The Diary of Nathaniel Bryceson (Part 6)

[Mongibello]

I had a look at the site of the Pentonville Chapel yesterday.   The chapel has been replaced by an office block but the graveyard is the Joseph Grimaldi Park.   He was a clown and actor who is buried there.    There are some gravestones set against the walls but no luck for John B.     However it would have been possible for Nathaniel to have come across John's grave and questioned his mother.    I suspect a deathbed confession is more likely.

[waiteohman]

Interesting idea Mongibello. There may also be the possibility of Matthew Ward or Granny Sheppard telling him after his mother's death.

[Ruskie]

I had a look at the site of the Pentonville Chapel yesterday.   The chapel has been replaced by an office block but the graveyard is the Joseph Grimaldi Park.   He was a clown and actor who is buried there.    There are some gravestones set against the walls but no luck for John B.     However it would have been possible for Nathaniel to have come across John's grave and questioned his mother.    I suspect a deathbed confession is more likely.

Thanks very much for looking Mongibello. At least that's one more thing we can cross off our list.   I suppose it's also possible that there was no gravestone for John ...  

[steve_gus]

Interesting idea Mongibello. There may also be the possibility of Matthew Ward or Granny Sheppard telling him after his mother's death.

thats what I suspected..... possibly granny. His Mum wasnt expected to last the night a couple months ago, and she didnt tell him then.... or she did and he didnt feel it worth a diary mention - which it surely would be!

[Ruskie]

I received a reply from Westminster Archives to my question about the purchase of the diary and it's whereabouts before that.

Here is the reply:

I did contact Miss Swarbrick about the acquisition of the diary and I have heard back from her.  Apparently it was she who bought it, not Mr Osborn, although he did the index.  Winifred Myers, the vendor, was someone who sold manuscripts, but I was unable to find her listed in the Kelly's Post Office London Directory for 1972.  I had wondered whether she might have been another descendant of Nathaniel's, but obviously not.  Miss Swarbrick says of the diary "it came with no provenance and was not part of a larger archive".  So the mystery of its custodianship between 1846 and 1972 still remains!

So, unfortunately nothing to help us there. I have replied asking if Miss Swarbrick purchased the diary from Miss Myers or from her estate as we discussed a while ago. I suspect the latter.

[Ruskie]

Today's entry:

"Sent copy of verses of own composing to Mr Walker relative to his late removal of his old round lamp – sent it through the post."

Does this mean that Nathaniel is also a poet? 

I would LOVE to read the verses he sent to Mr Walker!!!  He must have felt very strongly about this to put pen to paper. He's a funny lad Nathaniel ... 

[Siamese Girl]

I know he didn't like the new light - do you think Nat sent Mr Walker an anomymous threatening poem ? 

I expect the diaries got split up when Aleck Abrahams died - this one probably survived because as it was written in the old ledger it looked better than the others.

Carole

[drykid]

Heh I love today's entry.  Maybe Nat is the original "Disgusted of Tunbridge Wells."

So, unfortunately nothing to help us there. I have replied asking if Miss Swarbrick purchased the diary from Miss Myers or from her estate as we discussed a while ago. I suspect the latter.

I don't think it's the latter; there's plenty of evidence online that Winifred Myers was donating or selling manuscripts to collections well into the 1980s (though I'm fairly sure she's passed away since then.) In fact she subsequently sold some ancient wills to Westminster themselves in 1981 (i.e. seven years after she sold the diary to them):

http://www3.westminster.gov.uk/docstores/publications_store/archives/infosheet10.pdf

This additional collection of 645 wills was purchased from Winifred A Myers (Autographs) Limited, of
91 St Martin’s Lane, in May 1981. All these wills have been entered onto the Wills Database, and a
bound printout is available in the Searchroom (arranged both by name and date).

Still thanks for chasing it up; it's useful to know that the diaries had already been separated by the time Westminster Archives acquired the 1846 one. Although it's not impossible that Winifred Myers acquired more and had sold them previously (but I'd say unlikely, since it's hard to imagine why any buyer would not want the set, unless it was a matter of expense.)

[waiteohman]

I do think a writer of poetry, with his purchase of print of John Miller and those dictionaries to augment his vocabulary. I wonder if the Feb 21st purchase - print of William Hogarth ... date thereof 1795 may have been a print edition if one exists of the Distressed Poet
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Distrest_Poet

Linda