Winthrop Mackworth Praed
Encyclopedia
Winthrop Mackworth Praed (28 July 1802 – 15 July 1839) was an English
politician and poet
.
. The family name of Praed was derived from the marriage of the poet's great-grandfather to a Cornish
heiress. Winthrop's father, William Mackworth Praed, was a serjeant-at-law
. His mother belonged to the English branch of the New England
family of Winthrop. In 1814 Praed was sent to Eton College
, where he founded a manuscript periodical called Apis matina. This was succeeded in October 1820 by the Etonian, a paper projected and edited by Praed and Walter Blount
, which appeared every month until July 1821, when the chief editor, who signed his contributions "Peregrine Courtenay," left Eton, and the paper died. Henry Nelson Coleridge
, William Sidney Walker
, and John Moultrie
were the three best known of his collaborators on this periodical, which was published by Charles Knight
, and of which details are given in Knight's Autobiography and in Henry Maxwell Lyte
's Eton College.
Before Praed left school he had established, over a shop at Eton, a "boys' library," the books of which were later amalgamated in the School Library. His career at Trinity College, Cambridge
was a brilliant one. He gained the Browne medal for Greek
verse four times, and the Chancellor's Gold Medal
for English verse twice in 1823 and 1824. He was bracketed third in the classical tripos in 1825, won a fellowship at his college in 1827, and three years later carried off the Seatonian prize. At the Union
his speeches were rivalled only by those of Macaulay and of Charles Austin
, who subsequently made a great reputation at the parliamentary bar. The character of Praed during his university life is described by Bulwer Lytton in the first volume of his Life.
, and in 1829 was called to the bar at the Middle Temple
. On the Norfolk
circuit, his prospects of advancement were bright, but his inclination was towards politics, and after a year or two he took up political life. Whilst at Cambridge
he tended to Whiggism
, and up to the end of 1829 he continued to have these sympathies, but during the agitation for parliamentary reform his opinions changed, and when he was returned to parliament for St Germans
(17 December 1830), his election was due to the Tory party. He sat for that borough until December 1832, and on its extinction contested the borough of St Ives
, within the limits of which the Cornish estates of the Praeds were situated.
in 1833 and entitled Trash, dedicated without respect to James Halse, M.P., his successful opponent. Praed sat for Great Yarmouth
from 1835 to 1837, and was Secretary to the Board of Control
during Sir Robert Peel
's short administration. He sat for Aylesbury
from 1837 until his death. During the progress of the Reform Act 1832
he advocated the creation of three-cornered constituencies, in which each voter should have the power of giving two votes only, and maintained that freeholds within borough
s should confer votes for the boroughs and not for the county. Neither of these suggestions was then adopted, but the former ultimately formed part of the Reform Act 1867
.
at Chester Square, London.
Austin Dobson
praised Praed's "sparkling wit, the clearness and finish of his style, and the flexibility and unflagging vivacity of his rhythm" (Henry Ward
's English Poets). His verse abounded in allusions to the characters and follies of the day. His humour was much imitated.
, generally confused with his. Praed's essays, contributed to various magazines, were published in Morley's Universal Library in 1887.
Praed was not only successful at Eton during his lifetime, but a society still exists that bears his name. The "Praed" society is the poetry society currently existing at Eton. It meets at a master's house and membership is by invitation.
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
politician and poet
Poet
A poet is a person who writes poetry. A poet's work can be literal, meaning that his work is derived from a specific event, or metaphorical, meaning that his work can take on many meanings and forms. Poets have existed since antiquity, in nearly all languages, and have produced works that vary...
.
Early life
He was born in LondonLondon
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
. The family name of Praed was derived from the marriage of the poet's great-grandfather to a Cornish
Cornwall
Cornwall is a unitary authority and ceremonial county of England, within the United Kingdom. It is bordered to the north and west by the Celtic Sea, to the south by the English Channel, and to the east by the county of Devon, over the River Tamar. Cornwall has a population of , and covers an area of...
heiress. Winthrop's father, William Mackworth Praed, was a serjeant-at-law
Serjeant-at-law
The Serjeants-at-Law was an order of barristers at the English bar. The position of Serjeant-at-Law , or Sergeant-Counter, was centuries old; there are writs dating to 1300 which identify them as descended from figures in France prior to the Norman Conquest...
. His mother belonged to the English branch of the New England
New England
New England is a region in the northeastern corner of the United States consisting of the six states of Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Connecticut...
family of Winthrop. In 1814 Praed was sent to Eton College
Eton College
Eton College, often referred to simply as Eton, is a British independent school for boys aged 13 to 18. It was founded in 1440 by King Henry VI as "The King's College of Our Lady of Eton besides Wyndsor"....
, where he founded a manuscript periodical called Apis matina. This was succeeded in October 1820 by the Etonian, a paper projected and edited by Praed and Walter Blount
Walter Blount
Walter Aston Edward Blount Esq. FSA was a long-serving officer of arms at the College of Arms in London. He was born the eldest son of Edward Blount...
