Thomas Chatterton Manuscript Project
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Poet - Playwright - Forger?
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Introduction & Preview
Henry Wallis's, The Death of Chatterton, 1856
Does Thomas Chatterton need an introduction? If you have just arrived at this page then I assume that you already know of Chatterton and are, perhaps, endeavouring to discover more.
It is true, however, that these days, even for the Bristolians of Chatterton's home town, Chatterton is hardly known or mentioned. This is a great shame, as his life and works and the lives of the multitude of famous (and not so famous) people linked to his story are well worth the effort of discovery.
Hence, this website was created to present everything that is known about Chatterton but, more than this, it will, if they exist, present photographic copies of the original Chatterton manuscripts. In addition, we will present any handwritten transcript, along with the earliest printing, whichever gets us to the earliest extant reading of the Chatterton original. And, just as importantly, we will cut through the obfuscation that surrounds Chatterton and his life story!
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Over the years, many writers have written about Chatterton, from the first full life of Chatterton in George Gregory's, The Life of Thomas Chatterton, 1789, to Linda Kelly's, The Marvelous Boy. The Life and Myth of Thomas Chatterton, 1971, and more beyond. However, much of what has been written is, by necessity, derivative, which can be a problem. So it helps to go to the source for much of what we know about Chatterton, and that source is the strange but very important book Love and Madness, 1780, by Herbert Croft.
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But, there is always more than just the source, and there is always more than just the star of the show, so I have, over the years, been busily tickling the belly of the history of the Chatterton story, to see what is true and what is not, but also to discover and enjoy all of the other players in this rather wonderful life story that is 'Thomas Chatterton' our Bristol Shakespeare.
I should add that the key works about Chatterton that can be trusted are Edward H. W. Meyerstein's, A Life of Thomas Chatterton, 1930, and Donald S. Taylors, The Complete Works of Thomas Chatterton, 1971. I also recommend the various works by Nick Groom : View Biographies and Works.
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To get started using the website, take a look at the menu at the top of the page, everything you need is listed there. In addition, and for the sake of convenience, there are also links to all of Chatterton's works and correspondence at the foot of every page, along with links to an Index of First Lines of Chatterton's Verses, and to a Glossary to the Rowleyan writings, both are the work of Donald S. Taylor. So, when you find a word that you do not know, and there will be many, you now know what you must do - go to the Glossary!
As an added treat, there is also a link at the foot of every page, which will take you to the next page in sequence - so you can actually read the whole website as if it were a book. The rest you must discover for yourself as you delve into the contents of this website.
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​Now, how should I introduce Chatterton to you? Well, a choice has to be made, so I offer below, a biography by Basil Cottle, written in 1963. Do bear in mind that not all you read in earlier publications, or later publications for that matter, can be taken as fact; which is where this website comes in, as it will present the facts as we know them to date.
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The following segment is part of page 1 of Basil Cottle's pamphlet, 'Thomas Chatterton'. I have enhanced Cottle's text by adding links to pages on this website, each of which delves deeper into the subject at hand and, of course, you can read the whole of Basil Cottle's 'Thomas Chatterton' by clicking the words in blue :
"There is in London's Tate Gallery a melancholy but very popular painting by Henry Wallis, dated 1856 and entitled The Death of Chatterton: a grim garret bedroom, a heap of torn manuscripts, a misty view of St. Paul's Cathedral, a hopeful plant in flower on the sill, the gay colours of jacket and breeches, the pallor of a youth's body.
The youth is Thomas Chatterton, born to poverty in Bristol in 1752 [in the Master's House, Pile Street] bred there in a harsh school [Colston's Charity School for boys] and a dull apprenticeship [as a Scrivener for Lambert the Attorney], who yet against this unprivileged background began to write assured verse as a child, and went on to erect a whole medieval world of fantasy which he conveyed in his own imitation medieval English poetry, on scraps of genuine old parchment. The caprice of all this is perhaps childish; but for the performance of it there is no explanation save genius. In 1770, when he was only seventeen, his hopes crashed, and he took poison in London. Wallis painted in the very attic where the suicide occurred [apparently not, it was actually across the road from the room in which Chatterton died, and it was an accidental overdose - see Death of Chatterton], and since no portrait of Chatterton was extant the figure was modelled by the poet and novelist George Meredith; even this had a gloomy ending—the artist eloped with the writer's wife two years later.
