William Gould (1735-1812)

WILLIAM GOULD

1735 – 1812

Gleanings by June Bibby

A Gardener in the making

William Gould was born circa 1735. This we must surmise, as he was said to be 77 years old when he died. Despite much research, records of his early years have not, as yet, come to light. This is a man who was born in obscurity and died being given a simple Christian burial – but whose life in-between is worth the telling.

William was employed as a gardener by Richard Wilbraham-Bootle (fig.1) at Lathom House near Ormskirk in Lancashire (fig.2). During this time he gained extraordinary experience.

Fig.1.RichardWilbraham-Bootle

Fig.2 Lathom House

From various sources we know that he was a protégé of Lancelot ‘Capability’ Brown. But it seems that there was no ‘formal’ application for apprentice gardeners. Most likely Brown chose his protégés from the estates where he himself was working. However, there is no written evidence to support Brown actually working at, or even visiting, Lathom House, as most of the family papers were destroyed in the colliery furnaces in nearby Skelmersdale.

Catherine the Great and her passion for English Gardens

Fig.3 Catherine the Great

Catherine the Great (fig.3) adored English gardens. She collected illustrated books and engravings of English Parks and Houses. She also translated books about landscaped parks. In the year 1774 she received the “Frog” Service, which she had commissioned from Wedgwood and Bentley. This depicted some 1,244 British views (fig.4). So it was that the “English Garden”, with its natural appearance became very popular and took the place of the more formal French style in Russia.

During Catherine’s reign things were much more relaxed than previously; the nobility were able to spend more time on their country estates and took the opportunity to travel to Europe (the Russian equivalent of “The Grand Tour”). Some of them were even daring enough to cross the English Channel, which resulted in them seeing the English landscape gardens first hand.

Fig.4 Plate from the Frog Service

Fig.5 Prince Grigory Potemkin (1739-91)

Experts from England

Prince Grigory Potemkin (fig.5), lover/husband of Catherine, himself became obsessed with ‘Anglomania’. This resulted in a huge recruitment drive around 1775 to lure British “experts” – not only to design gardens but to run his dairies, windmills and shipyards etc., which stretched from the Crimea to Krichev on the borders of Poland.

Sir Samuel Bentham (fig.6), English inventor and naval architect, who was in the employ of the Prince, asked his brother Jeremy (fig.7), philosopher and social reformer, to place advertisements in British newspapers: These had such eye-catching phrases as ‘The Prince wants to introduce the use of beer’ and ‘He means to have an elegant dairy’. Some of Potemkin’s estates were bigger than any county in England!

Fig.6 Sir Samuel Bentham (1757-1831)

Fig.7 Jeremy Bentham (1748-1832)

Within weeks of the first advertisements, there were many ‘Shopping Lists’ sent by Samuel to Jeremy. These were for gardeners, millwrights, windmill experts cloth weavers, shoe makers, bricklayers, sailors, housekeepers, etc., etc. It is recorded that the Russian Consul, Alexander Baxter, received 150 applications from gardeners when Catherine wanted only three or four!

In one source we read that Gould from Ormskirk, having been recruited by Jeremy Bentham, was recommended to Potemkin by that well known English landscape architect Lancelot ‘Capability’ Brown. (fig.8) He got his nickname because he used to tell clients that their gardens had excellent capabilities!

Fig.8 Lancelot “Capability” Brown (1716-83)

Pastures New!

It was the following year – 1776 – at the age of forty-one that William Gould left these shores, bound for Russia. He may have travelled by ship from Liverpool, (fig.9) we do not know.

Fig.9 Old Liverpool The journey from Great Britain to St. Petersburg, under sail, took anything from fifteen to twenty days. The return taking twenty to thirty, or a few more either way, depending on wind and weather. Many people travelled by cargo ship at that time. He may have travelled with A. A. Samborsky, Prior of the Orthodox Church in London, who had a house on Palace Quay near the Foundry Bridge in St. Petersburg.

Taurida Palace and Garden

William had much experience and expertise in setting out parks and gardens. It was for the work and planning of the gardens surrounding the Taurida Palace in St. Petersburg (fig.10) that Gould’s reputation as an inventive and skilled gardener came into being. Indeed, he was hailed as the Capability Brown of Russia!

