William Dugdale

Background

Sir William Dugdale was born on September 12, 1605 in Shustoke, Warwickshire, England, the son of a country gentleman of an old Lancashire stock. His father was bursar at St John's College, Oxford, before retiring to Warwickshir.

Education

Dugdale was educated at King Henry VIII School, Coventry. In November 1642 he was admitted M. A. of the University of Oxford.

Career

Dugdale had early shown an inclination for antiquarian studies, and in 1635, meeting Sir Symon Archer who was then employed in collecting materials for a history of Warwickshire, he accompanied him to London. In 1638 Dugdale was created a pursuivant of arms extraordinary by the name of Blanch Lyon, and in 1639 rouge croix pursuivant in ordinary. He now had a lodging in the Heralds' Office, and spent much of his time in London examining the records in the Tower and the Cottonian and other collections of MSS.

In 1641 Sir Christopher Hatton, foreseeing the war and dreading the ruin and spoliation of the Church, commissioned him to make exact drafts of all the monuments in Westminster Abbey and the principal churches in England, including Peterborough, Ely, Norwich, Lincoln. Newark, Beverley, Southwell, Kingston-upon-Hull, York, Selby, Chester, Lichfield, Tamworth and Warwick.

In June 1642 Dugdale was summoned to attend the king at York. When war broke out Charles deputed him to summon to surrender the castles of Banbury and Warwick, and other strongholds which were being rapidly filled with ammunition and rebels. He went with Charles to Oxford, remaining there till its surrender in 1646. He witnessed the battle of Edgehill, where he made afterwards an exact survey of the field, noting how the armies were drawn up, and 'where and in what direction the various movements took place, and marking the graves of the slain.

In 1644 the king created Dugdale Chester herald. During his leisure at Oxford he collected material at the Bodleian and college libraries for his books. In 1646 Dugdale returned to London and compounded for his estates, which had been sequestrated. After a visit to France in 1648 he continued his antiquarian researches in London. In 1655, with Roger Dodsworth, he published the first volume of Monasticon Anglicanum, documents relating to the English monasteries. The second and third volumes appeared in 1661 and 1673, and the whole was repeatedly reissued and augmented. In 1656 Dugdale printed his Antiquities of Warwickshire, one of the first and greatest of county histories.

After the Restoration, Dugdale devoted himself mainly to his heraldic duties, including strict visitations, though he continued to publish important work, particularly the Baronage, which came out in 1675 and 1676. In undertakings of this depth, Dugdale relied greatly upon the work of other scholars, not always acknowledged, but a later charge that he was ‘that grand plagiary’ is ungenerous. He obtained the office of Norroy king-at-arms, and in 1677 was created garter principal king-at-arms. He died "in his chair" at Blythe Hall on February 10, 1686.

Achievements

• Dugdale was the centre of a scholarly circle, and he compiled, with the help of Roger Dodsworth, Monasticon Anglicanum, a collection of records relating to medieval English religious houses. Among his other important works were the Antiquities of Warwickshire, which became a model for large-scale county histories, and The Baronage of England. He was knighted in 1667.

Works

More photos

• book

  • The antiquities of Warwickshire illustrated: with maps, prospects, and portraictures By Sir William Dugdale The second ed, in two vs, printed from a ... with the original copper plates, v 2 of 2

    ( The 18th century was a wealth of knowledge, exploration...)

  • Dugdale's Visitation of Yorkshire, with Additions Volume 3

    (Unlike some other reproductions of classic texts (1) We h...)

  • Monasticon Anglicanum; a history of the abbies and other monasteries, hospitals, frieries, and cathedral and collegiate churches, with their ... Scotch, Irish, and French Volume 6, no. 3

    (This historic book may have numerous typos and missing te...)

  • A Short View of the Late Troubles in England; Briefly Setting Forth, Their Rise, Growth, and Tragical Conclusion as Also, SOM Parallel Thereof with

    (This historic book may have numerous typos and missing te...)

  • Dugdale's Visitation of Yorkshire, with Additions, Parts 1-4... - Primary Source Edition

    ( This is a reproduction of a book published before 1923....)

  • Dugdale's Visitation of Yorkshire, with Additions - Primary Source Edition

    (This is a reproduction of a book published before 1923. T...)

  • The Antiquities of Warwick, and Warwick Castle: Extracted from Sir William Dugdale's Antiquities of Warwickshire. to Which Is Added, ... a Detail of T

    (This is a reproduction of a book published before 1923. T...)

Connections

In 1623 to please his father, who was old and infirm, he married Margaret Huntbach. He lived with his wife's family until his father's death in 1624, when he went to live at Fillongley, near Shustoke, an estate formerly purchased for him by his father. In 1625 he purchased the manor of Blythe, Shustoke, and the family removed there in 1626. They had nineteen children.

Spouse:

Margaret Huntbach

References

• William Dugdale: A Life of the Warwickshire Historian and Herald
• William Dugdale, Historian, 1605-1686: His Life, his Writings and His County