Background
Charles James Apperley was born at Plasgronow, near Wrexham, in Denbighshire, North Wales in 1777. He was the second son of Thomas Apperley, Esq. , of Wootton House, Gloucestershire.
Charles James Apperley was born at Plasgronow, near Wrexham, in Denbighshire, North Wales in 1777. He was the second son of Thomas Apperley, Esq. , of Wootton House, Gloucestershire.
Apperley was educated at Rugby School before joining the Ancient British Light Dragoons in 1798.
Charles James Apperley settled in Warwickshire, where he devoted himself to the pleasures of the Chase. Between the years 1805 and 1820 Apperley devoted himself to fox-hunting. From 1813 to 1819 he was the agent for his brother-in-law"s estates and lived at Tŷ Gwyn, Llanbeblig. Around 1821, under the pseudonym of "Nimrod", Apperley began to contribute a series of articles to The Sporting Magazine that covered horse races, hunt meets and other sporting events.
Charles James Apperley's references to the personalities of the people he knew or met at such events helped to double the circulation of the magazine within a few years. Mr. Pittman, the proprietor of The Sporting Magazine, gave Nimrod a handsome salary and defrayed all the expenses of his tours.
Charles James Apperley also gave Nimrod a stud of hunters. After Pittman"s death, the proprietors of the magazine sued Apperley for the money that had been advanced. To avoid imprisonment, Apperley moved to Calais in 1830, where he supported himself by writing.
Apperley is best known for the two books, The Life of a Sportsman, and Memoirs of the Life of John Mytton, both of which were illustrated with coloured engravings by Henry Thomas Alken. Apperley eventually returned to England.
Charles James Apperley was an English sportsman and sporting writer, better known as Nimrod, the pseudonym under which he published his works on the chase and on the turf. Apperley is best known for the two books, The Life of a Sportsman, and Memoirs of the Life of John Mytton, both of which were illustrated with coloured engravings by Henry Thomas Alken.
Charles James Apperley was married to Winifred Wynn of Peniarth, daughter of a Caernarvonshire landowner.