Transcript

of

Thomas Wainwright [Obituary]

Trans. Devon Assoc., vol. 48, (1916), pp. 52-53.

by

Maxwell Adams (Ed.)

Prepared by Michael Steer

The obituary was read at the Association’s July 1916 Plymouth meeting. A similar obituary for Mr Wainright but with several differences in content appears in Devon & Cornwall Notes & Queries vol. 9, no. 3, (1916) pp.68-69. Available in GENUKI/Devon. The obituary, from a copy of a rare and much sought-after journal can be downloaded from the Internet Archive. Google has sponsored the digitisation of books from several libraries. These books, on which copyright has expired, are available for free educational and research use, both as individual books and as full collections to aid researchers.

By the death of Mr. Thomas Wainwright on the 28th April, 1916, in his 91st year, the Association has lost one of its most distinguished members, Barnstaple an honoured citizen, and the county a leading scholar, educationist, antiquary, and botanist.
Born on the 9th April, 1826, he commenced life in Bridport, where he carried on a private boarding school in East Street, and was also a member of the Town Council, a church warden of St. Mary's, the parish church in that town, during its restoration in 1860, and an authority on all matters of local history.
In 1865 he went to Barnstaple to conduct a private boarding school which had been established in Ebberly Lawn by Mrs. J. P. Harris, and in 1872 was appointed head master of the ancient Grammar School of Barnstaple. He filled this position with great ability until 1890, when he resigned in order to become the Librarian of the Athenaeum, the gift to Barnstaple of his friend Mr. William Frederick Rock. For several years previously Mr. Wainwright had acted as Hon. Secretary of the Library and Scientific Institution, of which the Athenaeum was the outcome and development. Through his untiring industry the Athenaeum has become the repository of an unique collection of works and MSS. relating to North Devon.
As in Bridport, Mr. Wainwright was an authority on all matters pertaining to the history of North Devon in general and of Barnstaple in particular, and he was jointly responsible with the late Mr. J. R. Chanter for Barnstaple Records - a collection that is simply invaluable. He also published the Barnstaple Parish Register. He was a frequent contributor to Notes and Queries, as well as to the local papers, of articles dealing with local history, and his wealth of antiquarian knowledge was ever at the disposal of students and inquirers. His collection of materials bearing on antiquarian research is monumental, and it will be of immense value to future historians.
It is noteworthy that up to his 90th birthday he was engaged in the work of translating into English local incidents from the ancient Latin registers of the Bishop of Exeter. These translations will undoubtedly prove of inestimable value as works of reference in years to come. In like manner Mr. Wainwright has catalogued, arranged, and translated the valuable old manuscripts in the municipal archives of Bridport. Their value cannot be overestimated as reliable historic records of the borough in the centuries that are passed. Mr. Wainwright took an enthusiastic interest in meteorological affairs, and was the means of making the Athenaeum a centre for the collection of data relating to the whole of North Devon.
A keen educationist, Mr. Wainwright was for ten years a member of Barnstaple School Board, acting as Vice-Chairman for some years. He was a devoted Churchman, and for eighteen years acted as Lay Secretary of the Ruridecanal Conference for Barnstaple and Shirwell.
One of the oldest members of the Devonshire Association (in connection with which he did a valuable work), Mr. Wainwright was responsible (with Mr. W. P. Hiern, F.R.S.) for the inauguration of the local weekly botanical walks which for several years proved a delightful means of instruction to a band of enthusiastic students. The love of botany was a passion with him, and he maintained his custom of taking long country walks till almost up to the day of his death.
Mr. Wainwright was buried in the Barnstaple Cemetery in a grave adjoining that of his wife who had predeceased him. Four daughters, Mrs. A. J. Stephens, Mrs. Tancred, and the Misses Louie and Maud Wainwright, and a grandson, Captain Ernest Wainwright, of the Royal Marine Light Infantry, survive him.