Assorted rogues - Person Sheet
Assorted rogues - Person Sheet
Birth1719753
Death26 Nov 1801753
Baptism14 May 1719, Kildwick-in-Craven754
FatherPeter Barrett
MotherMary Clough
Notes for Rev. Stephen Barrett
753[CT2]: 9. Sacred to the Memory of the Rev. Stephen BARRETT MA who died 26th November 1801. in the 83rd year of his age. He was born at Bent a very ancient Mansion of the family of Barrett in the parish of Kildwick in Haven [sic; really Kildwick-in-Craven] in the County of York. He was during a long and flourishing period Master of the Free Grammer school of Ashford and almost thirty years Rector of this parish. Likewise to the memory of Mary his wife, youngest daughter of Edward JACOB Esquire of the city of Canterbury, who died 28th March 1786 in the 60th year. This tribute was erected by their only daughter and Heiress Mary wife of Edward Jeremiah CURTEIS Esquire of Northiam in Sussex. (See page 62.)
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From the Oxford Dictionary of National Biography:
Barrett, Stephen (bap. 1719, d. 1801), schoolmaster and Church of England clergyman, was born at Bent, in the parish of Kildwick in Craven, Yorkshire, and was baptized there on 14 May 1719, the son of Peter Barrett of Sutton, Yorkshire, and his wife, Mary. He was educated at the grammar school in Skipton, where he excelled in poetry and classics. He matriculated from University College, Oxford, on 24 March 1738 and graduated BA in 1741 and MA in 1744. Having taken holy orders he became rector of the parishes of Purton and Ickleford, Hertfordshire, in 1744. Five years later, in 1749, he was appointed master of the free grammar school at Ashford, Kent, on the nomination of Sir Wyndham Knatchbull. He raised the school's academic reputation and attracted the patronage of the local gentry, who sent their sons to his school. Its success enabled Barrett to augment the master's salary of £30 to an income of 120 guineas per annum, presumably by charging fees for pupils who boarded. In 1751 he applied for the mastership of his old grammar school in Skipton; it seems that both he and the rival candidate, William West, offered bribes to some of the churchwardens who were electing to the post. Although at first Barrett disdained such means, in a letter dated 6 August 1751 he wrote that he would invest £100 in bribes to please his patron, Lord Thanet. He had secured a majority of votes when he suddenly pulled out of the competition, fearing a scandal, should details of his bribes leak out.
Barrett resigned from Ashford in 1764 but returned as headmaster two years later. By that time he had married Mary, daughter of Edward Jacob of Canterbury; their only child, Mary, was baptized at Ickleford, Hertfordshire, on 5 August 1764. Barrett resigned the mastership a second time, in 1773, when presented to the rectory of Hothfield, Kent. He was a friend of Dr Johnson and Edward Cave, and a frequent contributor to the Gentleman's Magazine. He also published some verses, a Latin translation of Pope's ‘Pastorals’, and Ovid's epistles translated into English verse, with critical essays and notes; being part of a poetical and oratorical lecture read to the grammar school of Ashford in the county of Kent, and calculated to initiate youth in the first principles of taste (1759). Tobias Smollett gave a withering review of Barrett's works in the Critical Review: ‘though he might be an excellent schoolmaster, he had, however, no pretensions to taste’ (Nichols, Lit. anecdotes, 3.346n).
Barrett died at Church House, Northiam, Sussex, on 26 November 1801, and was buried at Hothfield on 3 December. He was survived by his daughter, who had married Edward Jeremiah Curteis, a barrister.
-------------------------
In 2008 I found a history of the Ashford Grammar School at http://www.nks.kent.sch.uk/3-sirknatchbull.html, which gives a lot more information about Stephen Barrett. I quote the relevant bits:
----------------------------
1749 saw the appointment of Stephen Barrett as Headmaster and this marked the start of a period in which Ashford Grammar School was to become highly successful academically and also very prosperous. This was remarkable because many other English schools which had been endowed at about the same time as Ashford Grammar School declined badly during this period. For example, Bristol Grammar School had 100 on the roll in 1764 but only a handful in 1800 and none at all by 1810! This was partly because many of the Endowed Grammar Schools still refused to teach much other than the Classics whereas newly-formed schools were giving a broader education.
In Ashford there was at first little attempt to teach outside the Classics but there was not much competition from other schools in the area. The main reason why the School prospered, however, seems to have been the personality of Barrett coupled with the social circles in which he moved, his great reputation as a Latin scholar and, not least, his business acumen. Stephen Barrett was born in Yorkshire in 1720. He won a Scholarship to Oxford where he obtained his M.A. and received Holy Orders. He became a Curate in Hertfordshire but was by now well-known as a Latin translator and a contributor to well-known periodicals of the time such as the 'Gentleman's Magazine'. Among his circle of friends was the famous Dr. Johnson and a story is told of how the Editor of the 'Gentleman's Magazine' wanted a Latin poem translated. 'Give it to Barrett' said Johnson. 'He will correct it for you in a minute'. Whereupon Johnson and Barrett agreed to share the task which they completed in a very short time.
