Andrew Ducarel
Encyclopedia
Andrew Coltee Ducarel was an English antiquary. He was also member of the College of Civilians
(a "civilian") who practiced civil law. This specialized form of law was used in certain jurisdictions in England, including the liberty
of St Katharine's by the Tower
, and in Anglican ecclesiastical court
s.
; his French father came to England soon after the birth of his
second son James, and lived at Greenwich
. In 1729, being then an Eton
scholar, he was
for three months under the care of Sir Hans Sloane
on account of an accident which deprived him of the use of one eye. On 2 July 1731 he matriculated at Oxford as gentleman
commoner of St. John's College. He graduated
B.C.L. in 1738, was incorporated in
that degree at Cambridge the same year, was
created D.C.L. at Oxford in 1742, and went
out a grand compounder on 21 October 1748.
Joseph Foster
, Alumni Oxonienses: the Members of the University of Oxford, 1715-1886 i. 390Addit MS.
5884, f. 81 b He was admitted a member
of the College of Advocates at Doctors' Commons
3 November 1743., English Civilians,
p. 119 On recovering from a severe illness, in which he had been nursed by his maid Susannah, he married her out of gratitude in 1749, and she proved to be "a sober, careful woman.", Olio, 2nd edit. p. 142 He
was elected "commissary
or official
" (i.e., an ecclesiastical judge) of St Katharine's by the Tower
in 1755. He was appointed
commissary and official of the city
and diocese of Canterbury by Archbishop Thomas Herring
in December 1758; and of the sub-deaneries of South Malling, Pagham, and
Terring in Sussex, by Archbishop Thomas Secker
, on the death of Dr. Dennis Clarke in 1776.
In 22 September 1737 he was elected a fellow of the Society of Antiquaries of London
, and he was one of the first
fellows of that society nominated by the president and council on its incorporation in 1755.
He was also elected 29 August 1760 a member
of the Society of Antiquaries at Cortona
, was
admitted a fellow of the Royal Society of London 18 February 1762, became an honorary
fellow of the Society of Antiquaries of Cassel
in November 1778, and of the Society of Antiquaries of Edinburgh in 1781.
In 1755 he unsuccessfully tried to
obtain the post of sub-librarian at the British Museum
; but he was appointed keeper of the
library at Lambeth Palace
3 May 1757, by Archbishop
Hutton, and from that time he turned his attention to the ecclesiastical antiquities
of the province of Canterbury
. He improved the catalogues both of the printed
books and the manuscripts at Lambeth, and made a digest, with a general index, of all
the registers and records of the southern province.
In this laborious undertaking he was
assisted by his friend, Edward Rowe Mores
, the Rev. Henry Hall, his predecessor in the
office of librarian, and Benjamin Thomas Pouncy the engraver, who was for many years his clerk and deputy librarian. Ducarel's share
of the work was impeded by the complete
blindness of one eye and the weakness of the
other. Besides the digest preserved among
the official archives at Lambeth, he formed
for himself another manuscript collection in
forty-eight volumes, which were purchased
for the British Museum at the sale of Richard Gough
's library in 1810. In 1763 Ducarel
was appointed by the government to work over, with Sir Joseph Ayloffe
and Thomas Astle
, the records of
the state paper office at Whitehall, and afterwards
those in the augmentation office. On
the death of Secker he unsuccessfully applied
for the post of secretary to the succeeding
archbishop.
For many years he used to go in August
on an antiquarian tour through different parts
of the country, in company with his friend
Samuel Gale
, and attended by a coachman
and footman. They travelled about fifteen
miles a day, and put up at inns. After dinner,
while Gale smoked his pipe, Ducarel transcribed
his topographical and archæological
notes, which after his death were purchased
by Richard Gough. In George Vertue
's plate of London
Bridge Chapel the figure measuring is
Ducarel, and that standing is Gale. With
his antiquarian friends Ducarel associated on
the most liberal terms, and "his entertainments
were in the true style of old English
hospitality." He was in the habit of declaring
that, as an old Oxonian, he never knew
a man till he had drunk a bottle of wine with
him. During more than thirty years' connection
with Lambeth Palace he was the
valued friend or official of five primates —
Thomas Herring
, Matthew Hutton
, Thomas Secker, Frederick Cornwallis
, and
John Moore
. He was a strong athletic man, and
had a firm prepossession that he should live
to a great age. The immediate cause of the
disorder which carried him off was a sudden
surprise on receiving at Canterbury a letter
informing him that Mrs. Ducarel was at the
point of death. He hastened to his house in
South Lambeth, took to his bed, and three
days afterwards died, on 29 May 1785. He
was buried on the north side of the altar of
St. Katharine's Church. His wife survived
him more than six years, dying on 6 Oct.