Fig.10 View of Palace and garden in the eighteenth century by B. Paterssen (1750-1815)

Fig.10a Palace Gardens

The Palace was built for Catherine II, by Ivan Starov. She gave it to Prince Potemkin who, in 1774, had become her recognised paramour and there is reason to believe that they were secretly married.

Starov worked closely with Gould which meant that the palace and garden were growing ‘in tandem’ as it were.

A plan of the garden (fig11) shows it to cover almost sixty acres. The outdoor gardens consisted of canals and walks and exotic plants of all kinds; trees and shrubs being specially brought in from England. Ponds were formed and the resulting soil used to form a picturesque rolling landscape.

As well as the pleasure garden there was a small park – or enclosure – for grazing. There were nurseries and ‘forcing’ gardens. The hothouses were extensive and contained pines, vines, apricots, peaches, plums, cherries and figs: Flower houses and a large orangery completed the picture.

Catherine usually spent spring and autumn at Taurida with her children. It was also a welcome haven for two succeeding Tsars, where they could enjoy tranquillity away from the responsibilities of public duty. Although the pleasure garden was small, it was also much admired by foreigners.

Fig.11 Plan of Garden

Key to Palace Garden Plan

1. Palace 2. Winter Garden, or Conservatory 3. Great Hall 4. Iron Bridge 5. Iron Bridge 6. Boat-House 7. Entrance of the Water by the Conduit 8. Small Canal separating the Pleasure - Ground from the Park 9. Fence separating part of the Park from the Pleasure-Ground Park 10. Entrance of the Park 11. Sunk Fence which surrounds the Garden, Park and Nursery 12. Wooden Bridges 13. Entrance of the Water into the winding Canal which separates the Nursery from the Park and Pleasure-Grounds 14. Nursery 15. Cherry-Shed 16. Green-house, Forcing and Flower Houses 17. Gardener’s House and Yard 18. Melon and Pine Pits 19. Iron Palisading separating the Forcing Garden from the Nursery 20. Yard for receiving Rubbish and open Shed for Garden Lights etc. 21. Cascades 22. Large Orangery 23. Back Entrance to the Forcing Houses from the street 24. Basin of Water connected with the River 25. River Neva 26. Streets surrounding the Garden and Palace 27. Small Rivulet which carries off the Water from both Cascades into the River 28. Iron Bridge over the winding Canal in the Nursery 29. Dry Ditch

Cast Iron Bridges (Nos. 4 & 5)

The cast iron bridges (1793-94) were made in the Sestroretsk arms factory, embellished with gilt ornaments and considered ‘handsome’.

The Winter Garden

The ‘indoor’ Winter Garden, however, was, the piece-de-resistance – being very splendid indeed.

The roof was supported by columns disguised as palms. The heating was provided by stoves hidden in the walls and lead pipes sunk in the ground, these were continually filled with boiling water.

There were surprises wherever one looked - statues, crystal vases, exotic fish, gravel walks, grass and many other plants which emulated ‘the romantic outdoors’. However, it needed to be lit to get the full effect. It must have been breathtakingly beautiful. Every step one took revealed something new – the whole vista was quite enchanting and any written description could not, would not, do it justice.

The Garden – World War II

During the siege the garden was used, like many other gardens, for growing vegetables to provide food for the desperate inhabitants of the city. It was also badly damaged, when a German bomber crash landed on the 5th November, 1941.

After the war it was restored and in 1962 a monument to the Young Heroes of the Defense of Leningrad was unveiled.

Today

The outline of William Gould’s landscaping of the Palace Gardens is still clearly visible today (fig. 12).

Fig.12

Nowadays the Taurida garden boasts an antiquated fairground. Sadly the palace is closed to the public and is being used as headquarters for the Commonwealth of Independent States (the organisation uniting the former Soviet Republics). The Winter Garden is now the boardroom!

Fig.13 The Taurida Palace today Life in St. Petersburg

Potemkin was so besotted by ‘things English’ that he clearly looked upon his English gardener as a Russian aristocrat. William, like his Master, lived in opulence; he had an abundance of servants, a carriage and horses at his command and occasionally entertained the nobility. Indeed he had a carriage with six horses while Bush, the gardener of the Empress, only had a carriage and four!

In the sizeable British community in St. Petersburg, William was a distinguished and spirited figure. He was quite a character and had a fund of stories, which sometimes were quite scandalous! He was esteemed by all ranks due to his honesty, goodwill and hospitality.