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But a disservice has been done to the memory of Thomas Chatterton, English poet, by such pity and sensationalism; he has been summed up merely as ' the marvellous Boy ', his faked medieval poems have been examined as a piece of linguistics and not as literature, and Wallis's painting has immortalized the pathos of the juvenile suicide in purple and puce. It is the purpose of this study to show Chatterton as England's youngest writer of sustained adult verse, but more vitally as her loudest herald of the Gothic Revival—that revival, late in the 18th century, of an interest in medieval buildings and writings.
His father was the master of the little school in Pile St., Bristol, for forty boys from Redcliffe and St. Thomas parishes, and was also a lay clerk in the Cathedral—a man proud, talented, musical, dissipated, toying with magic and owning 100 Roman coins and 150 books..." [Click below for the rest of this little biography].​
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The following Timeline of Chatterton's short life, which lasted from 20 November 1752 to 24/25 August 1770, might help to forgive the Rowleians (those who insist that Rowley was the actual author of Chatterton's works) for rejecting Chatterton as the true author of his Rowleian works - well, it must have seemed impossible that a lad of Chatterton's age could have produced such an amazing body of work in such a short period of time.
Chatterton's short life lasted from 20 November 1752 to 24/25 August 1770.
A bald and stark statement of a tiny existence - a total of 17 years and 9 months.
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When you break it down it becomes truly stark:
At 5 or 6 years of age he joined Pile Street Charity school, but lasted only 4 weeks after being rejected as being too dull to learn: ...Read more.
He spent the next 109 weeks at home without formal education. It is clear to me that Chatterton's mother, Sarah, was a force in his life. It is clear too that Chatterton had an enquiring mind and would have kept his mother busy with continuous questions. It seems that she had a plan for his continuing education and managed, somehow, to get him enrolled in Colston's Charity School.
This phase, as a pupil at Colston's Charity School, saw him practically imprisoned for 359 weeks.
Colston's was a boarding school where only basic education was taught, consisting of reading, writing, accounts and maths, along with religious indoctrination - just enough education to ready him for his future occupation as an apprentice scrivener : ...Read more of Chatterton's time at Colston's School.
On the 1st July 1767, he started his unpaid training as a Scrivener's apprentice at Lambert's, a Bristol attorney. He also lodged at Lambert's house, sharing a bed with another boy. His apprenticeship was cancelled after just 143 weeks : ...Read more.
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After his indentures were cancelled he moved to Shoreditch, London, where he shared a bed with the son of his relative, Mrs Ballance; this stopover lasted for just 37 days : ...Read more.
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This is the point when he made his final move. He took an attic room in Mrs Angel's house, in Brooke Street, Holborn, London : ...Read more.
At last he had some privacy - but his freedom lasted just 85 days and he died on the 24th / 25th August 1770! ...Read more.
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A short life indeed! But as short as it was he still got his wish to have his name blown about the world; his fame reached many countries & stretched across the centuries.
Not bad for a poet who was 'But a boy!'
Quick Links to the Contents of this Page
The Aim of The Chatterton Manuscript Project
Original manuscripts by Thomas Chatterton are spread far and wide; with most held by the British Library, some by various American universities, a few by Bristol Reference Library and Archives, and the odd Ms. in private hands.
The TCMP (Thomas Chatterton Manuscript Project) relies on the goodwill of of these institutions to supply photographic reproductions of their Chatterton related manuscripts for the public good and at no charge to the project.