, which appeared every month until July 1821, when the chief editor, who signed his contributions "Peregrine Courtenay," left Eton, and the paper died. Henry Nelson Coleridge
Henry Nelson Coleridge
Henry Nelson Coleridge was an editor of the works of his uncle Samuel Taylor Coleridge.Henry's father was Captain James Coleridge, the poet's brother. While a chancery barrister, Henry married Samuel's daughter Sara in 1829. He was a great admirer of his uncle and father-in-law...
, William Sidney Walker
William Sidney Walker
-Life:Born at Pembroke in Wales, on 4 December 1795, he was the eldest child of John Walker, a naval officer, who died at Twickenham in 1811 from the effects of wounds received in action. The boy was named after his godfather, Admiral Sir Sidney Smith, under whom his father had served. His mother's...
, and John Moultrie
John Moultrie
-Life:He was born in Great Portland Street, London, on 31 December 1799, at the house of his maternal grandmother, Mrs. Fendall; he was the eldest son of George Moultrie, rector of Cleobury Mortimer, Shropshire, by his wife Harriet...
were the three best known of his collaborators on this periodical, which was published by Charles Knight
Charles Knight
Charles Knight is the name of:*Charles Knight , English author and publisher*Charles Knight , British civil servant*Charles Knight , New Zealand filmmaker, actor and stuntman...
, and of which details are given in Knight's Autobiography and in Henry Maxwell Lyte
Henry Maxwell Lyte
Sir Henry Churchill Maxwell Lyte was an English historian, the author of numerous books including a history of Eton College.-Background:...
's Eton College.
Before Praed left school he had established, over a shop at Eton, a "boys' library," the books of which were later amalgamated in the School Library. His career at Trinity College, Cambridge
Trinity College, Cambridge
Trinity College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Trinity has more members than any other college in Cambridge or Oxford, with around 700 undergraduates, 430 graduates, and over 170 Fellows...
was a brilliant one. He gained the Browne medal for Greek
Greek language
Greek is an independent branch of the Indo-European family of languages. Native to the southern Balkans, it has the longest documented history of any Indo-European language, spanning 34 centuries of written records. Its writing system has been the Greek alphabet for the majority of its history;...
verse four times, and the Chancellor's Gold Medal
Chancellor's Gold Medal
The Chancellor's Gold Medal is a prestigious annual award at Cambridge University for poetry, paralleling Oxford University's Newdigate prize. It was first presented by Prince William Frederick, Duke of Gloucester and Edinburgh during his time as Chancellor of the University of Cambridge...
for English verse twice in 1823 and 1824. He was bracketed third in the classical tripos in 1825, won a fellowship at his college in 1827, and three years later carried off the Seatonian prize. At the Union
Cambridge Union Society
The Cambridge Union Society, commonly referred to as simply "the Cambridge Union" or "the Union," is a debating society in Cambridge, England and is the largest society at the University of Cambridge. Since its founding in 1815, the Union has developed a worldwide reputation as a noted symbol of...
his speeches were rivalled only by those of Macaulay and of Charles Austin
Charles Austin
Charles Austin is an American athlete who won the gold medal in the men's high jump at the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta, Georgia. He is the owner of So High Sports and Fitness a sports performance and personal training company. He opened his So High Sports and Fitness Studio in 2002 and his...
, who subsequently made a great reputation at the parliamentary bar. The character of Praed during his university life is described by Bulwer Lytton in the first volume of his Life.
Entry into political life
Praed began to study lawLaw
Law is a system of rules and guidelines which are enforced through social institutions to govern behavior, wherever possible. It shapes politics, economics and society in numerous ways and serves as a social mediator of relations between people. Contract law regulates everything from buying a bus...
, and in 1829 was called to the bar at the Middle Temple
Middle Temple
The Honourable Society of the Middle Temple, commonly known as Middle Temple, is one of the four Inns of Court exclusively entitled to call their members to the English Bar as barristers; the others being the Inner Temple, Gray's Inn and Lincoln's Inn...
. On the Norfolk
Norfolk
Norfolk is a low-lying county in the East of England. It has borders with Lincolnshire to the west, Cambridgeshire to the west and southwest and Suffolk to the south. Its northern and eastern boundaries are the North Sea coast and to the north-west the county is bordered by The Wash. The county...
circuit, his prospects of advancement were bright, but his inclination was towards politics, and after a year or two he took up political life. Whilst at Cambridge
University of Cambridge
The University of Cambridge is a public research university located in Cambridge, United Kingdom. It is the second-oldest university in both the United Kingdom and the English-speaking world , and the seventh-oldest globally...
he tended to Whiggism
Whiggism
Whiggism, sometimes spelled Whigism, is a historical political philosophy that grew out of the Parliamentarian faction in the Wars of the Three Kingdoms. The whigs' key policy positions were the supremacy of Parliament , toleration for Protestant dissenters, and opposition to a Catholic on the...