1791.Gent. Mag. lxi. 973
His coins, pictures, and antiquities were
sold by auction, 30 November 1785, and his books,
manuscripts, and prints in April 1786. The
greater part of the manuscripts passed into the
hands of Richard Gough and John Nichols
.
vi. 390, Bibl Man., ed. Bohn, p. 198
Doctors' Commons
Doctors' Commons, also called the College of Civilians, was a society of lawyers practising civil law in London. Like the Inns of Court of the common lawyers, the society had buildings with rooms where its members lived and worked, and a large library...
(a "civilian") who practiced civil law. This specialized form of law was used in certain jurisdictions in England, including the liberty
Liberty (division)
Originating in the Middle Ages, a liberty was traditionally defined as an area in which regalian rights were revoked and where land was held by a mesne lord...
of St Katharine's by the Tower
St Katharine's by the Tower
St Katharine's by the Tower--full name Royal Hospital and Collegiate Church of St. Katharine by the Tower--was a medieval church and hospital next to the Tower of London. The establishment was founded in 1148 and the buildings demolished in 1825 to build St Katharine Docks, which takes its name...
, and in Anglican ecclesiastical court
Ecclesiastical court
An ecclesiastical court is any of certain courts having jurisdiction mainly in spiritual or religious matters. In the Middle Ages in many areas of Europe these courts had much wider powers than before the development of nation states...
s.
Life
Ducarel was born in 1713 in NormandyNormandy
Normandy is a geographical region corresponding to the former Duchy of Normandy. It is in France.The continental territory covers 30,627 km² and forms the preponderant part of Normandy and roughly 5% of the territory of France. It is divided for administrative purposes into two régions:...
; his French father came to England soon after the birth of his
second son James, and lived at Greenwich
Greenwich
Greenwich is a district of south London, England, located in the London Borough of Greenwich.Greenwich is best known for its maritime history and for giving its name to the Greenwich Meridian and Greenwich Mean Time...
. In 1729, being then an Eton
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"....
scholar, he was
for three months under the care of Sir Hans Sloane
Hans Sloane
Sir Hans Sloane, 1st Baronet, PRS was an Ulster-Scot physician and collector, notable for bequeathing his collection to the British nation which became the foundation of the British Museum...
on account of an accident which deprived him of the use of one eye. On 2 July 1731 he matriculated at Oxford as gentleman
commoner of St. John's College. He graduated
B.C.L. in 1738, was incorporated in
that degree at Cambridge the same year, was
created D.C.L. at Oxford in 1742, and went
out a grand compounder on 21 October 1748.
Joseph Foster
Joseph Foster (genealogist)
Joseph Foster was an English genealogist whose transcriptions of records held by the Inns of Court and Oxford University are still important historical resources.-Life and career:...
, Alumni Oxonienses: the Members of the University of Oxford, 1715-1886 i. 390Addit MS.
5884, f. 81 b He was admitted a member
of the College of Advocates at Doctors' Commons
Doctors' Commons
Doctors' Commons, also called the College of Civilians, was a society of lawyers practising civil law in London. Like the Inns of Court of the common lawyers, the society had buildings with rooms where its members lived and worked, and a large library...
3 November 1743., English Civilians,
p. 119 On recovering from a severe illness, in which he had been nursed by his maid Susannah, he married her out of gratitude in 1749, and she proved to be "a sober, careful woman.", Olio, 2nd edit. p. 142 He
was elected "commissary
Commissary
A commissary is someone delegated by a superior to execute a duty or an office; in a formal, legal context, one who has received power from a legitimate superior authority to pass judgment in a certain cause or to take information concerning it.-Word history:...
or official
Official
An official is someone who holds an office in an organization or government and participates in the exercise of authority .A government official or functionary is an official who is involved in public...