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My hope is that these institutions will support the aims of the project while we strive to complete a task already ten years in the making; this would cost them so little for such an illustrious gain. No, I am not talking about money, but instead to be granted access to examine, photograph, and to publish the original manuscripts on this website. The project is willing to hand the entire website and all of the research and files to any University or Library that undertakes to maintain the website and make the contents freely available to all.
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So, no flimflam, just the facts, backed up with photographic copies of the original manuscripts, and copies of the earliest printings, with links to background and supporting information. This will aid research and help to defeat the obfuscation surrounding our understanding of Chatterton and his works.
Tyrwhitt's View of Chatterton & his Works
The snippet above is from the first collected edition of Chatterton's works; it appears on page xii of Thomas Tyrwhitt's 1777 edition of 'Poems, Supposed to have been written at Bristol, by Thomas Rowley, and others, in the fifteenth century...' View
This was the edition that kick-started the controversy that had its birth in October 1768, when the first 'Rowley' work to be published, The Mayor's First Passing over the Old Bridge, was printed in a Bristol newspaper: View
Tyrwhitt was the highly esteemed writer of a number of deeply academic tomes, including Fragmenta Plutarchi II. inedita; and Dissertatio de Babrio, and he was especially highly regarded for his five volume set of The Canterbury Tales of Chaucer, 1775-8. All of which sets him up as the man best placed to determine who wrote 'Rowley's' works. Well, he thought about it, he even wrote to George Symes Catcott (a supposed friend of Chatterton's) with a long list of questions, and finally he had to decide; was Chatterton the author, or was it the imaginary Rowley.......and Tyrwhitt plumped for Rowley.
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It seems to me that Tyrwhitt was wavering before the printing of the first edition, but at that point it was too late and too costly to publicly change sides. However, by the time of the third edition, in 1778, he had made his mind up, and changed his plump. He accepted that Chatterton was the writer of Rowley's works and, anyway, there was always money to be made in controversy.
Gathering the Manuscripts
- Our successes to date -
Our Thanks go to the following for their help with the project :
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Bristol Reference Library & Archives : Second only to the British Library in its store of Chatterton related Mss, but ahead in its range of other related manuscripts, especially the notebooks of George Symes Catcott & Richard Smith (Bristol surgeon).
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The British Library : The main repository of Chattertonian manuscripts. My thanks go to Catherine Angerson, who has been very patient in reaction to my extended requests, and has helped me get prepared for my visit (which will hopefully be during the early months of 2024), by supplying me with advice and key images of the main sets of Chatterton's autograph manuscripts.
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The Bodleian : It was a true joy to visit the Bodleian in 2023. The arrangements for my visit were made in quick order and I now have photographs of Chatterton's handwritten works, which he wrote onto the end papers of Catcott's 'A Treatise on the Deluge.' Photographed by [.QE!.]
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The Turnbull Library, New Zealand : Supplied the TCMP with images of Catcott’s Autograph Ms on 25 blank pages bound with a 1778 edition of ‘Rowley’s’ Poems. My thanks go to Anthony T. MA FSA, Curator Rare Books and Fine Printing : View
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QE! : The writer and editor of this website and founding member of the Thomas Chatterton Society (2002), has supplied images galore of Chattertonian works from his collection of early periodicals and editions. Plus his copy of the lower portion of Chatterton's letter to his mother, 14th May 1770 : View
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Tom Routledge : A much admired friend and founding member of the Thomas Chatterton Society (2002). Tom gathered a fine collection of Chattertonian first editions, which, after Tom's passing, now reside at a Canadian university. He kindly supplied me with photographs of his fragment of Chatterton's letter to his sister and allowed us to publish it in the project. The fragment sold in 2024 for over £10,000 : View
Gathering the Manuscripts
- Copies Required -
Location of Manuscripts
Requests for pro bono images are in with the following :
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The British Library :
The BL is the repository of William Barrett's Chattertonian manuscripts. Barrett gave his collection of manuscripts to Dr Glynn with the intention that they would end up in Bristol Library/Museum, however, Dr. Glynn's bequest donated them to the BL. See the above panel for our progress to date regarding the Mss held by the BL ; the help and commitment received so far is simply wonderful!.