, and up to the end of 1829 he continued to have these sympathies, but during the agitation for parliamentary reform his opinions changed, and when he was returned to parliament for St Germans
St Germans (UK Parliament constituency)
St Germans was a rotten borough in Cornwall which returned two Members of Parliament to the House of Commons in the English and later British Parliament from 1562 to 1832, when it was abolished by the Great Reform Act.-History:...
(17 December 1830), his election was due to the Tory party. He sat for that borough until December 1832, and on its extinction contested the borough of St Ives
St Ives (UK Parliament constituency)
St. Ives is a county constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It elects one Member of Parliament by the first past the post system of election.-History:...
, within the limits of which the Cornish estates of the Praeds were situated.
Candidate for St Ives, MP for Great Yarmouth and for Aylesbury
The pieces he wrote on this occasion were collected in a volume printed at PenzancePenzance
Penzance is a town, civil parish, and port in Cornwall, England, in the United Kingdom. It is the most westerly major town in Cornwall and is approximately 75 miles west of Plymouth and 300 miles west-southwest of London...
in 1833 and entitled Trash, dedicated without respect to James Halse, M.P., his successful opponent. Praed sat for Great Yarmouth
Great Yarmouth (UK Parliament constituency)
Great Yarmouth is a constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It elects one Member of Parliament by the first past the post system of election....
from 1835 to 1837, and was Secretary to the Board of Control
Secretary to the Board of Control
The Secretary to the Board of Control was a British government office in the late 18th and early 19th century, supporting the President of the Board of Control, who was responsible for overseeing the British East India Company and generally serving as the chief official in London responsible for...
during Sir Robert Peel
Robert Peel
Sir Robert Peel, 2nd Baronet was a British Conservative statesman who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 10 December 1834 to 8 April 1835, and again from 30 August 1841 to 29 June 1846...
's short administration. He sat for Aylesbury
Aylesbury (UK Parliament constituency)
Aylesbury is a parliamentary constituency represented in the House of Commons of the United Kingdom. The Conservative Party has held the seat since 1924, and held it at the 2010 general election with a 52.2% share of the vote.-Boundaries:...
from 1837 until his death. During the progress of the Reform Act 1832
Reform Act 1832
The Representation of the People Act 1832 was an Act of Parliament that introduced wide-ranging changes to the electoral system of England and Wales...
he advocated the creation of three-cornered constituencies, in which each voter should have the power of giving two votes only, and maintained that freeholds within borough
Borough
A borough is an administrative division in various countries. In principle, the term borough designates a self-governing township although, in practice, official use of the term varies widely....
s should confer votes for the boroughs and not for the county. Neither of these suggestions was then adopted, but the former ultimately formed part of the Reform Act 1867
Reform Act 1867
The Representation of the People Act 1867, 30 & 31 Vict. c. 102 was a piece of British legislation that enfranchised the urban male working class in England and Wales....
.
Personal life and characteristics of his writing
In 1835, he married Helen Bogle. He died of tuberculosisTuberculosis
Tuberculosis, MTB, or TB is a common, and in many cases lethal, infectious disease caused by various strains of mycobacteria, usually Mycobacterium tuberculosis. Tuberculosis usually attacks the lungs but can also affect other parts of the body...
at Chester Square, London.
Austin Dobson
Henry Austin Dobson
Henry Austin Dobson , commonly Austin Dobson, was an English poet and essayist.-Life:He was born at Plymouth, the eldest son of George Clarisse Dobson, a civil engineer, of French descent. When he was about eight, the family moved to Holyhead, and his first school was at Beaumaris in Anglesey...
praised Praed's "sparkling wit, the clearness and finish of his style, and the flexibility and unflagging vivacity of his rhythm" (Henry Ward
Henry Ward
Henry Ward VC was an English soldier and a recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest and most prestigious award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British and Commonwealth forces...
's English Poets). His verse abounded in allusions to the characters and follies of the day. His humour was much imitated.
Literary works; Praed society at Eton
His poems were first edited by R. W. Griswold (New York, 1844); another American edition, by W. A. Whitmore, appeared in 1859; an authorized edition with a memoir by Derwent Coleridge appeared in 1864: The Political and Occasional Poems of W. M. Praed (1888), edited with notes by his nephew, Sir George Young, included many pieces collected from various newspapers and periodicals. Sir George Young separated from his work some poems, the work of his friend Edward FitzGeraldEdward FitzGerald (poet)
Edward FitzGerald was an English writer, best known as the poet of the first and most famous English translation of The Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam. The spelling of his name as both FitzGerald and Fitzgerald is seen...
, generally confused with his. Praed's essays, contributed to various magazines, were published in Morley's Universal Library in 1887.
Praed was not only successful at Eton during his lifetime, but a society still exists that bears his name. The "Praed" society is the poetry society currently existing at Eton. It meets at a master's house and membership is by invitation.