Life

Ayton was born in London in 1786. His father, a son of William Ayton, banker in Lombard Street, later moved sto Macclesfield

Macclesfield

Macclesfield is a market town within the unitary authority of Cheshire East, the county palatine of Chester, also known as the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England. The population of the Macclesfield urban sub-area at the time of the 2001 census was 50,688...

, Cheshire

Cheshire

Cheshire is a ceremonial county in North West England. Cheshire's county town is the city of Chester, although its largest town is Warrington. Other major towns include Widnes, Congleton, Crewe, Ellesmere Port, Runcorn, Macclesfield, Winsford, Northwich, and Wilmslow...

, and at its grammar school Ayton obtained a knowledge of Latin and Greek. In accordance with the wish of his father, who died in 1799, he was sent to study law at Manchester

Manchester

Manchester is a city and metropolitan borough in Greater Manchester, England. According to the Office for National Statistics, the 2010 mid-year population estimate for Manchester was 498,800. Manchester lies within one of the UK's largest metropolitan areas, the metropolitan county of Greater...

, and at the end of a year became the pupil of a barrister in London; but he never set himself seriously to prepare for a career. As soon as he came of age, he retired to the coast of Sussex

Sussex

Sussex , from the Old English Sūþsēaxe , is an historic county in South East England corresponding roughly in area to the ancient Kingdom of Sussex. It is bounded on the north by Surrey, east by Kent, south by the English Channel, and west by Hampshire, and is divided for local government into West...

, and resolved to live within his comparatively small income.

In 1811 he returned to London, and accepted a situation in a public office; but this he relinquished in 1813, to accompany William Daniell

William Daniell

William Daniell RA was an English landscape and marine painter, and engraver. He travelled extensively in the Far East, helping to produce one of the finest illustrated volumes of the period - "Oriental Scenery". He also travelled around the coastline of Britain to paint watercolours for the...

 A.R.A., in a voyage round Great Britain. An account of the voyage, with views drawn and engraved by Daniell, appeared in 8 vols. folio, 1814–25; but the letterpress of only the first two volumes is by Ayton. Disagreeing with Daniell over his plans for the future volumes, Ayton declined to proceed further with the book, and started play-writing. Two of his farces, acted at Covent Garden

Covent Garden

Covent Garden is a district in London on the eastern fringes of the West End, between St. Martin's Lane and Drury Lane. It is associated with the former fruit and vegetable market in the central square, now a popular shopping and tourist site, and the Royal Opera House, which is also known as...

, were total failures; but he adapted from the French several pieces for the English Opera House with moderate success.

During a voyage between Scarborough and London, Ayton was nearly shipwrecked, and received an injury to his ankle which confined him to bed for more than a year. In the spring of 1821 he was sufficiently recovered to go to the coast of Sussex, but his health continued uncertain and precarious. In July 1823 his illness became serious; he moved for medical advice to London, but died shortly afterwards.

During the last eighteen months of his life Ayton occupied himself with light-hearted essays, chiefly on pastimes. These, with a short memoir prefixed, were published in 1825.