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Gordon Balderston, ‘William Thomas, Steward of the “Marybone” Estate’, the Georgian Group Journal, Vol

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Gordon Balderston, ‘William Thomas, Steward of the “Marybone” Estate’, the Georgian Group Journal, Vol Gordon Balderston, ‘William Thomas, steward of the “Marybone” estate’, The Georgian Group Journal, Vol. XIV, 2004, pp. 287–307 TEXT © THE AUTHORS 2004 WILLIAM THOMAS, STEWARD OF THE ‘MARYBONE’ ESTATE GORDON BALDERSTON illiam Thomas was in charge of allocating William’s account at Child’s bank. William had an Wbuilding leases on the Harleys’ Marylebone untouched credit balance of £, at Hoare’s from estate from . He was also a man of letters who March and he withdrew £ from Drummond’ s moved in the literary and artistic circles favoured by in September to close his account there. Edward, Lord Harley. Indeed, he sits between James William and Timothy Thomas were both Gibbs and Michael Dahl in Gawen Hamilton’s A employed by the Harley family, a connection conversation of virtuosis , a group portrait raffled in presumably due to the Harleys’ seat at Brampton April (detail, Fig. ). Michael Rysbrack had Bryan in Herefordshire: for the Harleys and their modelled his portrait by (untraced). And Gibbs titles, see note . William had been employed by would appoint him an executor of his will in , an Robert Harley, Edward’s father, since the s. He acknowledgement of their long acquaintance. So describes himself as ‘a (really) domestick clerk’ in a well-regarded in his own day, William Thomas letter dated March to Edward Harley, who deserves to be better-known today. This article will was then at Christ Church, Oxford. William’s augment and amplify the little-known life in The duties were varied and included ‘landing horses from dictionary of Welsh biography and give a brief account Turkey’, for which Robert Harley paid him on of his brother Timothy, chaplain to Lord Harley. October . His letters to members of the William was the son of Thomas Thomas of Harley family – reveal that William was Llandovery, Carmarthenshire. He gives his age as interested in and well-informed about the activities eighty eight in a hand-written dedication dated of Parliament. (Robert Harley dominated the November in The works of Geoffrey Chaucer : so Country Tories – , being, in effect, prime he was born between November and minister – . Edward served as M.P. for New November (depending on whether ‘An. æt. ’ Radnor – and Cambridgeshire – .) means eighty-eight years old or in his eighty-eighth Timothy Thomas (early s– ) was a friend year). He died on November and was of Edward Harley’s and served as his chaplain. Little buried in the parish church of St. Marylebone is known of his early life, other than that he (destroyed): a memorial on the north wall of the nave matriculated at Christ Church, Oxford, on July also recorded his death ‘aged years’. His will, . He accompanied Lord Harley on a pilgrimage dated April , names his wife as Mary; his to Canterbury in August and on a two-month sisters as Ann and Margaret, the latter married to trip through England and Scotland in . By Rowland Morgan of Salop; his deceased brother as November he was vicar at Presteigne Timothy; and Charles Pryor of Lincoln’s Inn as his (Llanandras), a parish in the gift of Lord Harley, six- cousin. Other kinsmen were David and G. Thomas, and-a-half miles south-west of Brampton Bryan; and whose names appear as payees in a ledger of he was officially presented to the rectory of Presteigne THE GEORGIAN GROUP JOURNAL VOLUME XIV WILLIAM THOMAS , STEWARD OF THE ‘ MARYBONE ’ ESTATE Fig. A conversation of Virtuosis … , by Gawen Hamilton, raffled on April , detail. William Thomas in profile, Michael Dahl seated and James Gibbs standing. National Portrait Gallery, London . THE GEORGIAN GROUP JOURNAL VOLUME XIV WILLIAM THOMAS , STEWARD OF THE ‘ MARYBONE ’ ESTATE on February . His will is dated September William Thomas shared his brother’s . He died on April and an obituary was bibliophily, and had a particular interest in Welsh published in The Gentleman’s Magazine . literature. He must have known Humfrey Wanley Not surprisingly, William and Timothy got to ( – ), librarian to both Robert and Edward know Edward Harley’s friends and correspondents. Harley, better than the few references in Wanley’s They were also on intimate terms with the letters and diary now suggest. William sponsored beneficiaries of his patronage, as will be discussed Moses Williams’s Register of printed books composed below. There are numerous references to the Thomas in the Welsh language which was published in brothers in letters sent to Edward Harley by Dr. London on February (possibly old style for William Stratford, Harley’s former tutor and one of ): amongst the few other