Arthur Charlett
Encyclopedia
Dr Arthur Charlett was an Oxford
academic and administrator. He was Master
of University College, Oxford
for thirty years until his death in 1722. He was noted for his love of society, and for his expensive way of living.
, by Judith, daughter of Mr Cratford, a merchant of London
, and was born at Shipton
, near Cheltenham
, on 4 January 1665. After receiving his early education at the free school at Salisbury
, he matriculated at Trinity College, Oxford
, on 13 January 1669, having just completed his fourteenth year. He obtained a scholarship there college and proceeded B.A. on 17 April 1673, and M.A. 23 November 1676. He was chosen Fellow at the election of 1680, and the same year received deacon
's orders from John Fell
, bishop of Oxford
. In 1683 he was chosen junior proctor. He was appointed tutor to Francis North, 2nd Baron Guilford
in 1688.
On 17 December 1684 he took the degree of B.D., and when in 1692 the mastership of University College was refused by internal candidates he was chosen master on 7 July, with the backing of John Hudson, and the next day proceeded D.D. Charlett saw that the Clarendon Press annually printed some classical work, and then himself presented a copy of it to each of the students of his college. He was an interfering academic politician, satirised in No. 43 of The Spectator
where Charlett, under the name of Abraham Froth is made to write a letter describing the business transacted at the meetings of the hebdomadal council. He promoted the first attempt at a university newspaper, published in 1707, with the title of Mercurius Oxoniensis, or the Oxford Intelligencer.
Through the influence of Archbishop Thomas Tenison
, Charlett was appointed chaplain to the King on 17 November 1697, and held the office until he with other chaplains was removed in March 1717. In the spring of 1706 he was in some trouble, being sent for to London
to give an account of a paper he had shown circulated, asserting that Gilbert Burnet
was to receive a large sum of money when presbyterianism was established. On 28 June 1707, he was instituted to the rectory of Hambleden
, Buckinghamshire
. He damaged his reputation in the matter of the dedication of Edward Thwaites
's Saxon Heptateuch to George Hickes
, where Lords Somers and Oxford were both friends of Dean Hickes and resented Charlett's interference. In 1714 he used his influence with the vice-chancellor to get Thomas Hearne
prosecuted for his preface to William Camden
's Elizabeth, and so put a stop to the printing.
Charlett died at his lodgings in University College, on 18 November 1722, and is buried in the college chapel. The position of Master was contested by two men, Thomas Cockman
and William Dennison
. The stand-off was not resolved until 1729, after an appeal to the Crown
.
's Two Discourses concerning ... the Eucharist, published by Obadiah Walker
in 1686. He spent the long vacation 1683 in taking a tour in Scotland, where he was hospitably entertained by Sir George Mackenzie of Rosehaugh
, in the county of Ross, and by other men of learning; he wrote most of the life of Sir George Mackenzie in Anthony à Wood's Fasti (ii. 414). Charlett contributed a paper on a fatal colliery fire near Newcastle to the Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society in 1708.
Attribution
University of Oxford
The University of Oxford is a university located in Oxford, United Kingdom. It is the second-oldest surviving university in the world and the oldest in the English-speaking world. Although its exact date of foundation is unclear, there is evidence of teaching as far back as 1096...
academic and administrator. He was Master
Master (college)
A Master is the title of the head of some colleges and other educational institutions. This applies especially at some colleges and institutions at the University of Oxford and the University of Cambridge .- See also :* Master A Master (or in female form Mistress) is the title of the head of some...
of University College, Oxford
University College, Oxford
.University College , is a constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. As of 2009 the college had an estimated financial endowment of £110m...
for thirty years until his death in 1722. He was noted for his love of society, and for his expensive way of living.
Life
He was son of Arthur Charlett, rector of Collingbourn Ducis, WiltshireWiltshire
Wiltshire is a ceremonial county in South West England. It is landlocked and borders the counties of Dorset, Somerset, Hampshire, Gloucestershire, Oxfordshire and Berkshire. It contains the unitary authority of Swindon and covers...
, by Judith, daughter of Mr Cratford, a merchant of London
London
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...
, and was born at Shipton
Shipton
Shipton may refer to:Places*Shipton, Gloucestershire*Shipton, North Yorkshire*Shipton, Shropshire*Shipton Bellinger, Hampshire*Shipton Brook, Buckinghamshire*Shipton Gorge, Dorset*Shipton Lee, Buckinghamshire*Shipton-on-Cherwell, Oxfordshire...