....
In 1773 the Rev. Stephen Barrett finally left to become Rector of Hothfield. In 1801 he died at Church House, Northiam, the home of his son-in-law Edward Jeremiah Curteis. Curteis had been an Head Boy of the School which he attended from 1770 to 1775 and later became an M.P. for Sussex. Barrett was buried at Hothfield and left some £30,000—a considerable fortune in those days.
--------------------------
An extract from the 1886 book HISTORY OF STEETON by JOHN CLOUGH of The Shroggs, Steeton. Text provided by Wendy Feather.
The family of Barrett were located at the Bent for a long time, there was a William Barrett who lived there 1599. Peter Barrett, of the Bent was buried at Kildwick 1653.
On a stone inserted in the house wall at the Bent is : William and Ann Barrett 1658 WAB :: The name of Barrett occures often from the beginning of the parish registers. The last of the Barretts of the Bent was the Rev. Stephen Barrett. From the 'Gentleman's Magazine' Dec 1801, is extracted the following;
" He was born at the Bent, in the parish of Kildwick, and received his education at the Grammer School, Skipton, thence he went to University College, Oxford, where he took the degree of MA and received Holy Orders. In 1773 he was appointed rectory of Hothfield by the Earl of Thanet. He married AD 1749, Mary, the daughter of Edward Jacob Esq, of Canterbury, and had an only daughter and heiress, Mary who married April 14 1789, Edward Jeremiah Curteis, Esq, of Windmill Hill and the Knells, Sussex, MP for the county of Sussex 1820 - 30. The grandmother of Rev. Stephen Barrett was the sister of Doctor Sharp, Archbishop of York, and the surname of his mother was Clough. . . . . . . . . .
Bent, his family residence, and the land adjacent was the property of the Barretts for more than 400 years, before the general adoption of surnames in England(In 1379, there were Johannes Baret, Johannes Baret, junior, and Willelmus de Bent living at Sutton). . . . . . . . . . . .
-------------------------------
Although the Gentleman’s Magazine obituary says that his grandmother was the sister of Archbishop John Sharp, I am sceptical of this. The archbishop had a single sister (that we know of), Hannah Sharp, who married John Richardson (according to the book “The Life and Times of John Sharp, Archbishop of York”, by A. Tindal Hart). This doesn’t immediately square with the fact that his mother is claimed to be a Clough. Not impossible, because of possible remarriages, or additional children, or maybe it wasn’t an actual sister but a cousin or something. Or maybe this claim is just plain wrong. However, these is no easy resolution to this question.
The following book might throw some light on the Barretts of Bent:
THE HISTORY AND ANTIQUITIES OF THE DEANERY OF CRAVEN,
WHITAKER Rev. Thomas Dunham
-------------------
From the Oxford Dictionary of National Biography:
Barrett, Stephen (bap. 1719, d. 1801), schoolmaster and Church of England clergyman, was born at Bent, in the parish of Kildwick in Craven, Yorkshire, and was baptized there on 14 May 1719, the son of Peter Barrett of Sutton, Yorkshire, and his wife, Mary. He was educated at the grammar school in Skipton, where he excelled in poetry and classics. He matriculated from University College, Oxford, on 24 March 1738 and graduated BA in 1741 and MA in 1744. Having taken holy orders he became rector of the parishes of Purton and Ickleford, Hertfordshire, in 1744. Five years later, in 1749, he was appointed master of the free grammar school at Ashford, Kent, on the nomination of Sir Wyndham Knatchbull. He raised the school's academic reputation and attracted the patronage of the local gentry, who sent their sons to his school. Its success enabled Barrett to augment the master's salary of £30 to an income of 120 guineas per annum, presumably by charging fees for pupils who boarded. In 1751 he applied for the mastership of his old grammar school in Skipton; it seems that both he and the rival candidate, William West, offered bribes to some of the churchwardens who were electing to the post. Although at first Barrett disdained such means, in a letter dated 6 August 1751 he wrote that he would invest £100 in bribes to please his patron, Lord Thanet. He had secured a majority of votes when he suddenly pulled out of the competition, fearing a scandal, should details of his bribes leak out.
Barrett resigned from Ashford in 1764 but returned as headmaster two years later. By that time he had married Mary, daughter of Edward Jacob of Canterbury; their only child, Mary, was baptized at Ickleford, Hertfordshire, on 5 August 1764. Barrett resigned the mastership a second time, in 1773, when presented to the rectory of Hothfield, Kent. He was a friend of Dr Johnson and Edward Cave, and a frequent contributor to the Gentleman's Magazine. He also published some verses, a Latin translation of Pope's ‘Pastorals’, and Ovid's epistles translated into English verse, with critical essays and notes; being part of a poetical and oratorical lecture read to the grammar school of Ashford in the county of Kent, and calculated to initiate youth in the first principles of taste (1759). Tobias Smollett gave a withering review of Barrett's works in the Critical Review: ‘though he might be an excellent schoolmaster, he had, however, no pretensions to taste’ (Nichols, Lit. anecdotes, 3.346n).