Partitions of Poland

The third partition of Poland took place in 1794 and in 1795 King Stanislaus II (fig.14) was compelled to resign his crown. He was conveyed as a state prisoner to St. Petersburg where he died in 1798. During his residence there, or rather incarceration, he found great solace in talking over his troubles with the genial and plain spoken William Gould in the privacy of his abode. It seemed that in the Palace they tended to mock rather than console him which caused him some distress.

Fig.14 King Stanislaus II of Poland (1732-98)

The matter of Saints!

In Russia, at that time, every day of the year was consecrated to a specific saint and very often a child born on that day took the saint’s name, or it was given as a second name: It was believed that every individual was under the protection of that Holy Person. Small pictures of them were carried about their person later in life. It was also usual for pictures of saints to adorn the walls ‘at home’. Great respect was paid to these ‘pictures’ and whenever they were seen people bowed and crossed themselves.

Mr. Gould had a print on his parlour wall of the politician John Wilkes (fig.15) who was a man of fashion and a prominent member of the Hellfire Club, whose members indulged in orgies back in England at

Medmenham Abbey - the home of Sir Francis Dashwood. When Russians came to see Mr. Gould on business they offered their ‘worship’ – probably thinking that Wilkes was his favourite saint! Mr. Sarbova, a clergyman and friend, knowing of Wilkes’ reputation, was outraged and convinced William that he should take down this ‘saint’ and ‘put him out of the way’.

Fig.15 John Wilkes, Politician, (1727-97)

Visitors

It was the custom for young British gentlemen, after completing their education at university, to embark on ‘The Grand Tour’. In the 1770’s Russia became a fashionable extension of the ‘Tour’ and Prince Grigory Potemkin became one of its obligatory sights!

In the year 1794, young Edward Wilbraham-Bootle (fig.16) embarked on such a tour accompanied by the Oxford Don, John Parkinson.

Fig.16 Edward Wilbraham-Bootle (1771-1853)

They duly visited St. Petersburg and during their stay William Gould was one of their hosts! When they visited, they found him completing an Ah-Ah (Ha-Ha) and iron railing to encompass his handsome house on the west side of the palace gardens. There must have been much

for William and Edward to reminisce about and news of the family back in Lathom would be very welcome. They stayed quite a while and William accompanied them to places of interest.

John Parkinson writes:- Sir Watkin, Bootle and myself made a party to visit the palace at Tzarskoe Zelo (fig.17), Bootle and I in one Kibitka (fig.18), Gould and Sir Watkin in another.

Then

Now

Fig.17 Tzarskoe Zelo Palace

Fig.18 A Kibitka Gould, treated as one of the aristocracy, seems to have been privy to quite intimate circles. So much so that he was able to relate that ‘the Empress looked very well when made up but she appeared very much otherwise when not in her finery, showing marked indications of old age’. William was included in the everyday life of Prince Potemkin and he seemed to be ‘in the know’ regarding all the goings-on at the Palace. During his stay John Parkinson was furnished with many tales of the Russian aristocracy and British community and their way of life. He names our William and Robert Hynam, the Imperial Watchmaker, as the main source of his information.

Life with Prince Grigory Potemkin

To say that life with Prince Potemkin was lavish would seem to be an understatement. When he went to stay in the palaces of certain Princes, he took with him – amongst others – 100 embroiderers, 23 (female) carpet makers, 200 horn players, a mime troupe, a choir of 300 voices, 12 carriages of books and a corps de ballet. His nephew and nieces, Popov his chancellor, gardener Gould and Starov his architect completed the party.

Gould himself employed hundreds of servants to help with his work for Potemkin. It is likely that once established as Head Gardener to the first nobility in Russia, he would, though not very well paid, enjoy every comfort and be respected by nobles and feared by serfs. He attended Potemkin on many of his travels, sending workers ahead to erect the prince’s travelling pavilion and surrounding it with a garden in the English style; this consisted of trees, shrubs, gravel walkways, seats and statues – all having gone ahead with the cortege.

Amidst all this Asiatic pomp poor Gould, who was frequently invited to travel in the Prince’s carriage, had to put up with simple fare – which the rather eccentric Prince generally preferred – whilst the subordinate attendants feasted upon the most delicious food money could buy!

