Sir Wolstan Dixie, 4th Baronet
Encyclopedia
Sir Wolstan Dixie, 4th Baronet (1700–1767) was the among most colourful of the 13 Dixie Baronets
of Market Bosworth
, descended from the second Sir Wolstan Dixie, knighted by James I
in 1604, and Sheriff of Leicester
(himself grand-nephew of the first Sir Wolstan Dixie
, Lord Mayor of London
in 1585, during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I
).
Following his death in 1767, he was succeeded by his son, also called Sir Wolstan Dixie, 5th Baronet. The very rare but characteristic male given name Wolstan
is a variant spelling of Wulstan, probably deriving from Wolstan the 11th Century bishop.
Sir Wolstan was a colourful character and stories, real and possibly spurious abound.
He had a reputation for being a pugnacious bully, with a penchant for using his fists to settle any dispute, which often set him at odds with his neighbours and even ex-employees [J.L. Clifford, 1955, Young Samuel Johnson, p.131]. As the chief trustee of the local school he “had complete control” [Walter Jackson Bate, 1975, Samuel Johnson, p.130] over the appointment of tutors at the establishment. In March 1732 he appointed the young and impoverished Samuel Johnson (1709–1784) to a position of usher at the school, even though he did not have the required university degree. Another stipulation of the school statutes that Dixie ignored was that the master be provided with a house of his own. Instead, Johnson was lodged at Bosworth Hall and, in the words of Johnson’s biographer James Boswell (who had it from Johnson’s life-long friend, and near neighbour of Dixie, John Taylor of Ashbourne), Johnson became “a kind of domestick chaplain, so far at least, as to say grace at table, but was treated with what he represented as intolerable harshness; and, after suffering for a few months such complicated misery, he relinquished a situation for which all his life afterwards he recollected with the strongest aversion, and even a degree of horrour” [Walter Jackson Bate, 1975, Samuel Johnson, p.131].
As Dixie was also “legendary for his ignorance” [David Nokes, 2009, Samuel Johnson, A Life, p.35] there is an amusing anecdote told about his violent encounter with a neighbouring squire who objected to Dixie barring access to a footpath across his land. The ensuing fight must have been memorable, for Dixie at least: when he was presented to the Germanic King George II at a levee as Sir Wolstan Dixie “of Bosworth Park”, the king, wanting perhaps to show some knowledge of important English battles, said, “’Bosworth-Bosworth! Big battle at Bosworth, wasn’t it?’ ‘Yes, Sire. But I thrashed him’, replied Sir Wolstan, oblivious of any other fight than his own” [J.L. Clifford, 1955, Young Samuel Johnson, p.131].
One local story of him is that he strongly objected to men with waggons driving across his park, and having one day beaten the waggoner of a neighbouring squire, Wrightson Mundy
of Osbaston Hall
, Mundy himself dressed up as his waggoner, the cart was again attacked by Dixie, who was then soundly beaten by Mundy.
Another local story is that Sir Wolstan allegedly appointed his butler as headmaster of the Dixie Grammar School
to prove to people that he could do anything he wanted to, and nobody could stop him. This story probably has its origin in well documented conflicts between the 4th Baronet and the School.
A more disturbing (unattributed) local legend (in various versions) is the following: "But in 1758 tragedy finally resulted from one of Sir Wolstan's ill-conceived actions. He heard that his daughter Anne was surreptitiously meeting a young man in Bosworth Park and resolved to put a stop to the liaison. He put man-traps out to catch the young suitor but caught his daughter Ann instead. Although she was rescued from the trap and carried back to the hall, nothing could be done to staunch her wounds and she bled to death. Even today her ghost is said to haunt the hall..."
The 4th Baronet was renowned for engaging ‘in lawsuits against the high and the low’ . Among those lawsuits is evidence for a thwarted attempt to regain land at Appleby Magna
which the Dormer family (Puritan
and Roundhead
) had acquired from the Dixie family (Royalists) during the English Civil War
1641–1651 or Commonwealth of England
1653–1659.