Barrett died at Church House, Northiam, Sussex, on 26 November 1801, and was buried at Hothfield on 3 December. He was survived by his daughter, who had married Edward Jeremiah Curteis, a barrister.
-------------------------
In 2008 I found a history of the Ashford Grammar School at http://www.nks.kent.sch.uk/3-sirknatchbull.html, which gives a lot more information about Stephen Barrett. I quote the relevant bits:
----------------------------
1749 saw the appointment of Stephen Barrett as Headmaster and this marked the start of a period in which Ashford Grammar School was to become highly successful academically and also very prosperous. This was remarkable because many other English schools which had been endowed at about the same time as Ashford Grammar School declined badly during this period. For example, Bristol Grammar School had 100 on the roll in 1764 but only a handful in 1800 and none at all by 1810! This was partly because many of the Endowed Grammar Schools still refused to teach much other than the Classics whereas newly-formed schools were giving a broader education.
In Ashford there was at first little attempt to teach outside the Classics but there was not much competition from other schools in the area. The main reason why the School prospered, however, seems to have been the personality of Barrett coupled with the social circles in which he moved, his great reputation as a Latin scholar and, not least, his business acumen. Stephen Barrett was born in Yorkshire in 1720. He won a Scholarship to Oxford where he obtained his M.A. and received Holy Orders. He became a Curate in Hertfordshire but was by now well-known as a Latin translator and a contributor to well-known periodicals of the time such as the 'Gentleman's Magazine'. Among his circle of friends was the famous Dr. Johnson and a story is told of how the Editor of the 'Gentleman's Magazine' wanted a Latin poem translated. 'Give it to Barrett' said Johnson. 'He will correct it for you in a minute'. Whereupon Johnson and Barrett agreed to share the task which they completed in a very short time.
....
In 1773 the Rev. Stephen Barrett finally left to become Rector of Hothfield. In 1801 he died at Church House, Northiam, the home of his son-in-law Edward Jeremiah Curteis. Curteis had been an Head Boy of the School which he attended from 1770 to 1775 and later became an M.P. for Sussex. Barrett was buried at Hothfield and left some £30,000—a considerable fortune in those days.
--------------------------
An extract from the 1886 book HISTORY OF STEETON by JOHN CLOUGH of The Shroggs, Steeton. Text provided by Wendy Feather.
The family of Barrett were located at the Bent for a long time, there was a William Barrett who lived there 1599. Peter Barrett, of the Bent was buried at Kildwick 1653.
On a stone inserted in the house wall at the Bent is : William and Ann Barrett 1658 WAB :: The name of Barrett occures often from the beginning of the parish registers. The last of the Barretts of the Bent was the Rev. Stephen Barrett. From the 'Gentleman's Magazine' Dec 1801, is extracted the following;
" He was born at the Bent, in the parish of Kildwick, and received his education at the Grammer School, Skipton, thence he went to University College, Oxford, where he took the degree of MA and received Holy Orders. In 1773 he was appointed rectory of Hothfield by the Earl of Thanet. He married AD 1749, Mary, the daughter of Edward Jacob Esq, of Canterbury, and had an only daughter and heiress, Mary who married April 14 1789, Edward Jeremiah Curteis, Esq, of Windmill Hill and the Knells, Sussex, MP for the county of Sussex 1820 - 30. The grandmother of Rev. Stephen Barrett was the sister of Doctor Sharp, Archbishop of York, and the surname of his mother was Clough. . . . . . . . . .
Bent, his family residence, and the land adjacent was the property of the Barretts for more than 400 years, before the general adoption of surnames in England(In 1379, there were Johannes Baret, Johannes Baret, junior, and Willelmus de Bent living at Sutton). . . . . . . . . . . .
-------------------------------
Although the Gentleman’s Magazine obituary says that his grandmother was the sister of Archbishop John Sharp, I am sceptical of this. The archbishop had a single sister (that we know of), Hannah Sharp, who married John Richardson (according to the book “The Life and Times of John Sharp, Archbishop of York”, by A. Tindal Hart). This doesn’t immediately square with the fact that his mother is claimed to be a Clough. Not impossible, because of possible remarriages, or additional children, or maybe it wasn’t an actual sister but a cousin or something. Or maybe this claim is just plain wrong. However, these is no easy resolution to this question.
The following book might throw some light on the Barretts of Bent:
THE HISTORY AND ANTIQUITIES OF THE DEANERY OF CRAVEN,
WHITAKER Rev. Thomas Dunham