Gould was very fortunate in his employer, as he was a great encourager of the “Art” of Gardening and extravagant to boot. Not many gardeners apart from William Gould travelled far from St. Petersburg. He must have been a trusted employee, because he was sent to inspect the estates of his master in Astrakhan and the Ukraine. In the autumn and winter of 1784/5, he was one of the first English gardeners to go to the Crimea. In 1787, he was given a piece of land by Potemkin – the deeds of which were documented in the Prince’s archives. Potemkin built many Palaces in the south – some designed by Ivan Starov – he then employed his gardener to design English gardens to complement the magnificent architecture.

In Kherson, the town that Potemkin planned to make “as famous and as blooming as ancient Kherson used to be”, Gould founded two gardens. The first one was around the travelling palace of Catherine II. In this garden “the paths were covered with crushed shells, in order to prevent dust rising during Promenades”. The second garden in Kherson was created in 1786; Gould planted about twenty thousand fruit trees and other trees which were brought from Poland, the Crimea, Turkey and Voronezh. This garden still exists and after restoration in 1948 it belongs to the local Agricultural Academy.

In the Crimea, as in other regions, Gould strived to use wisely the peculiarities of nature, revealing and highlighting them in the planned garden, while not forgetting about its agricultural use. He promised James Meader (gardener) that when he was in Astrakhan and the Ukraine he would bring back anything unusual in plant and animal form.

None of the gardeners employed at that time became as famous as Potemkin’s Gould and as we shall see he is still celebrated in far flung places of Russia these days.

Kremenchug

In 1785 Gould set out Royal Grounds in Kremenchug known as the English Garden Park.

When in 1787 Catherine II visited Kremenchug, the palace garden was ready and pleasantly surprised the travelling court. In a letter to a friend Catherine wrote “I spent three days in a big beautiful house near a wonderful oak grove and garden, I’ve never seen pear trees of such height and thickness”.

In 1993, the City made this region a ‘Protected Area’ on account of its unique heritage, nature and recreational qualities. The woodland area contains a three hundred year old oak tree, planted in the Czarina’s time and a wealth of other mature trees. In 1995 its ownership was transferred to Christian World, who have exciting plans to restore it to its former glory and improve its value to the citizens of Kremenchug.

As recently as 2007 eight civic leaders, including the city’s mayor Mykola Glukhov, travelled hundreds of miles from Kremenchug to England to view the restoration of Mowbray Park and Winter Gardens in Sunderland.

Grand Ball and Banquet

When Prince Grigory Potemkin returned from the conquest of Crim Tartary, in April 1791, he made arrangements to honour his Imperial benefactress by giving a grand ball and banquet at the Taurida Palace. He had the thought in his melancholy mind that it would never again be within his power to do so. The outline of the splendid occasion was designed by the Prince and Mr. Gould also contributed his talents to the rich variety of that resplendent festival.

The Prince appeared in all his pomp and glory before his fond and adored sovereign – but let Mr. Gould himself describe the occasion as related to and set down by one of his many visitors:-

The walls were most richly and beautifully illuminated and the stairs, hall and sides of the rooms were lined with officers of state attached to the household of the Prince and servants in the most costly dresses and magnificent liveries. The orchestra exceeded six hundred vocal and instrumental musicians and announced the entrance of the Empress and her court by a grand overture and chorus which reverberated throughout the colonnades and saloons. Potemkin conducted his Imperial visitor to an elevated chair glittering with gold and diamonds. Midway between the columns were boxes, gilt and pale gold lined with green silk and filled with spectators in gala dresses.

The festivity commenced with a dance of youths of both sexes, habited in white and covered with pearls and jewels at the head of which were the present Emperor, Alexander, and the Grand Duke Constantine his brother. After the dance and the most costly refreshments, the party repaired to the theatre at the other end of the palace where a piece composed in honour of the Empress was performed, in which all the powers of singing, acting, dancing, dress, scenery and decorations were displayed.

Upon the conclusion of the drama, the audience rose, and as if impelled by magic, the benches, touched by springs, moved and formed into tables and little seats, which were almost instantaneously covered with the richest food served up in gold and silver.

In the colossal hall were tables filled with delicacies and the most costly wines, and at the head of it was a prodigious cistern of solid silver, containing sterlet soup, which is said alone to have cost ten thousand roubles. During this splendid repast, the softest music was heard, which enlivened rather than restrained the conversation. Every wish was anticipated and every sense gratified.

The banquet was followed by a succession of magnificent exhibitions and the Empress did not retire till midnight.

