not manage this, in 1793 he secured Zouch the valuable rectory of Scrayingham in the East Riding of Yorkshire
, whereupon the benefice of Wycliffe became vacant. By the death of his elder brother, Henry
, in 1795, an estate at Sandal Magna came to Zouch, and after the widow's death in 1796 he resided there. Pitt considered him for the mastership of Trinity College
in 1798; but William Lort Mansel
had better claims for a post which then required a man of exceptional firmness of character. In April 1805 Zouch obtained through Pitt the second prebendal stall in Durham Cathedral
. When Edward Vernon (afterwards Vernon-Harcourt) was translated at the close of 1807 from Carlisle
to the archbishopric of York, the Duke of Portland
offered the vacant see to Zouch. He is said to have accepted the offer, but to have withdrawn his acceptance a day later. Hard of hearing from early life, his deafness had worsened with age, and he was now in bad health. Moreover, the change would have brought little, if any, financial advantage.|
Zouch died at Sandal Magna on 17 December 1815, and was buried there on 23 Dec., the Rev. James Tate drawing up a Latin inscription for him. He had married at Winston, Durham, on 9 July 1772, Isabella, daughter of John Emerson, rector of that parish. She died on 18 Oct. 1803. His second wife, whom he married at Sandal Magna on 25 Aug. 1808, was Margaret (1743–1833), second daughter of Dr. William Brooke of Field Head, Dodworth, Yorkshire, and sister of J. C. Brooke, Somerset herald; she was buried with her husband at Sandal (July 1833). Zouch was a governor of Wakefield school from 14 June 1799 to 13 May 1805, and he founded the endowed school at Sandal.
, though his biography of Walton would be superseded by that of Nicholas Harris Nicolas
.
Izaak Walton
Izaak Walton was an English writer. Best known as the author of The Compleat Angler, he also wrote a number of short biographies which have been collected under the title of Walton's Lives.-Biography:...
.
Life
Thomas Zouch, who claimed to be related to the noble Zouche familyBaron Zouche
Baron Zouche is a title that has thrice been created in the Peerage of England.-Genealogy:The de la Zouche family descended from Alan de la Zouche, sometimes called Alan de Porhoët and Alan la Coche , a Breton who settled in England during the reign of Henry II. He was the son of Vicomte Geoffrey I...
, was a younger son of Charles Zouch (died 27 March 1754), vicar of Sandal Magna, who married, on 14 July 1719, Dorothy (died 17 March 1760), daughter of Gervase Norton of Wakefield. Henry Zouch
Henry Zouch
Henry Zouch , was an English antiquary and social reformer.Zouch was the eldest surviving son of Charles Zouch, vicar of Sandal Magna, near Wakefield, and elder brother of Thomas Zouch. He was educated at Wakefield School under the Rev. Benjamin Wilson, and was admitted pensioner at Trinity...
was his elder brother.
After his father had given him some elementary classical instruction, Thomas Zouch was sent to the free grammar school of Wakefield
Queen Elizabeth Grammar School, Wakefield
Queen Elizabeth Grammar School is an independent school in Wakefield, West Yorkshire, England. QEGS is distinct from most other schools in that it was founded by Royal Charter of Queen Elizabeth I in 1591 at the request of leading citizens in Wakefield 75 in total and some of whom formed the...
, under John Clarke. He was admitted pensioner at Trinity College, Cambridge
Trinity College, Cambridge
Trinity College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Trinity has more members than any other college in Cambridge or Oxford, with around 700 undergraduates, 430 graduates, and over 170 Fellows...
, on 8 July 1756, under the tutorship of Stephen Whisson, and became scholar of his college on 6 May 1757. He won a Craven scholarship in 1760, and graduated B.A. as third wrangler in 1761. Zouch proceeded M.A. in 1764, and D.D. in 1805.
Zouch remained at Cambridge until 1770. He was ordained deacon in 1761, and gained the members' prize for a Latin essay twice — in 1762 as a middle bachelor, and in 1763 as a senior bachelor. In 1762 he was elected minor fellow of his college, and became major fellow in 1764, sub-lector primus 1765–6, and lector linguæ Latinæ 1768. He was also appointed assistant tutor, at an annual salary of £60, to Thomas Postlethwaite
Thomas Postlethwaite
Thomas Postlethwaite was an English clergyman and Cambridge fellow, Master of Trinity College, Cambridge from 1789 to 1798....
