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James Woodforde
James Woodforde (27 June 1740 – 1 January 1803) was an English clergyman, mainly in Somerset and Norfolk, remembered as the author of The Diary of a Country Parson. This vivid account of parish life remained unpublished until the 20th century.
James Woodforde was born at the Parsonage, Ansford, Somerset, England on 27 June 1740. In adulthood he led an uneventful, unambitious life as a clergyman of the Church of England: a life unremarkable except that for nearly 45 years, he kept a diary recording the everyday routines and concerns of 18th-century rural England.
A descendant of the noted 17th-century diarist, Robert Woodford of Northampton, he was the sixth child of the Reverend Samuel Woodforde, rector of Ansford and vicar of Castle Cary, and his wife Jane Collins. James was one of four brothers (one of whom died in infancy) and the only one to attend public school – Winchester College, and university – Oxford. He was admitted to Winchester as a scholar in 1752 and enrolled at Oriel College, Oxford in 1758, migrating to New College in the following year. His diary begins with the entry for 21 July 1759: "Made a Scholar of New College".
Woodforde was ordained and graduated BA in 1763, became MA in 1767 and BD in 1775. He appears to have been a competent but uninspired student, and the portrait he provides of Oxford during his two periods of residence as scholar and fellow (1758–1763 and 1773–1776) only confirm Edward Gibbon's famously damning opinion that it was a place where the dons' "dull and deep potations excuse the brisk intemperance of youth". The diary is a rich source of information on university life in 18th-century Oxford.
Upon leaving the university in 1763, Woodforde returned to Somerset where he worked as a curate, mostly for his father, for ten years. From October 1763 to January 1764 he was the curate at Thurloxton. This period of his life, under-represented in Beresford's abridged edition of the Diary, is thickly peopled with memorable characters from all strata of society, many of them immortalised with nicknames – Peter 'Cherry Ripe' Coles, 'Mumper' Clarke, 'Riddle' Tucker. The extended Woodforde family, including James's frequently drunken brothers, figure prominently in these Somerset years.
On his father's death in 1771, James failed to succeed to his parishes, and likewise failed to win, or rather retain, the heart of Betsy White – "a mere Jilt". He returned to Oxford where he became sub-warden of his college and a pro-proctor of the university. He was unsuccessful in his application to become headmaster of Bedford School, but in 1773, he was presented to the living of Weston Longville in Norfolk, one of the best in the gift of the college, being worth £400 a year. He took up residence at Weston in May 1776.
Despite the wrench of leaving family and friends, he quickly settled down to a comfortable bachelor existence. He thought Norwich "the fairest City in England by far" and always enjoyed a trip to the "sweet beach" at Yarmouth. He was soon joined by his niece Anna Woodforde as housekeeper and companion, who stayed with him until he died. She also was a diarist and correspondent.
In Norfolk, his social life was more limited, but he enjoyed the fellowship of the local clergy who took it in turns to entertain one another to dinner – "our Rotation Club". Because he always recorded what was provided for dinner, which very occasionally was an elaborate banquet, he is often wrongly characterised as a glutton. Among the gentry in the 18th century, it was a matter of pride to provide a variety of dishes. Because Woodforde recorded them all, does not mean that he ate from them all.
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James Woodforde
James Woodforde (27 June 1740 – 1 January 1803) was an English clergyman, mainly in Somerset and Norfolk, remembered as the author of The Diary of a Country Parson. This vivid account of parish life remained unpublished until the 20th century.
James Woodforde was born at the Parsonage, Ansford, Somerset, England on 27 June 1740. In adulthood he led an uneventful, unambitious life as a clergyman of the Church of England: a life unremarkable except that for nearly 45 years, he kept a diary recording the everyday routines and concerns of 18th-century rural England.
A descendant of the noted 17th-century diarist, Robert Woodford of Northampton, he was the sixth child of the Reverend Samuel Woodforde, rector of Ansford and vicar of Castle Cary, and his wife Jane Collins. James was one of four brothers (one of whom died in infancy) and the only one to attend public school – Winchester College, and university – Oxford. He was admitted to Winchester as a scholar in 1752 and enrolled at Oriel College, Oxford in 1758, migrating to New College in the following year. His diary begins with the entry for 21 July 1759: "Made a Scholar of New College".
Woodforde was ordained and graduated BA in 1763, became MA in 1767 and BD in 1775. He appears to have been a competent but uninspired student, and the portrait he provides of Oxford during his two periods of residence as scholar and fellow (1758–1763 and 1773–1776) only confirm Edward Gibbon's famously damning opinion that it was a place where the dons' "dull and deep potations excuse the brisk intemperance of youth". The diary is a rich source of information on university life in 18th-century Oxford.
Upon leaving the university in 1763, Woodforde returned to Somerset where he worked as a curate, mostly for his father, for ten years. From October 1763 to January 1764 he was the curate at Thurloxton. This period of his life, under-represented in Beresford's abridged edition of the Diary, is thickly peopled with memorable characters from all strata of society, many of them immortalised with nicknames – Peter 'Cherry Ripe' Coles, 'Mumper' Clarke, 'Riddle' Tucker. The extended Woodforde family, including James's frequently drunken brothers, figure prominently in these Somerset years.
On his father's death in 1771, James failed to succeed to his parishes, and likewise failed to win, or rather retain, the heart of Betsy White – "a mere Jilt". He returned to Oxford where he became sub-warden of his college and a pro-proctor of the university. He was unsuccessful in his application to become headmaster of Bedford School, but in 1773, he was presented to the living of Weston Longville in Norfolk, one of the best in the gift of the college, being worth £400 a year. He took up residence at Weston in May 1776.
Despite the wrench of leaving family and friends, he quickly settled down to a comfortable bachelor existence. He thought Norwich "the fairest City in England by far" and always enjoyed a trip to the "sweet beach" at Yarmouth. He was soon joined by his niece Anna Woodforde as housekeeper and companion, who stayed with him until he died. She also was a diarist and correspondent.
In Norfolk, his social life was more limited, but he enjoyed the fellowship of the local clergy who took it in turns to entertain one another to dinner – "our Rotation Club". Because he always recorded what was provided for dinner, which very occasionally was an elaborate banquet, he is often wrongly characterised as a glutton. Among the gentry in the 18th century, it was a matter of pride to provide a variety of dishes. Because Woodforde recorded them all, does not mean that he ate from them all.
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