So Who Was the Revd James Bickham?

I have to confess that my research skills have let me down a bit on the search for James Bickham – or maybe it’s just that I don’t have [easy] access to the resources I need!

So, who was James Bickham?

I’ve managed to establish that he was born in March 1718, in Evercreech in Somerset, but the actual date of his birth is not clear to me. Here’s why: 

• a memorial constructed around the time of his death in 1785 suggests his birth was 22 March:

• writing in 1882 in ‘Rectors of Loughborough’, W.G.D. Fletcher says Bickham was born on 2 March:

• in his article ‘The parochial visitation of James Bickham D.D. Archdeacon of Leicester in the years 1773 to 1779’, which appeared in the ‘Transactions of the Leicestershire Archaeological and Historical Society’, Vol.59, 1984-5, W.A. Pemberton writes that Bickham was born on 19 March. 

Hence my confusion, given that I can’t find a record of his birth in the usual genealogical sources.

Nor have I been able to establish who James’s parents were, nor if he had any siblings. There are a number of families with the surname Bickham in Evercreech around the same time as James Bickham, but I cannot say conclusively which, if any, are related to him.

Anyway, I’ve already given you an oblique clue about who James Bickham was, and why we in Loughborough might be interested in him! So, let’s have a closer delve into Bickham’s life.

On 30 March 1737, at the age of 19 (no matter which birth date is correct!), James Bickham was admitted to Emmanuel College, Cambridge, graduating in 1740, with a B.A.. In 1743 he became a Fellow of Emmanuel College, and in the following year he gained an M.A.. In September 1744, he was ordained Deacon by Richard Reynolds, the Bishop of Lincoln, at Buckden, Huntingdonshire, prebendal church. In the same year, he subscribed to ‘A critical commentary upon the book of the Wisdom of Solomon; being a continuation of Bishop Patrick and Mr Lowth.’ by Richard Arnald. The Rev. Alleyne, also of Loughborough, was also listed as a subscriber.

On 9 June 1745 James Bickham was ordained a priest by Thomas Gooch, the Bishop of Norwich, at Gonville and Caius Chapel. After gaining his Bachelor of Divinity (B.D.) from Emmanuel College in 1751, by 1753, James Bickham was a tutor at the same college. Keen to broaden his knowledge, in 1753 Bickham subscribed to ‘A critical commentary on such books of the Apocrypha, as are appointed to be read in Churches, viz. Wisdom, Ecclesiasticus, Tobit, Judith, Baruch, History of Susanna, and Bel the Dragon, with Two Dissertations on The Books of Maccabees and Esdras, being a continuation of Bishop Patrick and Mr Lowth.’ by Richard Arnald.

Meanwhile, back in Somerset, in a little place called Ash Priors, in 1754 we find a Mr Bickham as curate of Holy Trinity church, where the living was £10 per year. However, in my opinion, this Mr Bickham is most unlikely to be our James, but is more likely to be either Hugh or John Bickham, sons of Hugh Bickham, who died in 1723 and bequeathed the rectory in Ash Priors to his eldest son, Hugh.

Back to our James Bickham! In 1757, Bickham subscribed to ‘The history of the Saracens …’ and he had obviously enjoyed reading the 1753 book, ‘A critical commentary on such books of the Apocrypha…’ as in 1860, he subscribed to the new edition. 

But the big news is …

… we read in contemporary newspaper reports that on 25 August 1761, “the Rev. Mr. Bickham, B.D., Fellow of Emanuel College in Cambridge, was presented to the Master and Fellow of that Society to the Living of Loughborough in Leicestershire, worth £400 per Ann.”  (London Evening Post). This role as Rector of Loughborough was made vacant upon the death of Thomas Alleyne, the previous incumbent.

More good news for Bickham followed, as on 22 December 1761, he married Miss Sarah Williams of London, in St Andrew’s church, Cambridge. The home in Loughborough the couple would have shared was the rectory, at the time a relatively modest building, which was extensively re-modelled during the time Richard Hardy was rector (1798-1826), by the local architect, Christopher Staveley. From the research that I’ve done, as far as I can find out, the couple had no children.

What is now known as the Old Rectory, as it was in 2014

Bickham continued to enjoy reading and improving his mind and his knowledge, and in 1770 he subscribed to ‘Poems on several occasions’ by Miss Priscilla Pointon of Lichfield, as did rather a lot of other people. Those subscribers from Loughborough included Thomas Allsopp esq., Mrs Penelope Alleyne, Mr William Boot, Mr John Capp – amounting to about 37 copies coming to our town! According to the Preface to the volume of poetry, Miss Pointon had suffered “a deprivation of sight” during her thirteenth year, and her story is briefly told over on the Lichfield Lore website.