, and in addition took private pupils, among whom was Pepper Arden, baron Alvanley. On 8 Feb. 1768 he delivered in the college chapel a funeral oration in Latin on the death of Robert Smith
Robert Smith (mathematician)
Robert Smith was an English mathematician and music theorist.-Life:Smith was probably born at Lea near Gainsborough, the son of the rector of Gate Burton, Lincolnshire...
, the master. The official verses on the accession of George III
George III of the United Kingdom
George III was King of Great Britain and King of Ireland from 25 October 1760 until the union of these two countries on 1 January 1801, after which he was King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland until his death...
contained a Latin poem by him; to those on that king's marriage he contributed a Greek poem, and he supplied English verses for the sets on the birth of the Prince of Wales
George IV of the United Kingdom
George IV was the King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and also of Hanover from the death of his father, George III, on 29 January 1820 until his own death ten years later...
and the peace of Paris, which are quoted with praise in the Monthly Review
Monthly Review
Monthly Review is an independent Marxist journal published 11 times per year in New York City.-History:The publication was founded by Harvard University economics instructor Paul Sweezy, who became the first editor...
(xxviii. 27–9, xxix. 43). The Greek verses in four of the university sets which bear the name of Michael Lort
Michael Lort
-Life:The descendant of a Pembrokeshire family living at Prickeston, he was eldest son of Roger Lort, major of the Royal Welsh Fusiliers, who married Anne, only child of Edward Jenkins, vicar of Fareham, Hampshire...
are said to have been composed by Zouch. He won the Seatonian prize in 1765 with a poem on the ‘Crucifixion.’ It was printed in that year, and included in the collections of Musæ Seatonianæ (1772 pp. 223–41, 1787 pp. 223–41, 1808 i. 183–98).
Under the pressure of hard work Zouch's health broke down, and on 12 July 1770 he was instituted, on the presentation of his university, to the rectory of Wycliffe
Wycliffe, County Durham
Wycliffe is a village on the south bank of the River Tees in the North East of England, situated a short distance to the east of Barnard Castle...
, on the south bank of the River Tees
River Tees
The River Tees is in Northern England. It rises on the eastern slope of Cross Fell in the North Pennines, and flows eastwards for 85 miles to reach the North Sea between Hartlepool and Redcar.-Geography:...
. The patronage was vested in the Roman Catholic family of Constable, and, as they resisted his nomination, it cost him much trouble and expense to establish his right to the living. The church and parsonage are delightfully situated, and the interest of this small parish was heightened in his eyes by its reputed connection with John Wycliffe
John Wycliffe
John Wycliffe was an English Scholastic philosopher, theologian, lay preacher, translator, reformer and university teacher who was known as an early dissident in the Roman Catholic Church during the 14th century. His followers were known as Lollards, a somewhat rebellious movement, which preached...
. Zouch remained in this pleasant position until 1793, and for the first ten years (from 1770 to 1780) took private pupils, three at a time. His sister Anne had married Sir William Lowther
Sir William Lowther, 1st Baronet, of Little Preston
Sir William Lowther, 1st Baronet was an English landowner and curate, of Little Preston, Yorkshire.The eldest son of Christopher Lowther and grandson of Sir William Lowther, he went to school in Kirkleatham before entering Trinity College, Cambridge in 1726...
, rector of Swillington
Swillington
Swillington is a small village and civil parish near Leeds, West Yorkshire, England, in the City of Leeds metropolitan borough. It is located east of the River Aire and surrounded by streams including Fleakingley Beck. As of 2001, Swillington had a population of about 3,530.Swillington used to be a...
, and the list of Zouch's pupils included his two nephews, William
William Lowther, 1st Earl of Lonsdale
William Lowther, 1st Earl of Lonsdale of the second creation KG was a British Tory politician and nobleman.-Life:...
and John Lowther
Sir John Lowther, 1st Baronet, of Swillington
Sir John Lowther, 1st Baronet was an English landowner and Member of Parliament, the second son of Sir William Lowther, 1st Baronet....
) and Sir Levett Hanson
Levett Hanson
‘Sir’ Levett Hanson , was an English author.Hanson was born 31 December 1754, at Melton, Yorkshire, was the only son of Robert Hanson of Normanton, Yorkshire, by his wife Elizabeth, daughter of Edward Isaack Jackson of Bury St. Edmunds. His father was the son of Benjamin Hanson and Elizabeth,...
