John Prince (Totnes)
Encyclopedia
John Prince was vicar of Totnes
and Berry Pomeroy
in Devon
, England
, and was a biographer
of the late seventeenth and early eighteenth centuries. He is notable for his major work, The Worthies of Devon. He was also involved in a sexual scandal, the court records of which were made into a book, and more recently a play.
, Devon in 1643, in a farmhouse on the site of an abbey - nowadays called Prince's Abbey. He was educated at Brasenose College, Oxford
, and became curate
of Bideford
. He then became minister of St. Martin's Church in Exeter
.
He was vicar of Totnes from 1675 until 1681, when, at the invitation of the Duke of Somerset, he was made vicar of Berry Pomeroy, a post he held for over forty years. Here he seems to have authorised much building work, as the church and vicarage have several period features.
. Their dalliance was witnessed through a broken window, they were interrupted, and a court case followed later that year. However, despite many statements against him, Prince was allowed to keep his post (from which he had been suspended), as the main witnesses were deemed to be unreliable. He returned to Berry Pomeroy and lived out his years as vicar.
A plaque in St Mary's Church in Totnes states that he was well connected, and it is possible that the trial was set up by his enemies.
. Funding was also a problem, as the scandal had temporarily deprived him of his living. The printer was forced to advertise for subscribers, while the book languished for four years.
It is evident that Prince was over-ambitious in his work. The alphabetical entries from A to H fill half the book, while L to Z are squeezed into the final quarter, as money problems took their toll on his inclusions. A second volume, detailing 115 entries chosen by Prince to redress the balance, was never published.
In 2005 the book was adapted as a playhttp://www.angelfire.com/planet/south_devon_players/prince.htmlhttp://www.devon.gov.uk/etched?, The Tale of John Prince, performed by the South Devon Players theatre company, and written and directed by Laura Jury. The Company performed the play at two venues relevant to the story: The Seven Sisters Hotel in Totnes (next door to the former site of Angel's inn); and also in Berry Pomeroy Church. The possibility of a television adaptation remains open.
Totnes
Totnes is a market town and civil parish at the head of the estuary of the River Dart in Devon, England within the South Devon Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty...
and Berry Pomeroy
Berry Pomeroy
Berry Pomeroy is a village and civil parish in the South Hams district of Devon, England, about two miles east of Totnes. According to the 2001 census it had a population of 973...
in Devon
Devon
Devon is a large county in southwestern England. The county is sometimes referred to as Devonshire, although the term is rarely used inside the county itself as the county has never been officially "shired", it often indicates a traditional or historical context.The county shares borders with...
, England
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...
, and was a biographer
Biography
A biography is a detailed description or account of someone's life. More than a list of basic facts , biography also portrays the subject's experience of those events...
of the late seventeenth and early eighteenth centuries. He is notable for his major work, The Worthies of Devon. He was also involved in a sexual scandal, the court records of which were made into a book, and more recently a play.
Early life
John Prince was born in AxminsterAxminster
Axminster is a market town and civil parish on the eastern border of Devon in England. The town is built on a hill overlooking the River Axe which heads towards the English Channel at Axmouth, and is in the East Devon local government district. It has a population of 5,626. The market is still...
, Devon in 1643, in a farmhouse on the site of an abbey - nowadays called Prince's Abbey. He was educated at Brasenose College, Oxford
Oxford
The city of Oxford is the county town of Oxfordshire, England. The city, made prominent by its medieval university, has a population of just under 165,000, with 153,900 living within the district boundary. It lies about 50 miles north-west of London. The rivers Cherwell and Thames run through...
, and became curate
Curate
A curate is a person who is invested with the care or cure of souls of a parish. In this sense "curate" correctly means a parish priest but in English-speaking countries a curate is an assistant to the parish priest...
of Bideford
Bideford
Bideford is a small port town on the estuary of the River Torridge in north Devon, south-west England. It is also the main town of the Torridge local government district.-History:...
. He then became minister of St. Martin's Church in Exeter
Exeter
Exeter is a historic city in Devon, England. It lies within the ceremonial county of Devon, of which it is the county town as well as the home of Devon County Council. Currently the administrative area has the status of a non-metropolitan district, and is therefore under the administration of the...
.
He was vicar of Totnes from 1675 until 1681, when, at the invitation of the Duke of Somerset, he was made vicar of Berry Pomeroy, a post he held for over forty years. Here he seems to have authorised much building work, as the church and vicarage have several period features.
Scandal
It was while serving in this capacity that the scandal occurred. In April 1699 he arranged a meeting with a local woman, Mary Southcote, in the back room of an innINN
InterNetNews is a Usenet news server package, originally released by Rich Salz in 1991, and presented at the Summer 1992 USENIX conference in San Antonio, Texas...
. Their dalliance was witnessed through a broken window, they were interrupted, and a court case followed later that year. However, despite many statements against him, Prince was allowed to keep his post (from which he had been suspended), as the main witnesses were deemed to be unreliable. He returned to Berry Pomeroy and lived out his years as vicar.
A plaque in St Mary's Church in Totnes states that he was well connected, and it is possible that the trial was set up by his enemies.
The Worthies of Devon
While at Berry Pomeroy, Prince worked on his Magnum Opus: a biography of his home county's many notable figures, which he probably finished in 1697. The book ran to 600 pages, with woodcuts to illustrate the 191 biographies. Unfortunately he struggled to find funding for it; most publishers able to handle such a large book were based in London or OxbridgeOxbridge
Oxbridge is a portmanteau of the University of Oxford and the University of Cambridge in England, and the term is now used to refer to them collectively, often with implications of perceived superior social status...
. Funding was also a problem, as the scandal had temporarily deprived him of his living. The printer was forced to advertise for subscribers, while the book languished for four years.
It is evident that Prince was over-ambitious in his work. The alphabetical entries from A to H fill half the book, while L to Z are squeezed into the final quarter, as money problems took their toll on his inclusions. A second volume, detailing 115 entries chosen by Prince to redress the balance, was never published.
Revival of interest
In 2001 Todd Gray published the court depositions of Prince's church trial as The Curious Sexual Adventure of the Reverend John Prince, which awakened interest in Prince. The records had gone unpublished, partly due to the coarse language used by some of the witnesses; it was not until the modern decade that such language became less shocking and could be included in a popular work.In 2005 the book was adapted as a playhttp://www.angelfire.com/planet/south_devon_players/prince.htmlhttp://www.devon.gov.uk/etched?, The Tale of John Prince, performed by the South Devon Players theatre company, and written and directed by Laura Jury. The Company performed the play at two venues relevant to the story: The Seven Sisters Hotel in Totnes (next door to the former site of Angel's inn); and also in Berry Pomeroy Church. The possibility of a television adaptation remains open.