Back to Bickham who, on 17 December 1772 was collated to be Archdeacon of Leicester, by the Bishop of Lincoln, becoming, apparently, the fifteenth such archdeacon. As part of that role, between 1773 and 1779 Bickham undertook the customary parochial visitations. On 24 September 1773 he preached a sermon at St Margaret’s church in Leicester, in aid of the General Infirmary at Leicester. This was the annual meeting of the governors, and included the opening of the new organ which accompanied the singing of various songs and choruses. The event was followed in the evening by a Grand Concert, held in the New Rooms in the Haymarket, which was completed with a ball at the Town Hall. The Concert Room had had four new ventillators installed to avoid the audience overheating!

On 5 July 1774, Bickham was awarded his Doctor of Divinity (D.D.) and he appeared in the 1775 poll book for the Hundred of West Goscote, entitled to vote on account of him residing in Loughborough. This poll book also contains some of the names of folk we have seen before, who subscribed to Priscilla Pointon’s poems. In 1777 Bickham’s name appears on a document in relation to the Act to make and maintain a navigable cut or canal from the River Trent to Langley Bridge, and in 1779, Bickham, along with Nathanial Palmer Johnson, Rev. William Farnham, and William Cradock, and led by the latter, opposed the marriage of William Whatton of Loughborough Parks and Elizabeth Watkinson, but upon the testimony of Sir John Danvers, William Pochin, Edward Dawson, William Clayton, and William Pochin, they came round.

Sadly, Sarah, James’s wife died on 28 May 1781, and was buried a couple of days later, on 31 May. Again, the date of James’s own death is cited differently in various places. According to the monumental inscription that was originally placed on the south wall of the chancel, James Bickham died on 23 December 1785. Pemberton suggests the date was 2 March 1785, and more recent publications quote simply 1786.

According to W.G.D. Fletcher in 1882, James Bickham died on 23 December 1785, he was buried on 27 December 1785, and his will was proved in January 1786. Fletcher also tells us that the memorial to James Bickham was moved and placed on the south wall of the tower in 1864. This is what Nichols had to say about the memorial:

“On the south wall: Argent, a chevron Gules, between three leopards faces Azure; on a chief, per fefs [fess? sess? sefs?] Argent and Gules; in the upper part a greyhound courant Sable, Bickham; impaling, Gules, a chevron Ermine between three men’s heads in profile, and couped at the neck, Argent. Crest, an eagle displayed, Or; fig 34.

‘Underneath lie the remains of

James Bickham, D.D. archdeacon of Leicester,

and rector of Loughborough,

He was born March 22, 1719;

and died December 23, 1785.

Near his lie the remains of

Sarah Bickham his wife.

She was born June 15, 1715;

and died May 28, 1781’

The memorial is now to be found in the Burton Chapel.

It’s interesting to note also, that Rev. James Bickham is mentioned on the gravestone of his servant, John Smith:

Here

lieth the body of

JOHN SMITH

late servant to the Rev^d. Mr. Bickham

Rector of this Parish

He died Nov^r 18th 1764

Aged 37

Bickham was succeeded as Rector of Loughborough by Rev. Mr Blackall, B.D. Senior fellow of Emanuel [sic] College, Cambridge, who was appointed to the Rectory of Loughborough, Leicestershire, now worth £900 per annum.

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posted by lynneaboutloughborough

With apologies for typos which are all mine!

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Dyer, Lynne (2023). So Who Was the Revd James Bickham? Available from: https://lynneaboutloughborough.blogspot.com/2023/02/so-who-was-revd-james-bickham.html [Accessed 19 February 2023]

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So who was John Nichols?

There have been many people over the years who have written about Leicester and Leicestershire, many of whom have described their journeys from one part of the country to another, and some of these have included Leicestershire. Here's a selection:

• William Camden (1551-1623) - a Londoner who travelled widely throughout the UK, and whilst teaching in Westminster wrote the first topographical survey of the country, county-by-county, rather than describing an individual journey. 

• Daniel Defoe (1660-1731) - the author of Robinson Crusoe was born in London and became famous for writing political pamphlets. In the 1720s he wrote a three-volume account of his travels through the UK.

• Celia Fiennes (1662-1741) - Celia Fiennes was born near Salisbury, and lived all her life in the south of England. Her travel journeys included two long ones to the more northern parts of the country which she did side-saddled, accompanied only by a couple of servants. Her travels were mainly for health reasons, and she later wrote up her account of her visits.

• Karl Moritz (1757-1793) - This young Prussian clergyman visited England in 1782 and wrote letters home, which were later published as an account of his travels.

• Arthur Young (1741-1820) - born in Suffolk, Young moved to London when he was 20, where he wrote four novels. His main interest was in agriculture, and he travelled the country, describing the changes he found in agriculture, society and politics.    