. Here he found much time for study on his own account, and he acquired a full knowledge of French
French language
French is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...
, Italian
Italian language
Italian is a Romance language spoken mainly in Europe: Italy, Switzerland, San Marino, Vatican City, by minorities in Malta, Monaco, Croatia, Slovenia, France, Libya, Eritrea, and Somalia, and by immigrant communities in the Americas and Australia...
, Hebrew
Hebrew language
Hebrew is a Semitic language of the Afroasiatic language family. Culturally, is it considered by Jews and other religious groups as the language of the Jewish people, though other Jewish languages had originated among diaspora Jews, and the Hebrew language is also used by non-Jewish groups, such...
, as well as ‘a certain portion of Chaldee
Aramaic language
Aramaic is a group of languages belonging to the Afroasiatic language phylum. The name of the language is based on the name of Aram, an ancient region in central Syria. Within this family, Aramaic belongs to the Semitic family, and more specifically, is a part of the Northwest Semitic subfamily,...
and Arabic
Arabic language
Arabic is a name applied to the descendants of the Classical Arabic language of the 6th century AD, used most prominently in the Quran, the Islamic Holy Book...
learning.’ He thoroughly explored this district of Yorkshire for rare botanical specimens, and became so well known for his zeal in the pursuit that on 15 May 1788, within two months of its first meeting, he was elected a fellow of the Linnean Society. Marmaduke Tunstall
Marmaduke Tunstall
Marmaduke Tunstall was an English ornithologist and collector. He was the author of Ornithologica Britannica , probably the first British work to use binomial nomenclature....
, a distinguished antiquary and naturalist, was the squire of the parish.
When Richard Pepper Arden was appointed master of the rolls
Master of the Rolls
The Keeper or Master of the Rolls and Records of the Chancery of England, known as the Master of the Rolls, is the second most senior judge in England and Wales, after the Lord Chief Justice. The Master of the Rolls is the presiding officer of the Civil Division of the Court of Appeal...
in 1788, Zouch became his chaplain, and in 1791 obtained the position of deputy-commissary of the archdeaconry of Richmond. William Pitt
William Pitt the Younger
William Pitt the Younger was a British politician of the late 18th and early 19th centuries. He became the youngest Prime Minister in 1783 at the age of 24 . He left office in 1801, but was Prime Minister again from 1804 until his death in 1806...
, under obligation to the family of Lowther, wrote to Sir William Lowther in January 1791 that he hoped to procure the living of Catterick
Catterick, North Yorkshire
Catterick , sometimes Catterick Village, to distinguish it from the nearby Catterick Garrison, is a village and civil parish in the Richmondshire district of North Yorkshire, England...
for Zouch. Though Pitt did not manage this, in 1793 he secured Zouch the valuable rectory of Scrayingham in the East Riding of Yorkshire
East Riding of Yorkshire
The East Riding of Yorkshire, or simply East Yorkshire, is a local government district with unitary authority status, and a ceremonial county of England. For ceremonial purposes the county also includes the city of Kingston upon Hull, which is a separate unitary authority...
, whereupon the benefice of Wycliffe became vacant. By the death of his elder brother, Henry
Henry Zouch
Henry Zouch , was an English antiquary and social reformer.Zouch was the eldest surviving son of Charles Zouch, vicar of Sandal Magna, near Wakefield, and elder brother of Thomas Zouch. He was educated at Wakefield School under the Rev. Benjamin Wilson, and was admitted pensioner at Trinity...
, in 1795, an estate at Sandal Magna came to Zouch, and after the widow's death in 1796 he resided there. Pitt considered him for the mastership of Trinity College
Trinity College, Cambridge
Trinity College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Trinity has more members than any other college in Cambridge or Oxford, with around 700 undergraduates, 430 graduates, and over 170 Fellows...
in 1798; but William Lort Mansel
William Lort Mansel
Bishop William Lort Mansel was an English churchman and Cambridge fellow. He was Master of Trinity College, Cambridge from 1798 to his death in 1820, and also Bishop of Bristol from 1808 to 1820.William Lort Mansel was the son of William Wogan Mansel of Pembroke...
had better claims for a post which then required a man of exceptional firmness of character. In April 1805 Zouch obtained through Pitt the second prebendal stall in Durham Cathedral
Durham Cathedral
The Cathedral Church of Christ, Blessed Mary the Virgin and St Cuthbert of Durham is a cathedral in the city of Durham, England, the seat of the Anglican Bishop of Durham. The Bishopric dates from 995, with the present cathedral being founded in AD 1093...