, near Cheltenham
Cheltenham
Cheltenham , also known as Cheltenham Spa, is a large spa town and borough in Gloucestershire, on the edge of the Cotswolds in the South-West region of England. It is the home of the flagship race of British steeplechase horse racing, the Gold Cup, the main event of the Cheltenham Festival held...
, on 4 January 1665. After receiving his early education at the free school at Salisbury
Salisbury
Salisbury is a cathedral city in Wiltshire, England and the only city in the county. It is the second largest settlement in the county...
, he matriculated at Trinity College, Oxford
Trinity College, Oxford
The College of the Holy and Undivided Trinity in the University of Oxford, of the foundation of Sir Thomas Pope , or Trinity College for short, is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England. It stands on Broad Street, next door to Balliol College and Blackwells bookshop,...
, on 13 January 1669, having just completed his fourteenth year. He obtained a scholarship there college and proceeded B.A. on 17 April 1673, and M.A. 23 November 1676. He was chosen Fellow at the election of 1680, and the same year received deacon
Deacon
Deacon is a ministry in the Christian Church that is generally associated with service of some kind, but which varies among theological and denominational traditions...
's orders from John Fell
John Fell (clergyman)
John Fell was an English churchman and influential academic. He served as Dean of Christ Church, Oxford, and later concomitantly as Bishop of Oxford.-Education:...
, bishop of Oxford
Bishop of Oxford
The Bishop of Oxford is the diocesan bishop of the Church of England Diocese of Oxford in the Province of Canterbury; his seat is at Christ Church Cathedral, Oxford...
. In 1683 he was chosen junior proctor. He was appointed tutor to Francis North, 2nd Baron Guilford
Francis North, 2nd Baron Guilford
Francis North, 2nd Baron Guilford PC was a British peer and member of the House of Lords.-Life:In 1685, he succeeded his father as Baron Guilford. From 1703 to 1705, Guilford was Lord Lieutenant of Essex. In 1712, he was appointed to the Privy Council, and was First Lord of Trade from 1713 to...
in 1688.
On 17 December 1684 he took the degree of B.D., and when in 1692 the mastership of University College was refused by internal candidates he was chosen master on 7 July, with the backing of John Hudson, and the next day proceeded D.D. Charlett saw that the Clarendon Press annually printed some classical work, and then himself presented a copy of it to each of the students of his college. He was an interfering academic politician, satirised in No. 43 of The Spectator
The Spectator (1711)
The Spectator was a daily publication of 1711–12, founded by Joseph Addison and Richard Steele in England after they met at Charterhouse School. Eustace Budgell, a cousin of Addison's, also contributed to the publication. Each 'paper', or 'number', was approximately 2,500 words long, and the...
where Charlett, under the name of Abraham Froth is made to write a letter describing the business transacted at the meetings of the hebdomadal council. He promoted the first attempt at a university newspaper, published in 1707, with the title of Mercurius Oxoniensis, or the Oxford Intelligencer.
Through the influence of Archbishop Thomas Tenison
Thomas Tenison
Thomas Tenison was an English church leader, Archbishop of Canterbury from 1694 until his death. During his primacy, he crowned two British monarchs.-Life:...
, Charlett was appointed chaplain to the King on 17 November 1697, and held the office until he with other chaplains was removed in March 1717. In the spring of 1706 he was in some trouble, being sent for to London
London
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...
to give an account of a paper he had shown circulated, asserting that Gilbert Burnet
Gilbert Burnet
Gilbert Burnet was a Scottish theologian and historian, and Bishop of Salisbury. He was fluent in Dutch, French, Latin, Greek, and Hebrew. Burnet was respected as a cleric, a preacher, and an academic, as well as a writer and historian...
was to receive a large sum of money when presbyterianism was established. On 28 June 1707, he was instituted to the rectory of Hambleden
Hambleden
Hambleden is a small village and civil parish within Wycombe district in the south of Buckinghamshire, England. It is about four miles west of Marlow, and about three miles north east of Henley-on-Thames in Oxfordshire....