As she proceeded to her carriage, it was observed that she appeared much affected by the homage which had been paid to her, increased perhaps by the tender remembrance of departed hours. As she turned to bid the Prince adieu, she could scarcely support herself. At this touching moment Potemkin fell upon his knees and covered her hand with his tears and kisses. It was destined that he should never more behold her under that roof and his mind seemed to be fully possessed of the idea.

A trip to England

During his travels in the Crimea William had problems with his leg and in 1788 he came back to England for treatment, returning to the Crimea the following year.

Royal Appointment

After his patron’s death in 1791, William was appointed Imperial Gardener by Catherine. In 1793 she had a small Palladian house built for him, designed by the Russian architect Fedor Volkov. On one side of the house was an office wing, where his pupils lived and on the other were stables, a barn a chicken house and other household services. This is still known today as ‘The Gardener’s House’ (fig. 19/20/21)

Fig.19 The Plan

Fig.20 Front elevation of William Gould’s’ house

Fig.21 Rear elevation of William Gould’s’ house

Back to England

Once more, in 1793, he wanted to go back to England for medical treatment, however, the Prince’s dependents would not allow him to have the land he owned, or any money. Catherine II gave him 5,000 roubles, from the cabinet (government) for his journey; she obviously valued him very highly.

(No person was allowed to leave the Russian Dominions without giving notice three times in the ‘Publick Papers’, or obtaining a pass from the General of Police which had to be counter-signed at the Admiralty).

Paul I

When Paul I (fig.23) second son of Peter III and Catherine, succeeded his mother in 1796, he made many changes. He soon revealed that he had a violent temper. When he came into power - due to his hatred of Prince Potemkin’s memory - he turned the Taurida Palace into barracks and stables for the Horseguards and neglected the garden.

Fig.23 Paul I (1754-1801)

William, who was back in Russia, was profoundly upset by this, so much so, that he retired to England in 1799, accompanied by his daughter Elizabeth. This was at his own request but he continued to receive his salary.

Alexander I

When Alexander (fig.24) came to power, after the assassination of Emperor Paul, he asked William to return to Russia where he spent three more years restoring the Taurida Palace grounds. He was also given back the title of Court Gardener.

Fig.24 Alexander I (1777-1825)

Admiralty Gardens

In 1805 he was requested to return to Russia, to mastermind the laying out of the Admiralty Gardens in St. Petersburg; this was a huge undertaking at his age.

Alexandrovsky Garden (Admiralty Garden) (fig.22) is situated along the south and west facades of the main Admiralty, is heavily wooded and comprises an area of over 10 hectares (100.000 sq. metres). A Boulevard of four rows of limes was laid out in 1805-06 by gardener William Gould, to the designs of architect Luigi Rusca.

Fig.22 The Admiralty/Gardens, St. Petersburg

Homecoming

Having spent thirty years in Russia the master gardener left his second homeland, and in August 1806, together with his daughter Elizabeth, Mr. William Gould returned to England. He received an annual pension of 1700 roubles. (A rouble at that time was equivalent to four shillings sterling).

Where he was living for the first two years is not known. The Land Tax Return for 1808 shows him renting property in Burscough Street, from Mr. Brandreth until his death in 1812. The tenancy then carries on until 1826 in the name of ‘Miss Gould’, when she disappears from the scene. This was most probably his daughter but without a Christian name or other confirmation we cannot be absolutely sure. Holden’s Directory of 1811 also shows William Gould, Gentleman, to be renting a property in Burscough Street from Mr. Brandreth.

The Will

In his will, dated 14th May 1811, William describes himself as “late Gardener to the first Emperor of all the Russia’s.” Firstly he

recommends his soul into the hands of Almighty God who gave it and his body he recommends to the earth to be buried in a Christian manner tho not expensive.

William left all his money (both in England and in Russia), goods and chattels – apart from a few small legacies – to his ‘natural’ daughter Elizabeth Gould, otherwise Elizabeth Worthington by Jane Worthington. However, he stipulated that if she should die unmarried, or without children, one half of the money in the bank should be paid to William Gould Tilsley.

Fig.25 Signature on Will

We have no knowledge of William’s schooling but he must have had an education as his signature (fig.25) is very legible.

(There are thirteen letters written by him amongst Prince Potemkin’s ‘Correspondence and Economic Papers’ concerning gardening etc. These were written between 1779 and 1791. Presumably these letters were written in English, though French was the language of the court at that time).

