Tristram Risdon
Encyclopedia
Tristram Risdon was an English antiquary and topographer, and the author of Survey of the County of Devon. He was able to devote most of his life to writing this work. After he completed it in about 1632 it circulated around interested people in several manuscript copies for almost 80 years before it was first published by Curll
in a very inferior form. A full version was not published until 1811. It remains one of the most useful sources of information about the history of the county of Devon.
in Devon
, England. He was the oldest son of William Risdon and his wife, Joan. After a local education, he studied at Broadgates Hall in Oxford, though he left the university without taking any degree, supposedly because of the death of his half-sister, Thomazin Barry, upon which he inherited the family estate at Winscott, which required his personal attention.
He married Pascoe (daughter of Thomas Chafe of Exeter) on 2 December 1608 and they had four sons and three daughters. From about 1605 to the 1630s he devoted his time to the study of antiquities, especially those of Devon, and the result of his labours was the Survey. He died at Winscott in 1640 and was interred in St Giles's church. His mother died in 1610 and is commemorated by a monumental brass in the church.
(A View of Devonshire, 1630), Sir William Pole (Collections towards a description of the country of Devon, c. 1630), Richard Polwhele
(The history of Devonshire, 1793–1806), Daniel
and Samuel Lysons
(Magna Britannia
, vol 6: Devonshire, 1822) and Thomas Moore (The History of Devonshire, 1829).
The original title of Risdon's work was The Chorographical Description, or Survey of the County of Devon, with the City and County of Exeter; containing Matter of History, Antiquity, Chronology, the Nature of the Country, Commodities and Government thereof; with sundry other Things worthy of observation. Collected by the Travel of T. Risdon, of Winscot, Gent., for the Love of his Country and Countrymen in that Province. Risdon admitted that he had copied much of the work from Sir William Pole's manuscript, though he made considerable additions and improvements of his own. It includes details to about the year 1632.
In organizing his survey Risdon decided to begin "in the east part of the county, and with the sun, to make my gradation into the south, holding course about by the river Tamer, to visit such places as are offered to be seen upon her banks. Lastly, to take notice of such remarkable things as the north parts afford." Unlike his antiquarian contemporaries, Risdon's work is not overburdened with genealogy and reads more like a travel book, apparently describing parishes in the same order as he visited them. However according to Joyce Youings, former Professor of English Social History at Exeter University, although his general description has echoes of John Hooker
's writing, "the three hundred pages of topographical detail which follow make extremely tedious reading, unredeemed by [Thomas] Westcote's style."
According to Gordon Goodwin, writing in the 1900 Dictionary of National Biography
, Risdon was the first documentary source of several old Devonshire stories, of Elflida and Ethelwold
, of Childe the Hunter, Budockside and his daughter, and the Tiverton fire.
Risdon also left a notebook in which he had collected genealogical and heraldic information about Devon – this was published in 1897.
, the infamous London bookseller, who extracted the parts he thought would best suit his purpose, and printed them. But shortly before publication, the proposed book appears to have been shown to John Prince
, author of the Worthies of Devon, who, having a thorough acquaintance with the original, persuaded Curll to publish the remainder as a continuation of the parts already printed, which he did in the same year. It remained a very imperfect version, however.
In 1785 William Chapple published the first part of his Review of Risdon's Survey of Devon containing the general description of the county, but he died before he could continue the work. The first complete edition did not appear until 1811, and it included many additions. This publication was based on the copy of Risdon's manuscript that belonged to John Coles of Stonehouse which, after having been compared with others, appeared to be the most correct. No work has been done to compare the various manuscript and print versions, and Youings has said that until this is done it will remain unknown exactly what Risdon wrote.
Edmund Curll
Edmund Curll was an English bookseller and publisher. His name has become synonymous, through the attacks on him by Alexander Pope, with unscrupulous publication and publicity. Curll rose from poverty to wealth through his publishing, and he did this by approaching book printing in a mercenary...
in a very inferior form. A full version was not published until 1811. It remains one of the most useful sources of information about the history of the county of Devon.
Biography
Risdon was born at Winscott, in the parish of St Giles in the Wood, adjoining the town of Great TorringtonGreat Torrington
Great Torrington is a small market town in the north of Devon, England. Parts of it are sited on high ground with steep drops down to the River Torridge below...
in Devon
Devon
Devon is a large county in southwestern England. The county is sometimes referred to as Devonshire, although the term is rarely used inside the county itself as the county has never been officially "shired", it often indicates a traditional or historical context.The county shares borders with...
, England. He was the oldest son of William Risdon and his wife, Joan. After a local education, he studied at Broadgates Hall in Oxford, though he left the university without taking any degree, supposedly because of the death of his half-sister, Thomazin Barry, upon which he inherited the family estate at Winscott, which required his personal attention.
He married Pascoe (daughter of Thomas Chafe of Exeter) on 2 December 1608 and they had four sons and three daughters. From about 1605 to the 1630s he devoted his time to the study of antiquities, especially those of Devon, and the result of his labours was the Survey. He died at Winscott in 1640 and was interred in St Giles's church. His mother died in 1610 and is commemorated by a monumental brass in the church.