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Harvard Library :
I opened an account 23rd August 2023, via Harvard Hollis (Harvard On-Line Library Information System), and have asked for the pro bono supply of the following:​
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ITEM Identifier: MS Hyde 10, (128): Chatterton, Thomas, 1752-1770. Autograph letter, signed, Redclift Hill, Bristol (England), to James Dodsley, 1768 Dec. 21., 1768​
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​ITEM Identifier: MS Hyde 10, (129): Chatterton, Thomas, 1752-1770. Sly Dick: autograph manuscript, [1764], [1764]; Also includes his A Hymn for Christmas Day.
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Notes : concerning Thomas Chatterton : manuscript, 1792 Catcott, George Symes. Houghton Library Gen (MS ENG 506).​​
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Columbia University - Phoenix Library :
​The Thomas Chatterton Notebook - Written by the hand of Chatterton - contains six important works.
Find it in the Library if you can - I've tried and failed.​
More to add in due course.
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Internet Archive !
'Isn’t it true !
That you never really own a book,
But, instead,
Every book is forever out on loan -
- No matter where it is!
For it is only a matter of time,
Inconsequential time,
Before all ‘libraries’ great and small,
Crumble and fall !'
Risteard O'Fionnalain
Who Wrote Rowley's Works ?
- Chatterton versus Rowley -
The arguments raged on for years, with some famous academics and writers, such as Jacob Bryant, claiming that the works were written by Rowley and not by Chatterton. Often, the main reason in favour of Rowley, was that such wonderful works could not have been written by an uneducated and therefore, ignorant working-class boy, and they set out to prove it in various publications.
However, some other famous people, such as Samuel Johnson, disagreed and were sure that Chatterton was the author of 'Rowley's' works.
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The protagonists in this argument are listed in the two galleries below. The list of names comes from Hyett & Bazeley's Chattertoniana : View.
Portrait of Samuel Johnson : He said of Chatterton: "It is wonderful how the whelp has written such things."
Portrait of Thomas Tyrwhitt
Hyett's list of Rowleyians anti-Rowleyians
Portrait of Samuel Johnson : He said of Chatterton: "It is wonderful how the whelp has written such things."
Gallery 1
The Chattertonians
Portrait of Jacob Bryant a Chatterton naysayer
Hyett's list of Rowleyians
Portrait of Jeremiah Milles editor of 'Rowley's Works' 1782.
Portrait of Jacob Bryant a Chatterton naysayer
Gallery 2
The Rowleians
Gallery 1 : The Chattertonians (Anti-Rowleians).
The Chattertonians were convinced that Chatterton was indeed the author of the works of Rowley, as well as the works of the other characters he created.
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Gallery 2 : The Rowleians
The Rowleians were convinced that Thomas Rowley, priest, was the true author of 'Rowley's works, and that it was impossible for a young and poorly educated boy, such as Chatterton, to have written such an amazing body of work.
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Then there were those who were Rowleians to begin with but came to accept that Chatterton was the author; they appear in both Slide-Galleries. Thomas Tyrwhitt is an example; he was a Rowleian right up until he published the first edition of the collected works of 'Rowley's' in 1777; and still he published with caveats rather than risk committing to Chatterton as the author; this is clear in Tyrwhitt's correspondence with George Catcott : View.
Was Chatterton a Forger?
Chatterton was no more a forger than Walpole was when he published the Castle of Otranto under the name of a fictitious writer.
Herbert Croft also votes in Chatterton's favour, see the the four page explanation below : Forgery Vote : No
Rev. William Dodd, Forger, Executed 1777.