" (i.e., an ecclesiastical judge) of St Katharine's by the Tower
St Katharine's by the Tower
St Katharine's by the Tower--full name Royal Hospital and Collegiate Church of St. Katharine by the Tower--was a medieval church and hospital next to the Tower of London. The establishment was founded in 1148 and the buildings demolished in 1825 to build St Katharine Docks, which takes its name...
in 1755. He was appointed
commissary and official of the city
and diocese of Canterbury by Archbishop Thomas Herring
Thomas Herring
Thomas Herring was Archbishop of Canterbury from 1747 to 1757.He was educated at Wisbech Grammar School and later Jesus College, Cambridge. At Cambridge, he was a contemporary of Matthew Hutton, who succeeded him in turn in each of his dioceses...
in December 1758; and of the sub-deaneries of South Malling, Pagham, and
Terring in Sussex, by Archbishop Thomas Secker
Thomas Secker
Thomas Secker , Archbishop of Canterbury, was born at Sibthorpe, Nottinghamshire.-Early life and studies:In 1699, Secker went to Richard Brown's free school in Chesterfield, staying with his half-sister and her husband, Elizabeth and Richard Milnes...
, on the death of Dr. Dennis Clarke in 1776.
In 22 September 1737 he was elected a fellow of the Society of Antiquaries of London
Society of Antiquaries of London
The Society of Antiquaries of London is a learned society "charged by its Royal Charter of 1751 with 'the encouragement, advancement and furtherance of the study and knowledge of the antiquities and history of this and other countries'." It is based at Burlington House, Piccadilly, London , and is...
, and he was one of the first
fellows of that society nominated by the president and council on its incorporation in 1755.
He was also elected 29 August 1760 a member
of the Society of Antiquaries at Cortona
Cortona
Cortona is a town and comune in the province of Arezzo, in Tuscany, Italy. It is the main cultural and artistic center of the Val di Chiana after Arezzo.-History:...
, was
admitted a fellow of the Royal Society of London 18 February 1762, became an honorary
fellow of the Society of Antiquaries of Cassel
in November 1778, and of the Society of Antiquaries of Edinburgh in 1781.
In 1755 he unsuccessfully tried to
obtain the post of sub-librarian at the British Museum
British Museum
The British Museum is a museum of human history and culture in London. Its collections, which number more than seven million objects, are amongst the largest and most comprehensive in the world and originate from all continents, illustrating and documenting the story of human culture from its...
; but he was appointed keeper of the
library at Lambeth Palace
Lambeth Palace
Lambeth Palace is the official London residence of the Archbishop of Canterbury in England. It is located in Lambeth, on the south bank of the River Thames a short distance upstream of the Palace of Westminster on the opposite shore. It was acquired by the archbishopric around 1200...
3 May 1757, by Archbishop
Hutton, and from that time he turned his attention to the ecclesiastical antiquities
of the province of Canterbury
Province of Canterbury
The Province of Canterbury, also called the Southern Province, is one of two ecclesiastical provinces making up the Church of England...
. He improved the catalogues both of the printed
books and the manuscripts at Lambeth, and made a digest, with a general index, of all
the registers and records of the southern province.
In this laborious undertaking he was
assisted by his friend, Edward Rowe Mores
Edward Rowe Mores
Edward Rowe Mores, FSA was an English antiquarian and scholar, with works on history and typography...
, the Rev. Henry Hall, his predecessor in the
office of librarian, and Benjamin Thomas Pouncy the engraver, who was for many years his clerk and deputy librarian. Ducarel's share
of the work was impeded by the complete
blindness of one eye and the weakness of the
other. Besides the digest preserved among
the official archives at Lambeth, he formed
for himself another manuscript collection in
forty-eight volumes, which were purchased
for the British Museum at the sale of Richard Gough
Richard Gough (antiquarian)
Richard Gough was an English antiquarian.He was born in London, where his father was a wealthy M.P. and director of the British East India Company. In 1751 he entered Corpus Christi College, Cambridge, where he began his work on British topography, published in 1768...