. When Edward Vernon (afterwards Vernon-Harcourt) was translated at the close of 1807 from Carlisle
Diocese of Carlisle
The Diocese of Carlisle was created in 1133 by Henry I out of part of the Diocese of Durham, although many people of Celtic descent in the area looked to Glasgow for spiritual leadership. The first bishop was Æthelwold, formerly the king's confessor and now prior of the Augustinian priory at...
to the archbishopric of York, the Duke of Portland
William Cavendish-Bentinck, 3rd Duke of Portland
William Henry Cavendish-Bentinck, 3rd Duke of Portland, KG, PC was a British Whig and Tory statesman, Chancellor of the University of Oxford and Prime Minister. He was known before 1762 by the courtesy title Marquess of Titchfield. He held a title of every degree of British nobility—Duke,...
offered the vacant see to Zouch. He is said to have accepted the offer, but to have withdrawn his acceptance a day later. Hard of hearing from early life, his deafness had worsened with age, and he was now in bad health. Moreover, the change would have brought little, if any, financial advantage.|
Zouch died at Sandal Magna on 17 December 1815, and was buried there on 23 Dec., the Rev. James Tate drawing up a Latin inscription for him. He had married at Winston, Durham, on 9 July 1772, Isabella, daughter of John Emerson, rector of that parish. She died on 18 Oct. 1803. His second wife, whom he married at Sandal Magna on 25 Aug. 1808, was Margaret (1743–1833), second daughter of Dr. William Brooke of Field Head, Dodworth, Yorkshire, and sister of J. C. Brooke, Somerset herald; she was buried with her husband at Sandal (July 1833). Zouch was a governor of Wakefield school from 14 June 1799 to 13 May 1805, and he founded the endowed school at Sandal.
Works
Thomas Zouch was best known as an editor and biographer of Izaak WaltonIzaak Walton
Izaak Walton was an English writer. Best known as the author of The Compleat Angler, he also wrote a number of short biographies which have been collected under the title of Walton's Lives.-Biography:...
, though his biography of Walton would be superseded by that of Nicholas Harris Nicolas
Nicholas Harris Nicolas
Sir Harris Nicolas, KCMG, KH was an English antiquary.-Life:The fourth son of John Harris Nicolas , he was born at Dartmouth. Having served in the navy from 1812 to 1816, he studied law and was called to the bar at the Inner Temple in 1825...
.
Works relating to Walton
- (ed.) Love and Truth in two modest and peaceable letters … from a quiet and conformable citizen of London to two busie and factious shopkeepers in Coventry, 1795. Quarto. Reprint of a rare tract dated 1680 in Emmanuel College Library, Cambridge, and ascribed to Izaak Walton. Edited with notes, a preface and a dedication to Henry Zouch.
- (ed.) Izaak Walton, Lives of Donne, Wotton, Hooker, Herbert, and Sanderson, with Notes and Life of the author, York, 1796. Reissued in this country in 1807 and (with inclusion of Love and Truth) in 1817; published at New York in 1846 and 1848, and at Boston in 1860. He was attacked for some of his comments in the ‘Monthly Magazine’ (May 1803, pp. 299–300), and defended himself in the ‘Gentleman's Magazine’ (1803, ii. 1016).
- 'Life of Walton', in Samuel Bagster's 1808 issue of Sir John Hawkins's edition of The Compleat Angler.
- Life of Izaak Walton, with notices of his contemporaries. Separately published with illustrations in 1823, and reissued in 1825.
Other works
- An Inquiry into the Prophetic Character of the Romans, as described in Daniel viii. 23–5, 1792
- An attempt to illustrate some of the Prophecies of the Old and New Testament, [1800]
- (Anon.) A Letter to Bishop Horsley on his Opinion concerning Antichrist. By a Country Clergyman, 1801
- (Anon.) Memoir of John Sudbury, Dean of Durham, 1808.
- Memoirs of Sir Philip Sidney, 1808; 2nd ed. 1809.
- Zouch helped to write 'The Life and Character of John, Lord Viscount Lonsdale', printed for private distribution in 1808, and prefixed to the Memoirs of James II, 1808.
- Works, ed. Francis Wrangham, York, 1820. Published both in a private impression of four copies only, and also for sale, 2 vols. 8vo.