Dixie Baronets
The Dixie Baronets are the holders of the one Dixie baronetcy, created in the Baronetage of England at the time of the Restoration of the Monarchy in 1660 for Sir Wolstan Dixie , a supporter of King Charles I during the English Civil War and afterwards...
of Market Bosworth
Market Bosworth
Market Bosworth is a small market town and civil parish in Leicestershire, England. It formerly formed a district known as the Market Bosworth Rural District. In 1974 it merged with the Hinckley Rural District to form a new district named Hinckley and Bosworth...
, descended from the second Sir Wolstan Dixie, knighted by James I
James I of England
James VI and I was King of Scots as James VI from 24 July 1567 and King of England and Ireland as James I from the union of the English and Scottish crowns on 24 March 1603...
in 1604, and Sheriff of Leicester
High Sheriff of Leicestershire
This is a list of High Sheriffs of Leicestershire. The High Sheriff is the oldest secular office under the Crown. Formerly the High Sheriff was the principal law enforcement officer in the county but over the centuries most of the responsibilities associated with the post have been transferred...
(himself grand-nephew of the first Sir Wolstan Dixie
Wolstan Dixie
Sir Wolstan Dixie, , was a merchant and administrator, and Lord Mayor of London in 1585.-Life:He was the son of Thomas Dixie and Anne Jephson, who lived at Catworth in Huntingdonshire. Wolstan was the fourth son of his father, and went into business...
, Lord Mayor of London
Lord Mayor of London
The Right Honourable Lord Mayor of London is the legal title for the Mayor of the City of London Corporation. The Lord Mayor of London is to be distinguished from the Mayor of London; the former is an officer only of the City of London, while the Mayor of London is the Mayor of Greater London and...
in 1585, during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I
Elizabeth I of England
Elizabeth I was queen regnant of England and Ireland from 17 November 1558 until her death. Sometimes called The Virgin Queen, Gloriana, or Good Queen Bess, Elizabeth was the fifth and last monarch of the Tudor dynasty...
).
Biography
The 4th Baronet was born at Bosworth Hall in 1700, and married three times:- 1 May 1735, Anna (died July 1739), heiress of Tobias Freer, Governor of BarbadosBarbadosBarbados is an island country in the Lesser Antilles. It is in length and as much as in width, amounting to . It is situated in the western area of the North Atlantic and 100 kilometres east of the Windward Islands and the Caribbean Sea; therein, it is about east of the islands of Saint...
- Theodosia (died 14 May 1751), daughter of Henry Offley Wright, Esq.
- Margaret, daughter of William Cross, gent.
Following his death in 1767, he was succeeded by his son, also called Sir Wolstan Dixie, 5th Baronet. The very rare but characteristic male given name Wolstan
Wolstan
Wolstan is an unusual variant spelling of Wulstan and Wulfstan.Of the following Wulfstans, the spelling Wolstan typically refers to St. Wulfstan II.*Wulfstan, ealdorman of Wiltshire , died 802...
is a variant spelling of Wulstan, probably deriving from Wolstan the 11th Century bishop.
Sir Wolstan was a colourful character and stories, real and possibly spurious abound.
He had a reputation for being a pugnacious bully, with a penchant for using his fists to settle any dispute, which often set him at odds with his neighbours and even ex-employees [J.L. Clifford, 1955, Young Samuel Johnson, p.131]. As the chief trustee of the local school he “had complete control” [Walter Jackson Bate, 1975, Samuel Johnson, p.130] over the appointment of tutors at the establishment. In March 1732 he appointed the young and impoverished Samuel Johnson (1709–1784) to a position of usher at the school, even though he did not have the required university degree. Another stipulation of the school statutes that Dixie ignored was that the master be provided with a house of his own. Instead, Johnson was lodged at Bosworth Hall and, in the words of Johnson’s biographer James Boswell (who had it from Johnson’s life-long friend, and near neighbour of Dixie, John Taylor of Ashbourne), Johnson became “a kind of domestick chaplain, so far at least, as to say grace at table, but was treated with what he represented as intolerable harshness; and, after suffering for a few months such complicated misery, he relinquished a situation for which all his life afterwards he recollected with the strongest aversion, and even a degree of horrour” [Walter Jackson Bate, 1975, Samuel Johnson, p.131].
