Ned Ward
Encyclopedia
Ned Ward also known as Edward Ward, was a satirical
writer and publican
in the late seventeenth and early eighteenth century based in London, England. His most famous work is The London Spy
. Published in 18 monthly instalments starting in November 1698 it was described (by the author) as a "complete survey" of the London scene. It was first published in book form in 1703.
. According to Theophilus Cibber
, Ward was "a man of low extraction, and who never received any regular education”, but he is likely to have been educated at one of the grammar schools of Oxfordshire. By 1691 Ward had made his way to London. His first publication, The Poet’s Ramble After Riches, described his poverty and his disappointment of not receiving an inheritance through humorous Hudibrastic couplets. Further prose satires were published in 1695, Female Policy Detected, or, The Arts of Designing Woman Laid Open, and in 1698, A Trip to Jamaica. This travel account, based on Ward's trip to Port Royal
, Jamaica in 1687, was a satire of the way in which settlers were recruited to the Americas. Its success led to the publication of A Trip to New England in 1699.
, London from 1699. In 1712 Ward opened an alehouse near Clerkenwell Green. Under the rule of King George I his writings somewhat abated. His writings after 1712 focused closely on local and personal experiences, particularly within The Merry Travellers of 1712, which spoke of his own customers. From 1717 to (approx) 1730 Ward kept the Bacchus Tavern in Moorfields
. During this time Ward’s writings continued to gain popularity and spread across to the Americas, where even Cotton Mather
, the socially and politically influential New England Puritan minister, author and pamphleteer, in 1726 warned against “such Pestilences, and indeed all those worse than Egyptian Toads (the Spawns of a Butler, and a Brown, and a Ward…)". Close, geographically to Grub Street
, Moorfields
offered Ward proximity to his readership, becoming a natural target for Alexander Pope
. Between late 1729 and late 1730, Ward left the Bacchus tavern and established himself in the British Coffee House in Fullwood’s Rents near Gray’s Inn. On 20 June 1730 Ward passed away and was buried in St Pancras’ Churchyard in Middlesex. His obituary in Abbleby’s Journal of 28 September 1731 published the names of his wife and children, but there is no record of his marriage.
Ned Ward, A Trip to New-England (1706)
Satire
Satire is primarily a literary genre or form, although in practice it can also be found in the graphic and performing arts. In satire, vices, follies, abuses, and shortcomings are held up to ridicule, ideally with the intent of shaming individuals, and society itself, into improvement...
writer and publican
Publican
In antiquity, publicans were public contractors, in which role they often supplied the Roman legions and military, managed the collection of port duties, and oversaw public building projects...
in the late seventeenth and early eighteenth century based in London, England. His most famous work is The London Spy
The London Spy
The London Spy by Ned Ward is a non-fiction book about London lowlife and vice published in 1703. The chapters are arranged topographically. The account is told in the first person by the author under the persona of 'The London Spy'....
. Published in 18 monthly instalments starting in November 1698 it was described (by the author) as a "complete survey" of the London scene. It was first published in book form in 1703.
Early life
Ned Ward was born in 1660 or 1667 in OxfordshireOxfordshire
Oxfordshire is a county in the South East region of England, bordering on Warwickshire and Northamptonshire , Buckinghamshire , Berkshire , Wiltshire and Gloucestershire ....
. According to Theophilus Cibber
Theophilus Cibber
Theophilus Cibber was an English actor, playwright, author, and son of the actor-manager Colley Cibber.He began acting at an early age, and followed his father into theatrical management. In 1727, Alexander Pope satirized Theophilus Cibber in his Dunciad as a youth who "thrusts his person full...
, Ward was "a man of low extraction, and who never received any regular education”, but he is likely to have been educated at one of the grammar schools of Oxfordshire. By 1691 Ward had made his way to London. His first publication, The Poet’s Ramble After Riches, described his poverty and his disappointment of not receiving an inheritance through humorous Hudibrastic couplets. Further prose satires were published in 1695, Female Policy Detected, or, The Arts of Designing Woman Laid Open, and in 1698, A Trip to Jamaica. This travel account, based on Ward's trip to Port Royal
Port Royal
Port Royal was a city located at the end of the Palisadoes at the mouth of the Kingston Harbour, in southeastern Jamaica. Founded in 1518, it was the centre of shipping commerce in the Caribbean Sea during the latter half of the 17th century...
, Jamaica in 1687, was a satire of the way in which settlers were recruited to the Americas. Its success led to the publication of A Trip to New England in 1699.
