Life

Born at Old Rathmines Castle, County Dublin

County Dublin

County Dublin is a county in Ireland. It is part of the Dublin Region and is also located in the province of Leinster. It is named after the city of Dublin which is the capital of Ireland. County Dublin was one of the first of the parts of Ireland to be shired by King John of England following the...

, the seat of his grandfather, on 9 February 1784, third son of Edward Nolan of St. Peter's, Dublin, by his wife Florinda. In 1796 he entered Trinity College, Dublin

Trinity College, Dublin

Trinity College, Dublin , formally known as the College of the Holy and Undivided Trinity of Queen Elizabeth near Dublin, was founded in 1592 by letters patent from Queen Elizabeth I as the "mother of a university", Extracts from Letters Patent of Elizabeth I, 1592: "...we...found and...

, but did not graduate, and on 19 November 1803 matriculated as a gentleman commoner of Exeter College, Oxford

Exeter College, Oxford

Exeter College is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England and the fourth oldest college of the University. The main entrance is on the east side of Turl Street...

, chiefly in order to study at the Bodleian and other libraries. He passed his examination for the degree of B.C.L. in 1805, but he did not take it until 1828, when he proceeded D.C.L. at the same time. He was ordained in August 1806, and after serving curacies at Woodford

Woodford

Woodford is a large suburban town in northeast London, England, occupying the north-western part of the London Borough of Redbridge. It is located approximately northeast of Charing Cross and is divided into the neighbourhoods of Woodford Green, Woodford Bridge and South Woodford...

, Hackney

London Borough of Hackney

The London Borough of Hackney is a London borough of North/North East London, and forms part of inner London. The local authority is Hackney London Borough Council....

, and St Benet Fink, London, he was presented, on 25 October 1822, to the vicarage of Prittlewell

Prittlewell

Prittlewell is an area of Southend-on-Sea in Essex. Historically, Prittlewell is the original town, Southend being the south end of Prittlewell.Originally a Saxon village, Prittlewell is centred on St...

, Essex

Essex

Essex is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the East region of England, and one of the home counties. It is located to the northeast of Greater London. It borders with Cambridgeshire and Suffolk to the north, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent to the South and London to the south west...

. In 1814 he was appointed to preach the Boyle lecture, in 1833 the Bampton lecture at Oxford, and during 1833–6 the Warburtonian lecture, being the first clergyman to deliver these three lectures.

Nolan had a considerable reputation as a theologian and linguist. His religious views were evangelical, and he was strongly opposed to the Oxford movement

Oxford Movement

The Oxford Movement was a movement of High Church Anglicans, eventually developing into Anglo-Catholicism. The movement, whose members were often associated with the University of Oxford, argued for the reinstatement of lost Christian traditions of faith and their inclusion into Anglican liturgy...

. He became a Fellow of the Royal Society in 1832. He died at Geraldstown House, County Meath

County Meath

County Meath is a county in Ireland. It is part of the Mid-East Region and is also located in the province of Leinster. It is named after the ancient Kingdom of Mide . Meath County Council is the local authority for the county...

, on 16 September 1864, and was buried in the ancestral vault in Navan churchyard. He was married, but left no issue, and with him the family became extinct.

Works

Some of his works were printed at a press which he set up at Prittlewell. His major works were:

• ‘The Romantick Mythology, in two parts. To which is subjoined a Letter illustrating the origin of the marvellous Imagery, particularly as it appears to be derived from Gothick Mythology,’ 4to, London, 1809.
• ‘An Inquiry into the nature and extent of Poetick Licence,’ 8vo, London 1810; published under the pseudonym of ‘N. A. Vigors, jun., Esq.’
• ‘The Operations of the Holy Ghost, illustrated and confirmed by Scriptural Authorities, in a series of sermons evincing the wisdom … of the Economy of Grace,’ London, 1813.
• ‘An Inquiry into the Integrity of the Greek Vulgate, or Received Text of the New Testament, etc.’ London, 1815 (a ‘Supplement’ followed in 1830).
• ‘Fragments of a civick feast: being a Key to Mr. Volney's “Ruins: or, the Revolutions of Empires; by a Reformer,”’ 8vo, London, 1819. In this work the revolutionary and sceptical opinions of the Comte de Volney are refuted.
• ‘A Harmonical Grammar of the principal ancient and modern Languages; viz. the Latin, Greek, Hebrew, Chaldee, Syriac, and Samaritan, the French, Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, German, and Modern Greek,’ 2 parts, London, 1822 (most of these grammars had been published separately in 1819 and 1821).
• ‘The Expectations formed by the Assyrians that a Great Deliverer would appear about the time of our Lord's Advent demonstrated,’ London [Prittlewell printed], 1826.
• ‘The Time of the Millennium investigated, and its Nature determined on Scriptural Grounds,’ London [Prittlewell, privately printed], 1831. The last two works form part of Nolan's ‘Boyle Lectures.’ After their delivery materials accumulated under his researches for a work of considerable extent, to be entitled ‘A Demonstration of Revelation, from the Sign of the Sabbath,’ but he did not complete it.
• ‘The Analogy of Revelation and Science established’ (Bampton Lectures), Oxford, 1833.
• ‘The Chronological Prophecies as constituting a Connected System’ (Warburton Lectures), London, 1837.
• ‘The Evangelical Character of Christianity … asserted and vindicated,’ London, 1838.
• ‘The Catholic Character of Christianity as recognised by the Reformed Church, in opposition to the corrupt traditions of the Church of Rome, asserted,’ London, 1839; this was the first work published in reply to Tracts for the Times
  Tracts for the Times
  The Tracts for the Times were a series of 90 theological publications, varying in length from a few pages to book-length, produced by members of the English Oxford Movement, an Anglo-Catholic revival group, from 1833 to 1841...
  
  .
• ‘The Egyptian Chronology analysed, its theory developed and practically applied, and confirmed in its dates and details, from its agreement with the Hieroglyphic Monuments and the Scripture Chronology,’ London, Oxford [printed], 1848.