• John Wesley (1703-1791) - although Wesley was a Methodist preacher, he travelled widely, and wrote a dairy of his travels.

There were, of course, other people who wrote about Leicestershire, even though they lived there, and these included:

• John Throsby (1740-1803) - Throsby was interested in local history and the study of antiquities, which led to him writing the six volumes of "The Memoirs of the Town and County of Leicester"  in 1777. This was followed by "Select views in Leicestershire, from Original Drawings" and by various other writings.

But, John Nichols was a bit different!

• John Nichols (1745-1826) - was born in London, and was a printer - and an antiquarian - and an author - and a publisher - and a literary scholar - and a bibliophile, amongst other things! He married twice, each time to ladies from Leicestershire, so he had an strong interest in, and connection to, the county. He wrote many county histories, but his History and Antiquities of the County of Leicester, published in eight volumes, is one of the best. Unlike the writers mentioned above, Nichols didn't visit all the places he writes about: Of course, much of it he wrote himself, but as he had extensive connections in the county, he asked these people - clergymen, nobles, gentlemen, friends and relatives etc. - to research things for him, and much of their information appears in the books. He also incorporated some of Throsby's work in his own. Nowadays, Nichols' history of Leicestershire is often the first port of call for the researcher looking into the history of the county.

What have Hathern Band, LMVC, the BCM, the carillon, ceramics and John Nichols got in common?

This week I am spoilt for choice, and having a difficult time deciding what to share with you!

Since my last post I’ve been lucky enough to listen to the Hathern Band, not once, but twice!! Last week, Hathern Band played in the bandstand in Queen’s Park, directly after the Carillon recital, in commemoration of the 70^th anniversary of VE day. This was a lovely performance, with glorious sunshine and a large, appreciative audience.

Last evening, I was lucky enough to find a seat in the Trinity Methodist Church for a joint concert of Hathern Band with the Loughborough Male Voice Choir. Hathern were on top form – especially the trombones, but I am a bit biased!! I particularly loved the rendition of “76 trombones”! The choir did themselves proud too, and their numbers have swelled recently since they had a pseudo recruitment drive earlier this year. I think they’re still on the lookout for new members, so if you’re looking for something to do, check out their webpage.

Yesterday we took a trip to the Black Country Museum in Dudley. Hadn’t been before, but had heard good reports about it, and it didn’t disappoint. Lots of exciting things to see and do, including a ride on a 1948 bus, and a Midland Red double-decker, a tram (but this was closed for maintenance), reconstructed terraced houses, dressed accordingly, and with volunteers making soup over the open fires. And gardeners tending their little plots, and producing beautiful pink sticks of rhubarb which the children dip in sugar. Then there’s the authentically 1940s shops, including a chemist, a greengrocers, ironmongers, confectioners, bakers etc., some of them actually selling things, like the little fish and chip shop. The café was in the Worker’s Institute, and had a wonderful selection of food, and we enjoyed a steak and Stilton pastie with mushy peas and new potatoes coated in yummy salt and pepper.

Lots of remnants of the days when Dudley had iron founders (I think there was a saying about the area, black by day, red by night, which related to the smoke and grime in the daytime and the glow of the iron works in the night). This reminded me of John Jones the iron founder in Loughborough, who owned the Britannia Foundry. I think he lived in that very large house at the junction of Meadow lane and Clarence Street, which now appears to be a health spa (sounds like the beginnings of a future blog post … !). The mine at the Black Country Museum was open, but I’m afraid I couldn’t go down there: The last time I went, or rather tried to go, down a mine, it was a tin mine in Cornwall, but I had to turn back pretty sharpish, when even I had to watch my head! Trips on the canal boats were also available, although they seemed to be doing quite a lot of work on the canal, so we thought we’d leave that till our next visit!! When will I ever find time?!

I’ve also giving up a bit of my spare time in helping out at the Carillon Tower and Museum again this year. This is such good fun, as I get to meet so many interesting people from all over the world, and who all have such interesting tales to tell! I also finally got to learn what the copper boots in the Airborne room were all about, and I get to hear the carillon being played (guessed what day I’m there, yet?). If you fancy helping, the museum is always on the lookout for volunteers so they can keep all floors of the tower open to visitors.

Talking of the carillon, today, I also heard the carillon play as I walked into town to take a peek at the ceramics market. It’s an annual event and I blogged about it last year, so I shan’t say anything about today’s market other than to say there was a lovely variety of pottery, and it’s difficult to go and not spend any money: Well, that’s a few birthday and Christmas presents sorted!!

Now, what have I forgotten? Oh, yes, the banquet in celebration of the bi-centenary of John Nichols’ History and Antiquities of the County of Leicester, an 8-volume work, written by Nichols in 1815. What a glorious event that was, but, I’ve run out of time to tell you about it tonight, so I will save this one for next time!