The Survey
Risdon was one of several 17th- and early-18th-century authors who wrote about the topography of Devon. The others were Thomas WestcoteThomas Westcote
-Life:Baptised at Shobrooke in Devon on 17 June 1567, he was the third son of Philip Westcote of West Raddon in the parish of Shobrooke, by his wife Katharine, daughter of George Waltham of Brenton in the parish of Exminster, Devon...
(A View of Devonshire, 1630), Sir William Pole (Collections towards a description of the country of Devon, c. 1630), Richard Polwhele
Richard Polwhele
Richard Polwhele was a Cornish clergyman, poet and topographer.-Biography:Born at Truro, Cornwall, Polwhele met literary luminaries Catharine Macaulay and Hannah More at an early age. He was educated at Truro Grammar School, where he precociously published The Fate of Llewellyn...
(The history of Devonshire, 1793–1806), Daniel
Daniel Lysons
Daniel Lysons was a notable English antiquary and topographer of the late 18th and early 19th century, who published the four-volume The Environs of London ....
and Samuel Lysons
Samuel Lysons
Samuel Lysons FRS was a notable English engraver and antiquary of the late 18th and early 19th century, who - with his older brother, Daniel - published the four-volume The Environs of London...
(Magna Britannia
Magna Britannia
Magna Britannia, being a concise topographical account of the several counties of Great Britain was an ambitious topographical and historical survey published by the antiquarians Daniel Lysons and his brother Samuel Lysons in several volumes between 1806 and 1822...
, vol 6: Devonshire, 1822) and Thomas Moore (The History of Devonshire, 1829).
The original title of Risdon's work was The Chorographical Description, or Survey of the County of Devon, with the City and County of Exeter; containing Matter of History, Antiquity, Chronology, the Nature of the Country, Commodities and Government thereof; with sundry other Things worthy of observation. Collected by the Travel of T. Risdon, of Winscot, Gent., for the Love of his Country and Countrymen in that Province. Risdon admitted that he had copied much of the work from Sir William Pole's manuscript, though he made considerable additions and improvements of his own. It includes details to about the year 1632.
In organizing his survey Risdon decided to begin "in the east part of the county, and with the sun, to make my gradation into the south, holding course about by the river Tamer, to visit such places as are offered to be seen upon her banks. Lastly, to take notice of such remarkable things as the north parts afford." Unlike his antiquarian contemporaries, Risdon's work is not overburdened with genealogy and reads more like a travel book, apparently describing parishes in the same order as he visited them. However according to Joyce Youings, former Professor of English Social History at Exeter University, although his general description has echoes of John Hooker
John Hooker (English constitutionalist)
John Hooker, John Hoker or John Vowell was an English writer, solicitor, antiquary, civic administrator and advocate of republican government. He wrote an eye-witness account of the siege of Exeter that took place during the Prayer Book Rebellion in 1549...
's writing, "the three hundred pages of topographical detail which follow make extremely tedious reading, unredeemed by [Thomas] Westcote's style."
According to Gordon Goodwin, writing in the 1900 Dictionary of National Biography
Dictionary of National Biography
The Dictionary of National Biography is a standard work of reference on notable figures from British history, published from 1885...
, Risdon was the first documentary source of several old Devonshire stories, of Elflida and Ethelwold
Æthelwald, Ealdorman of East Anglia
Æthelwald was ealdorman of East Anglia. He is mentioned in Byrhtferth's life of Oswald of Worcester along with other members of his family....
, of Childe the Hunter, Budockside and his daughter, and the Tiverton fire.
Risdon also left a notebook in which he had collected genealogical and heraldic information about Devon – this was published in 1897.
Publication
After the completion of the Survey, many copies of the manuscript were in circulation, none of them exactly agreeing with the others, each having something redundant or deficient. The Survey was first published in 1714 by Edmund CurllEdmund Curll
Edmund Curll was an English bookseller and publisher. His name has become synonymous, through the attacks on him by Alexander Pope, with unscrupulous publication and publicity. Curll rose from poverty to wealth through his publishing, and he did this by approaching book printing in a mercenary...
, the infamous London bookseller, who extracted the parts he thought would best suit his purpose, and printed them. But shortly before publication, the proposed book appears to have been shown to John Prince
John Prince (Totnes)
John Prince was vicar of Totnes and Berry Pomeroy in Devon, England, and was a biographer of the late seventeenth and early eighteenth centuries. He is notable for his major work, The Worthies of Devon...
, author of the Worthies of Devon, who, having a thorough acquaintance with the original, persuaded Curll to publish the remainder as a continuation of the parts already printed, which he did in the same year. It remained a very imperfect version, however.
In 1785 William Chapple published the first part of his Review of Risdon's Survey of Devon containing the general description of the county, but he died before he could continue the work. The first complete edition did not appear until 1811, and it included many additions. This publication was based on the copy of Risdon's manuscript that belonged to John Coles of Stonehouse which, after having been compared with others, appeared to be the most correct. No work has been done to compare the various manuscript and print versions, and Youings has said that until this is done it will remain unknown exactly what Risdon wrote.