Literary Success
Ward adapted the format of A Trip to Jamaica and A Trip to New England to his experiences of London in The London Spy, which was published in eighteen monthly parts from November 1698. Written in the authorial voice of a philosopher who abandons his scholarly pursuits in favor of actual experience, The London Spy established Ward’s name and style within the literary world, and was so successful that for over a decade Ward’s writings were sold and advertised under the caption of “by the Author of The London Spy”. The London Spy was followed by over one hundred satires of prose and verse, of which typical targets included ale house keepers, dissenting ministers, lawyers and booksellers, he extended some of these works into periodicals, such as The Weekly Comedy, as it is Dayly Acted at most Coffee-Houses in London in 1699.Political Life
From as early as 1698, Ward was involved in political controversy. A “High-Church Tory”, he launched several attacks on low-church moderation and conformity, his first published was within Ecclesia et factio. Ward’s best-known political publication, Hudibras Redivivus, which was issued in twenty-four monthly parts between 1705 and 1707, drew upon topical and relevant material from the political struggle. Taken into custody both in February and June of 1706, Ward was charged with seditious libel for accusations against the queen for failing to support the Tories in parliament and was condemned to stand in the pillory.Tavern Life
Ward was publican at the King's Head Tavern, next door to Gray's InnGray's Inn
The Honourable Society of Gray's Inn, commonly known as Gray's Inn, is one of the four Inns of Court in London. To be called to the Bar and practise as a barrister in England and Wales, an individual must belong to one of these Inns...
, London from 1699. In 1712 Ward opened an alehouse near Clerkenwell Green. Under the rule of King George I his writings somewhat abated. His writings after 1712 focused closely on local and personal experiences, particularly within The Merry Travellers of 1712, which spoke of his own customers. From 1717 to (approx) 1730 Ward kept the Bacchus Tavern in Moorfields
Moorfields
In London, the Moorfields were one of the last pieces of open land in the City of London, near the Moorgate. The fields were divided into three areas, the Moorfields proper, just north of Bethlem Hospital, and inside the City boundaries, and Middle and Upper Moorfields to the north.After the Great...
. During this time Ward’s writings continued to gain popularity and spread across to the Americas, where even Cotton Mather
Cotton Mather
Cotton Mather, FRS was a socially and politically influential New England Puritan minister, prolific author and pamphleteer; he is often remembered for his role in the Salem witch trials...
, the socially and politically influential New England Puritan minister, author and pamphleteer, in 1726 warned against “such Pestilences, and indeed all those worse than Egyptian Toads (the Spawns of a Butler, and a Brown, and a Ward…)". Close, geographically to Grub Street
Grub Street
Until the early 19th century, Grub Street was a street close to London's impoverished Moorfields district that ran from Fore Street east of St Giles-without-Cripplegate north to Chiswell Street...
, Moorfields
Moorfields
In London, the Moorfields were one of the last pieces of open land in the City of London, near the Moorgate. The fields were divided into three areas, the Moorfields proper, just north of Bethlem Hospital, and inside the City boundaries, and Middle and Upper Moorfields to the north.After the Great...
offered Ward proximity to his readership, becoming a natural target for Alexander Pope
Alexander Pope
Alexander Pope was an 18th-century English poet, best known for his satirical verse and for his translation of Homer. He is the third-most frequently quoted writer in The Oxford Dictionary of Quotations, after Shakespeare and Tennyson...
. Between late 1729 and late 1730, Ward left the Bacchus tavern and established himself in the British Coffee House in Fullwood’s Rents near Gray’s Inn. On 20 June 1730 Ward passed away and was buried in St Pancras’ Churchyard in Middlesex. His obituary in Abbleby’s Journal of 28 September 1731 published the names of his wife and children, but there is no record of his marriage.
Trip Accounts
Ward drew on his own experiences in Port Royal to develop the ‘trip format,’ a format that he continued to use for the first decade of his prominence. Ward had travelled to Jamaica in the hope of escaping the poverty he experienced in London, but he found things no more encouraging in the ‘New World’ than the Old. This led him to write a biting attack, not only on the ‘New World’ itself, but on the authors who had written about the ‘New World’ in such glowing terms. This type of satirical trip-account, first used by Ward on Jamaica, was extended by him to New-England (which he did not visit), Islington, Sadler’s Wells, Bath and Stourbridge.Prose Satires
The London Spy was Ward's first successful prose work (through it also contains songs and verse). Ward presented the seamier side of life by utilising graphic description, racy anecdotes and character sketches. Some of these satires were expanded into periodicals, allowing for an extended commentary on specific human and individual vices that Ward experienced personally, particularly within London and his own taverns.External links
Ned Ward, The Second Volume of the Writings of the Author of The London-Spy (1706)Ned Ward, A Trip to New-England (1706)