subscribers were eight canons of Christ Church, who had been chaplain Robert and Edward Harley. As Thomas Hearne to Robert Harley prior to . William Thomas ( – ) of St. Edmund Hall, Oxford, recounts, stayed with Dr. Stratford in , and he made two William was also involved in promoting Williams’s payments to him from his account at Child’s bank Proposals for printing by subscription a collection of shortly before Stratford’s death on May . writings in the Welsh tongue, to the beginning of the Timothy became friends with Alexander Pope, sixteenth century , which are dated July : who had been corresponding with Lord Harley r m since February . In a letter dated January M . W Thomas hath certainly a great hand in Moses Williams’s Design of publishing Welch Pieces, & is , Pope writes to Harley: now [ October ] dabbling in Oxford ab t it, pretending to mighty Skill in that and other Matters, & Your Letter gave me a real pleasure in the news of the indeed, sets up for a Dictator, & would fain seem good health of all at Downhall [Harley’s house in mighty cunning, but I find that he is much laugh’d at Essex] … For my own part I declare, I likd my by such as know him throughly. He appears, however, Lodging so well (both the Apartment above, & the to be a Friend to the Writer of these Matters, who is closet below) that I am utterly against Gibbs, & all his willing to think well of him. Adherents for Demolition. The rooms when I look up to the Cieling, appear very lofty; & surely they are It was perhaps in this connection that Humfrey large enough, when both Lady Margaret has room to Wanley had introduced William to his friend and run about all the morning, in her chamber, & Mr Thomas to sport with Bridgman, in his [Charles patron Arthur Charlett, Master of University Bridgeman, landscape gardener]. I fear he will grow College, Oxford, in March or April . fat, now, for want of Exercise, unless he betakes The most colourful descriptions of William himself to hard study and painful preaching; the latter Thomas are by Thomas Hearne, on whom William wherof at least I advise him against, as to no purpose; did not make a good first impression: and the former he stands in no need of. But, whether he studies or plays, I am much his Servant. Mr. William Thomas, who belongs to the [ st] Earl of Oxford, is now [ November ] in Town, & lodges In letters received by Harley in April Pope again at D r. Stratford’s of Christ-Church. He never had any makes reference to Timothy: ‘I hope you’l bring Mr Academical Education. Nor do I know what Post he is Thomas when you come this way’, and ‘If you bring in. Some say he is my Lord’s Gentleman. Others say none but Mr Thomas, I dare show you many of my he was once a sort of a Porter. He pretends to Papers’. This ‘Mr. Thomas’ must be Timothy, Learning, and to be particularly nice in the British Language. given that he collaborated with Sneyd Davies on a Latin translation of Pope’s Essay on Man (published Nor can they have spent much time bonding when, in English in ). on March , Hearne appeared before the Vice THE GEORGIAN GROUP JOURNAL VOLUME XIV WILLIAM THOMAS , STEWARD OF THE ‘ MARYBONE ’ ESTATE Chancellor’s court in Oxford to face a libel charge London properties. The allocation of building ‘with my stipulator, M r. W m Thomas’, i.e. surety: he leases was left to William’s discretion: was fined £ . Five months later, Timothy was his And We do hereby Authorize & Impower the s. d stipulator. It was not until October that William Thomas to Treat & Agree with such person Hearne could bring himself to like William Thomas: & persons as he shall think convenient for Building Leases of such part & parts of our Ground at Mr. William Thomas was with me for some time to- Marybone afores. d as is now or shall be hereafter day, and, notwithstanding w t is said above [Hearne’s marked out for that purpose.... disparaging comments], I believe him to be an honest Gent. He hath good natural Parts, is very good He was still serving as ‘Steward for the Mary Bone natur’d, hath a good Insight into Books, & is learned Estate’ in , after Lord Harley’s death; and, beyond his Education, he having been bred as a according to Francis Sheppard, he continued to do t servant in the Earl of Oxford’s Family. So that w I writ so until . Curiously, very few transactions before is to be look’d upon as y e Effect of some between them appear in William’s account at Child’s People’s Discourse, not as the Result of my own Judgm t. bank. The Marybone estate (the parish was called St. William collaborated with Timothy on the Marylebone) had come to Lord Harley through his completion of two-volume editions of the life and marriage on August to the Lady Henrietta works of Geoffrey Chaucer which were published by Cavendishe Holles, a well-connected heiress.
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