While we are thinking about the future of Brentford's St Lawrence Church building, it is worth remembering some of the church's very colourful history. This year, it is 250 years since one of Brentford's most distinguished residents, John Horne Tooke became the curate of New Brentford, at St Lawrence Church on the 23rd November 1760.
I've dug into Brentford's history, to find out more about this gifted preacher, political reformer and philologist.
There is a wealth of information about John Horne Tooke's life, too much for this article, so I have summarised the key events in a timeline.
He was born in Westminster, the son of a prosperous poulterer. When asked at Eton school what his father was, he answered "A Turkey merchant."
He attended Eton College school.
He attended Cambridge University, St John's College, obtaining a B.A. degree in 1758.
He studied law at the Inner Temple.
He was ordained a priest in the church.
Curate at St Lawrence Church, Brentford
He travelled in France as a tutor to the son of John Elwes (an MP and a noted eccentric and miser, believed to be the inspiration for the character of Ebenezer Scrooge in Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol.)
He wrote an anonymous pamphlet, The Petition of an Englishman, that defended John Wilkes. He travelled as tutor with the son of a Mr. Taylor to France an Italy. At Paris, he met John Wilkes, a man whose journal, The North Briton, had upset George III and his Tory government. They became friends. He met Voltaire at Ferney and also met Sterne at Lyons.
He resumed his functions at St Lawrence Church, Brentford.
At the Middlesex elections at Brentford, he secured the return of John Wilkes to Parliament for Middlesex.
The Bill of Rights Society was set up at a meeting at the London Tavern to discuss the refusal of the House of Commons to accept the election of John Wilkes. It would help support the campaign to reinstate Wilkes. John Horne Tooke became treasurer and eventually the most influential figure.
He obtained an M.A. degree at Cambridge. He formed the Constitutional Society to campaign for parliamentary reform and support for American colonialists.
He resigned his benefice at St Lawrence Church, but continued to live in Brentford. He began studying law and philology.
He successfully defended in court, his friend William Tooke, against an enclosure bill, which affected his property interests. John Horne Tooke won the case.
He was fined and imprisoned for a year in the King's Bench Prison in St George's Fields, Southwark, for attempting to raise funds to aid relatives of the Americans "murdered by the King's troops at Lexington and Concord."
He established the Society for Constitutional Information.
He adopted the name Tooke in 1782 after being designated heir to the estate of a friend, William Tooke, a wealthy landowner from Purley.
He was influenced by the ideas of Tom Paine and after the publication of Paine's The Rights of Man in 1791 he began to work closely with Thomas Hardy and the Corresponding Society. It's objectives were to:
He was jailed in the Tower of London and tried at the Old Bailey for treason, but acquitted.
He published his book Epea Pteroenta, or the Diversions of Purley Vol I , which was an early attempt at a scientific language study.
He was elected to Parliament, but in the same year, the government passed an act (specifically directed against him) that disqualified clergy from sitting in the House of Commons.
He published his book Epea Pteroenta, or the Diversions of Purley Vol II.
He died in Wimbledon and was buried in St Mary's Church, St Mary's Rd., Ealing.
An excellent summary of his life can be found on the Web of English History website.
When at Brentford he lived in the parsonage-house from 1760 until 1773, then when he resigned his benefice, he moved to Windmill Lane and lived there until 1782.
His time as curate at St Lawrence Church, Brentford, 1760 - 1773 is described on pages 33 - 42 ; 84-419. in the book:
It would be fitting to have at least a plaque on the wall of St Lawrence Church to celebrate his life in Brentford.
Here's a toast to John Horne Tooke, a great man of Brentford. I hope your spirit is watching over the future development of St Lawrence's.
See the 'Poor, Poor St Lawrence Church' article for the church's glorious history and its sad demise.
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