Ormskirk Parish Church, Lancashire, England (fig.26) is his final resting place.

Fig. 26 Ormskirk Parish Church

His grave (fig.27), simply inscribed, is situated amongst the flat gravestones at the front of the church – see plan (figs.28/29). The other two people buried in the grave are the aforementioned William Gould Tilsley and his first wife Hannah. The exact connection is proving difficult to establish.

Fig.27 Gravestone

Figs. 28/29 Site and number of grave

William himself is something of an enigma. I have been unable to confirm his birth with any certainty. There were several William Gould’s born in England in the early 1700’s but none located in 25

Ormskirk. However, he must have looked upon Ormskirk as ‘home’ to retire here. This may have been due to memories of his years at Lathom House and also the birth of his daughter Elizabeth!

There is no doubt that Gould, the English Gardener, was very highly acclaimed in Russia and the Ukraine, in the eighteenth century. He was certainly lucky to have been employed by Prince Potemkin, who is described in the Encyclopaedia of Gardening (1822) as ‘one of the most extravagant encouragers of our art that modern times can boast’.

“True art is nature advantage dressed” declared the poet Alexander Pope – words that are surely well encapsulated in the gardens created by William Gould.

Maybe in time to come this remarkable man will be afforded the recognition he deserves in his ‘home’ town.

Bibliography

Simon Sebag Montefiore: Prince of Princes – The Life of Potemkin.

Lancashire Record Office: (PR2886), Will, (QDL/WD/59).

David Jacques: Georgian Gardens – The reign of nature.

Peter Hayden: Russian Parks and Gardens.

Anthony Cross: Russian Gardens – British Gardeners. On the Banks of the Neva. The English Garden in Catherine the Great’s Russia.

J. C. Louden: Encyclopaedia of Gardening 1827.

Taylor Institution Library University of Oxford.

Dimitri Shvidkovsky: The Empress and the Architect (Lindley RHS Library).

Nevskii Arkhiv: (Vil’iam Gul’d/Antonov.V.V/2000.

C. E. B. Brett: Towers of Crim Tartary.

Sir John Carr: A Northern Summer (Travels in the year 1804).

John Parkinson: A Tour of Russia, Siberia and the Crimea 1792- 1794.

The Gardeners Magazine July 1827.

N. J. U. Bolotin: The Russian Acadamy of public service. At the President of the Russian Federation. English Gardener U. Guld at Court.

Behind the Fence/The House of the Garden Master.

Lancashire Records Office, Preston.

Andrew Scarisbrick: Ormskirk and District Family History Society.

Illustrations

1. Richard Bootle-Wilbraham: rodehall.co.uk

2. Lathom House: “Jones views of the seats” – steel engravings

3. Catherine the Great: arlindo-correia.com

4. Plate (Frog Service): www.wedgwoodmuseum.org.uk/learning

5. Prince Grigory Potemkin: news. bbc.co.uk

6. Sir Samuel Bentham: en.wikipedia.org

7. Jeremy Bentham: eumed.net

8. Lancelot “Capability” Brown: artclon.com

9. Old Liverpool postcard

10. Taurida Palace & Gardens by Benjamin Paterssen (1715-1815)

11. Plan of Gardens: The Gardener’s Magazine, July, 1827

12. Palace Gardens today: Google

13. The Taurida Palace: Google

14. King Stanislaus II of Poland: royalportraits.blog.spot.com

15. John Wilkes: nat.portgalloilpaintingstores.co.uk

16: Edward Wilbraham-Bootle: npgprints.com

17. Tzarscoe Zelo Palace: www.geographic.org

18. A Kibitka: tamsquare.com

19. Plan of the house of the Garden Master: www.adresaspb.ru/arch/adresa

20. House (front elevation): photograph by Dmitry Gorjacheva

21. House (rear elevation): as above

22. Admiralty Gardens, St. Petersburg: en.wikipedia.org

23. Paul I: en.wikipedia.org

24. Alexander I: theesotericcuriosa.blogspot.com

25. Signature of William Gould: copy from Will

26. Ormskirk Parish Church, Lancashire, England: yoliverpool.com

27. Part of gravestone: own photograph

28. and 29. Site of grave: Information provided by Andrew Scarisbrick, ODFHS

Acknowlegements

Thank you to the many people who have helped, in any way, to bring this document to fruition: your help and encouragement has been invaluable. I hope you find the end product interesting.

April 2011