's library in 1810. In 1763 Ducarel
was appointed by the government to work over, with Sir Joseph Ayloffe
Joseph Ayloffe
Sir Joseph Ayloffe, 6th Baronet FRS F.S.A. was an English antiquary.-Life:He was the great-grandson of Sir William Ayloffe, 1st Baronet, through his third wife , their first son was Joseph Ayloffe, of Gray's inn...
and Thomas Astle
Thomas Astle
Thomas Astle was an English antiquary and palaeographer.-Life:Astle was born on 22 December 1735 at Yoxall on the borders of Needwood Forest in Staffordshire, the son of Daniel Astle, keeper of the forest...
, the records of
the state paper office at Whitehall, and afterwards
those in the augmentation office. On
the death of Secker he unsuccessfully applied
for the post of secretary to the succeeding
archbishop.
For many years he used to go in August
on an antiquarian tour through different parts
of the country, in company with his friend
Samuel Gale
Samuel Gale
Samuel Gale was an English antiquary, a founder of the Society of Antiquaries of London.-Life:The youngest son of Thomas Gale, dean of York, and brother of Roger Gale, he was born in the parish of St Faith's, London, on 17 December 1682. He was baptised on 20 December, Samuel Pepys being one of...
, and attended by a coachman
and footman. They travelled about fifteen
miles a day, and put up at inns. After dinner,
while Gale smoked his pipe, Ducarel transcribed
his topographical and archæological
notes, which after his death were purchased
by Richard Gough. In George Vertue
George Vertue
George Vertue was an English engraver and antiquary, whose notebooks on British art of the first half of the 18th century are a valuable source for the period.-Life:...
's plate of London
Bridge Chapel the figure measuring is
Ducarel, and that standing is Gale. With
his antiquarian friends Ducarel associated on
the most liberal terms, and "his entertainments
were in the true style of old English
hospitality." He was in the habit of declaring
that, as an old Oxonian, he never knew
a man till he had drunk a bottle of wine with
him. During more than thirty years' connection
with Lambeth Palace he was the
valued friend or official of five primates —
Thomas Herring
Thomas Herring
Thomas Herring was Archbishop of Canterbury from 1747 to 1757.He was educated at Wisbech Grammar School and later Jesus College, Cambridge. At Cambridge, he was a contemporary of Matthew Hutton, who succeeded him in turn in each of his dioceses...
, Matthew Hutton
Matthew Hutton (Archbishop of Canterbury)
Matthew Hutton was a high churchman in the Church of England, serving as Archbishop of York and Archbishop of Canterbury...
, Thomas Secker, Frederick Cornwallis
Frederick Cornwallis
Frederick Cornwallis was Archbishop of Canterbury, and the twin brother of Edward Cornwallis.Cornwallis was born in London, England, the seventh son of Charles Cornwallis, 4th Baron Cornwallis. He was educated at Eton College and graduated from Christ's College, Cambridge...
, and
John Moore
John Moore (Archbishop)
John Moore was a bishop in the Church of England.-Life:Moore was the son of George Moore, butcher, and his wife Jane.He was born in Gloucester and was educated at the Crypt School there...
. He was a strong athletic man, and
had a firm prepossession that he should live
to a great age. The immediate cause of the
disorder which carried him off was a sudden
surprise on receiving at Canterbury a letter
informing him that Mrs. Ducarel was at the
point of death. He hastened to his house in
South Lambeth, took to his bed, and three
days afterwards died, on 29 May 1785. He
was buried on the north side of the altar of
St. Katharine's Church. His wife survived
him more than six years, dying on 6 Oct.
1791.Gent. Mag. lxi. 973
His coins, pictures, and antiquities were
sold by auction, 30 November 1785, and his books,
manuscripts, and prints in April 1786. The
greater part of the manuscripts passed into the
hands of Richard Gough and John Nichols
John Nichols (printer)
John Nichols was an English printer, author and antiquary.-Early life and apprenticeship:He was born in Islington, London to Edward Nichols and Anne Wilmot. On 22 June 1766 he married Anne Cradock daughter of William Cradock...