As Dixie was also “legendary for his ignorance” [David Nokes, 2009, Samuel Johnson, A Life, p.35] there is an amusing anecdote told about his violent encounter with a neighbouring squire who objected to Dixie barring access to a footpath across his land. The ensuing fight must have been memorable, for Dixie at least: when he was presented to the Germanic King George II at a levee as Sir Wolstan Dixie “of Bosworth Park”, the king, wanting perhaps to show some knowledge of important English battles, said, “’Bosworth-Bosworth! Big battle at Bosworth, wasn’t it?’ ‘Yes, Sire. But I thrashed him’, replied Sir Wolstan, oblivious of any other fight than his own” [J.L. Clifford, 1955, Young Samuel Johnson, p.131].
One local story of him is that he strongly objected to men with waggons driving across his park, and having one day beaten the waggoner of a neighbouring squire, Wrightson Mundy
Wrightson Mundy
Wrightson Mundy was High Sheriff of Derbyshire in 1737 and MP for Leicestershire in 1747.-Biography:Wrightson married Anne daughter of Robert Burdett and sister of Sir Robert Burdett, Bt of Foremarke Hall, Derbyshire by whom he had one son and four daughters...
of Osbaston Hall
Osbaston Hall
Osbaston Hall is a privately owned 18th-century country house at Osbaston, Leicestershire. It is the home of the de Lisle family and a Grade II* listed building.The oldest fabric of the house dates from the late 16th or early 17th century...
, Mundy himself dressed up as his waggoner, the cart was again attacked by Dixie, who was then soundly beaten by Mundy.
Another local story is that Sir Wolstan allegedly appointed his butler as headmaster of the Dixie Grammar School
Dixie Grammar School
Dixie Grammar School is a school in Market Bosworth, Leicestershire. It is next door to the high school Market Bosworth High School.The earliest records of the School's existence date from 1320, but the school was re-founded in 1601 under the will of an Elizabethan merchant and Lord Mayor of...
to prove to people that he could do anything he wanted to, and nobody could stop him. This story probably has its origin in well documented conflicts between the 4th Baronet and the School.
A more disturbing (unattributed) local legend (in various versions) is the following: "But in 1758 tragedy finally resulted from one of Sir Wolstan's ill-conceived actions. He heard that his daughter Anne was surreptitiously meeting a young man in Bosworth Park and resolved to put a stop to the liaison. He put man-traps out to catch the young suitor but caught his daughter Ann instead. Although she was rescued from the trap and carried back to the hall, nothing could be done to staunch her wounds and she bled to death. Even today her ghost is said to haunt the hall..."
The 4th Baronet was renowned for engaging ‘in lawsuits against the high and the low’ . Among those lawsuits is evidence for a thwarted attempt to regain land at Appleby Magna
Appleby Magna
Appleby Magna is a village and civil parish in the district of North West Leicestershire, England.The civil parish, as well as Appleby Magna, includes the small Hamlet of Appleby Parva and the Villages of Norton-Juxta-Twycross, Snarestone and Swepstone...
which the Dormer family (Puritan
Puritan
The Puritans were a significant grouping of English Protestants in the 16th and 17th centuries. Puritanism in this sense was founded by some Marian exiles from the clergy shortly after the accession of Elizabeth I of England in 1558, as an activist movement within the Church of England...
and Roundhead
Roundhead
"Roundhead" was the nickname given to the supporters of the Parliament during the English Civil War. Also known as Parliamentarians, they fought against King Charles I and his supporters, the Cavaliers , who claimed absolute power and the divine right of kings...
) had acquired from the Dixie family (Royalists) during the English Civil War
English Civil War
The English Civil War was a series of armed conflicts and political machinations between Parliamentarians and Royalists...
1641–1651 or Commonwealth of England
Commonwealth of England
The Commonwealth of England was the republic which ruled first England, and then Ireland and Scotland from 1649 to 1660. Between 1653–1659 it was known as the Commonwealth of England, Scotland and Ireland...
1653–1659.