, Buckinghamshire
Buckinghamshire
Buckinghamshire is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan home county in South East England. The county town is Aylesbury, the largest town in the ceremonial county is Milton Keynes and largest town in the non-metropolitan county is High Wycombe....
. He damaged his reputation in the matter of the dedication of Edward Thwaites
Edward Thwaites
Edward Thwaites was an English scholar of the Anglo-Saxon language. According to David C. Douglas he was "one of the most inspiring teachers which Oxford has ever produced".-Life:...
's Saxon Heptateuch to George Hickes
George Hickes
George Hickes was an English divine and scholar.-Biography:Hickes was born at Newsham, near Thirsk, Yorkshire, in 1642...
, where Lords Somers and Oxford were both friends of Dean Hickes and resented Charlett's interference. In 1714 he used his influence with the vice-chancellor to get Thomas Hearne
Thomas Hearne
Thomas Hearne or Hearn , English antiquary, was born at Littlefield Green in the parish of White Waltham, Berkshire.-Life:...
prosecuted for his preface to William Camden
William Camden
William Camden was an English antiquarian, historian, topographer, and officer of arms. He wrote the first chorographical survey of the islands of Great Britain and Ireland and the first detailed historical account of the reign of Elizabeth I of England.- Early years :Camden was born in London...
's Elizabeth, and so put a stop to the printing.
Charlett died at his lodgings in University College, on 18 November 1722, and is buried in the college chapel. The position of Master was contested by two men, Thomas Cockman
Thomas Cockman
Revd Dr Thomas Cockman, Doctor of Divinity was an Oxford academic and administrator. He was Master of University College, Oxford.Thomas Cockman was Rector at Chidingstone in Kent in 1705....
and William Dennison
William Dennison (academic)
William Dennison was an Oxford academic and administrator. He was a contested Master of University College, Oxford.- Contested Mastership of University College :...
. The stand-off was not resolved until 1729, after an appeal to the Crown
The Crown
The Crown is a corporation sole that in the Commonwealth realms and any provincial or state sub-divisions thereof represents the legal embodiment of governance, whether executive, legislative, or judicial...
.
Works
He published A Discourse of the Holy Eucharist, 1686, in answer to Abraham WoodheadAbraham Woodhead
Abraham Woodhead was an English writer on Catholicism.-Life:Born at Almondbury, West Yorkshire, he died at Hoxton in Middlesex. He was educated at University College, Oxford, entering in 1624, becoming fellow in 1633, and proctor in 1641...
's Two Discourses concerning ... the Eucharist, published by Obadiah Walker
Obadiah Walker
Obadiah Walker was an English academic and Master of University College, Oxford from 1676 to 1688.-Life:Walker was born at Darfield near Barnsley, South Yorkshire, and was educated at University College, Oxford, becoming a fellow and tutor of this College and a prominent figure in University circles...
in 1686. He spent the long vacation 1683 in taking a tour in Scotland, where he was hospitably entertained by Sir George Mackenzie of Rosehaugh
George Mackenzie (lawyer)
Sir George Mackenzie of Rosehaugh, Knt. , known as Bluidy Mackenzie, was a Scottish lawyer, Lord Advocate, and legal writer.- Origins :...
, in the county of Ross, and by other men of learning; he wrote most of the life of Sir George Mackenzie in Anthony à Wood's Fasti (ii. 414). Charlett contributed a paper on a fatal colliery fire near Newcastle to the Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society in 1708.
Further reading
- Harmsen, Theodor, Bodleian Imbroglios, Politics and Personalities, 1701–1716: Thomas Hearne, Arthur Charlett and John Hudson. NeophilologusNeophilologusNeophilologus, in full Neophilologus: an international journal of modern and mediaeval language and literature, is a peer-reviewed journal devoted to the study of modern and mediaeval languages and literature, including general linguistics, literary theory and comparative literature...
, Volume 82, Number 1,pages 149-168, January, 1998. - Gillam, Stanley. Humfrey Wanley and Arthur Charlett. Bodleian Library Record, Volume 16, pages 411–429, 1999.
External links
- Collection Level Description: Ballard Collection, Bodleian LibraryBodleian LibraryThe Bodleian Library , the main research library of the University of Oxford, is one of the oldest libraries in Europe, and in Britain is second in size only to the British Library...
, Oxford, UK. Includes letters and papers of Dr Arthur Charlett.
Attribution