.
Works
- A Tour through Normandy, described in a letter to a friend (anon.), London, 1754, 4to. This tour was undertaken, in company with Dr. Bever, in 1752, and his account of it, considerably enlarged, was republished, with his name, under the title of Anglo-Norman Antiquities considered, in a Tour through part of Normandy, illustrated with 27 copperplates, London, 1767, fol.; inscribed to Bishop Lyttelton, president of the Society of Antiquaries. A French translation, by A. L. Léchaudé D'Anisy, appeared at Caen, 1823-5, 8vo, with thirty-six plates of the tapestry, 4to.
- De Registris Lambethanis Dissertatiuncula, London, 1766, 8vo.
- A Series of above 200 Anglo-Gallic, or Norman and Aquitain Coins of the antient Kings of England, London, 1757, 4to.
- Letters showing that the chestnut-tree is indigenous to Great Britain. In Philosophical Transactions, arts. 17-19.
- Some Account of Browne Willis, Esq., LL.D., London, 1760, 4to.
- Letter to Gerard Meerman, grand pensioner at the Hague, on the dispute about Corsellis being the first printer in England. This was read to the Society of Antiquaries in 1760. A Latin translation by Dr. Musgrave and Meerman's answer were published in vol. ii. of Meerman's Origines Typographicæ, 1760. They were reprinted by Nichols, with a second letter from Meerman, in a supplement to Bowyer's Two Letters on the Origin of Printing,1776.
- A Repertory of the Endowments of Vicarages in the Diocese of Canterbury, London, 1763, 4to; 2nd edition, 1782, 8vo, to which were added the endowments of vicarages in the diocese of Rochester.
- A Letter to William Watson, M.D., upon the early Cultivation of Botany in England; and some particulars about John TradescantJohn TradescantJohn Tradescant may refer to:*John Tradescant the elder *his son John Tradescant the younger...
, gardener to Charles I,' London, 1773, 4to. This appeared originally in Philosophical Transactions, lxiii. 79. - Notes taken during a Tour in Holland, 1775, manuscript.
- Account of Dr. Stukeley, prefixed to vol. ii. of his 'Itinerary,' 1776.
- A List of various Editions of the Bible and parts thereof in English, from the year 1526 to 1776, from a MS. (No. 1140) in the Archiepiscopal Library at Lambeth, much enlarged and improved, London, 1776, 8vo, Lit. Anecd.
vi. 390, Bibl Man., ed. Bohn, p. 198
- Some Account of the Alien Priories, and of such lands as they are known to have possessed in England and Wales, collected by John Warburton, Somerset herald, and Ducarel, 2 vols., London, 1779, 8vo; new edit. 1786.
- History of the Royal Hospital and Collegiate Church of St. Katharine, near the Tower of London, 1782, with seventeen plates.
- Some Account of the Town, Church, and Archiepiscopal Palace of Croydon, 1783. In Nichols's Bibl. Topographica Britannica, vol. ii.
- History and Antiquities of the Archiepiscopal Palace of Lambeth, 1785. In 'Bibl. Topographica Britannica,' vol. ii. A valuable appendix to this work by the Rev. Samuel Denne was published in 1795.
- Abstract of the Archiepiscopal Registers at Lambeth, compiled by Ducarel, with the assistance of E. R. Mores, Mr. Hall, and Mr. Pouncey, Addit. MSS. 6062-6109.
- Account of Doctors' Commons, manuscript prepared for the press.
- Testamenta Lambethana; being a complete List of all the Wills and Testaments recorded in the Archiepiscopal Register at Lambeth, 1312-1636. Another manuscript intended for Mr. Nichols's press.
- Memoirs of Archbishop Hutton. Manuscript purchased at Ducarel's sale, for the Hutton family.
- Correspondence; letters to him, Addit. MSS. 23990 and 15935; and correspondence with William ColeWilliam Cole (antiquary)William Cole , was a Cambridgeshire clergyman and antiquary.Cole was born in Little Abington, Cambridgeshire, the son of a well-to-do farmer...
in Addit. MSS. 6808 f. 185, 5830 f. 200 b, and 6401 f. 8.