Really not sure about this one. Looks like James of Chetwynd Rectory in 1824 has been upsetting poor Elizabeth Hanley with talk of not marrying and is trying to wriggle out of a mess. Did he jilt her accidentally? Or is this just a clerical joke doing the rounds?
Haha! I like this a lot... poor bloke... if he did make a mistake then this is an excellent way to wriggle out of it. Sounds like he wrote the wrong word down, possibly in a previous letter; But thinking of one thing and writing another Is enough to put all a mans brains in a bother And indeed I assure you I wrote in a hurry And scrawled the word marry, instead of to worry Oops! In those days etiquette would have been everything, and now he's worried he's blown his chances of ever being taken seriously by a lady in the future. It looks like an original piece of writing to me, though I could be wrong. Definitely worth doing some searches - I'll see if I can find anything
Took a while to find, but it seems that Rev William Otter (1768 - 1840) was the Rector of Chetwynd when the letter was written, Chetwynd being a village in Shropshire. According to this link Rev Otter moved there in 1811 but became a private tutor in Oxford in 1822, so he must have been away a good deal of the time. I've looked briefly at his family tree and can't see anyone called James, so maybe the author of the letter was a friend of the Reverend's children (the eldest being born 1805)? If the poem is describing the Rectory then it certainly sounds lively...! Now pray be my friend, I'll impart to you all The news of the dance, and the supper, and Ball You shall hear all the nonsense and lively chit chat Of who danced with this lady, and who danced with that The Shropshire Archives might be interested in helping. It's a great piece of social history
I could not tie down Otter in 1824 but if he was a private tutor in Oxford then he might have moved on from Chetwynd. You are all being rather nice to James, but is there a chance he was a cad and a bounder, taking advantage of Elizabeth on the promise of marriage and then reneging?
Reads to me like completely facetious doggerel. The (pretended) offense is that the author has included marrying as one of the way people harm themselves, right in there with hanging, drowning & shooting each other: I’ve sent you the papers to read at your leisure, And I hope they will give you a vast deal of pleasure. You’ll see how ingeniously people now plan To do to themselves as much harm as they can. How some hang, and some marry, some drown and some shoot, Each other in duels, is past all dispute. He has of course said this quite deliberately, then asks forgiveness, lamenting that if it ever got about, his prospects of finding a wife would be ruined. If the name of the Rectory is pronounced the same as the names of the Evelyn Waugh characters, it add another humorous touch: … to my shame, I realise I’ve been getting something wrong all these years. The surname of the pupil Peter Beste-Chetwynde and his mother Margot Beste-Chetwynde – like the non-U oik that I am, I’ve been pronouncing that to rhyme with “test get chinned”. But now I realise that it should be pronounced “beast cheating”
It's the following record dated 1825 (Licence of Gilbert Chesnut) that makes me think Rev Otter and family might still be living in the Rectory at that time: As Stipendiary Curate in Chetwynd, at 90 p.a. and surplice fees from the Rev William Otter, Rector of Chetwynd, with use of the rectory house etc. during the non-residence of the Rector. Of course, his family might have already moved to Oxford and this could be nothing to do with them, just an elaborate joke!!! I don't suppose you have the envelope?!
No, no envelope! The way i read your research is that Otter is in Oxford and Gilbert Chesnut is the stipendiary curate. But that still leaves a gap between 1822 and 1825 I wonder who the curate was in 1824. And whether Bronwen is right and that this is no more than facetious doggerel!
I agree with Bronwen that the letter is "facetious doggerel", lol. People would amuse themselves/family/friends with stuff like this. I love it!
I found this birth announcement that describes Otter as Rector of Chetwynd in 1825. Doesn't say if he's actually living there, of course (and the fact that the birth took place in Stockwell implies his family isn't). London Courier and Evening Gazette - Friday 11 March 1825 Image © THE BRITISH LIBRARY BOARD. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. It's all very curious lol. I still think it's worth contacting the Shropshire Archives... they might even have come across this poem before. I did a brief search for 'Elizabeth Stanley' and found one born in Newport Jul 1799, but don't know what happened to her. Good luck, please let us know if you find anything!
I have a great-grandmother who does not seem to have written anything that was not in rhyming couplets, including letters to her grandchildren & an account of the history of Shiawassee county in Michigan, which was published as a little booklet. It has an introduction, also in rhyme, deploring the way the original residents were treated by settlers.
James may have been a house guest who came for this grand ball & supper. Sounds to me as though he is expecting to be seeing Mrs. Hanley when he returns home, & will then tell her: Who was in most in the fashion, what colours were worn, What dresses were spoiled, what characters torn. This gossipy-ness would not become the offspring of a rector. Chetwynd Rectory was on the grounds of Chetwynd Hall, which is probably where the festivities occurred. Perhaps some guests were put up there.