The Rev. William Dodd, the man who brought us The Beauties of Shakespeare in 1752, paid with his life for a little forgery - there is no doubt what he did was definitely a forgery. Here's a paragraph on it from Wiki:
"In February 1777, he [Dodd] forged a bond for £4,200 in the name of his former pupil, the Earl of Chesterfield, to clear his debts. A banker accepted the bond in good faith, and lent him money on the strength of it. Later the banker noticed a small blot in the text and had the document re-written. When the clean copy was presented to the Earl to sign, in order to replace the old one, the forgery was discovered. Dodd immediately confessed, and begged time to make amends. He was, however, imprisoned in the Wood Street Compter pending trial. He was convicted, and sentenced to death. Samuel Johnson wrote several papers in his defence, and some 23,000 people signed a 37-page petition seeking a pardon. Nevertheless, Dodd was publicly hanged at Tyburn on 27 June 1777."
Forgery Vote : Yes - but execution was a bit harsh.
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Compare Chatterton's 'forgery' when he created a family pedigree for the gullible Henry Burgum. The pedigree was offered without a request for payment, however, Burgum was so impressed with his new found status he gifted five shillings to Chatterton, with the promise of a second payment if Chatterton discovered more about Burgum's illustrious past. To read Chatterton's 'Account of the Family of the De Bergham's' : View.
So, was it forgery? Check out an important 18th century review of forgery, The Punishment of Forgery in Eighteenth-Century England by Randall Mc Gowen - it's well worth the read : View
Forgery Vote : No.
Samples of Manuscripts & Early Editions
Manuscripts
Transcript of Chatterton Manuscript from John Ingram's book
Chatterton original manuscript
Dr Fry Transcript of Chatterton's Songe to Ella B6493
Transcript of Chatterton Manuscript from John Ingram's book
A small gallery with
Samples of manuscripts
Early Editions
Jeremiah Milles, gifted the above to James Thistlethwaite, a friend of Thomas Chatterton.
Bristows Tragedy,
or the Death of Sr Charles Bawdin
One of Chatterton's Most Admired Poems
Written by Chatterton in 1768 : View to read more
Here's a treat for you puzzlers ; We know that Bristows Tragedy was a work by Chatterton, so that is not the puzzle. What we need to determine is, which (if any) of the various versions of this work is the original - not doctored by Catcott or anyone else and, is the Bristol Library manuscript in Chatterton's handwriting? The manuscript shown above, is an example of the differing opinions of the experts, some say it is in Chatterton's handwriting, others say it's a copy by an unknown hand.
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I use the Bristol Library 'original' manuscript as the backdrop for this website, so you can guess my view. Click the link below to visit the control page for Bristows Tragedy and compare the various versions and manuscripts : View to read more
Ephemera - Postcards - Pewter - &c
Chatterton postcard muniment room St Mary Redcliffe
Postcard Chatterton Wallis pose Muniment room St Mary Redcliffe
Chatterton postcard muniment room St Mary Redcliffe
This delightful pre-1918 postcard, tells the story of Chatterton's 'discovery' of the 'Rowley' manuscripts, which he claimed to have discovered in the coffers stored in the Muniment Room of St Mary Redcliffe church; it goes on to picture his sad demise in the pose from Henry Wallis's famous painting, 'The Death of Chatterton.'
In 1777, The Annual Register published one of the earliest printings of the 'Birth Certificate of America' The American Declaration of Independence. In the same edition it reported on Tyrwhitt's recently published 1777 edition of 'Rowley's' works, and included a mini-bio of Chatterton's life, along with printing his Bristowe Tragedie in full :
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'An Account of the finding or forging of some very ingenious Poems, attributed to Thomas Rowley, a Priest of Bristol, in the fifteenth Century...'
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'Bristowe Tragedie or The Dethe of Syr Charles Bawdin...' and 'A Short Account of William Cannings, the Person so often mentioned in the preceding Article, Founder of St. Mary Redcliffe's Church in Bristol, Wrote by the foregoing Thomas Roulie, Prieste, in the Year 1460.'
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A total of 21 pages for Chatterton and just 10 for the article on the American Declaration of Independence. A silly but fun fact! Click the links below the images to read the works:
The American Declaration of Independence :
Chatterton's Alter Ego - Thomas Rowley
According to William Barrett, via Samuel Seyer, via Meyerstein and on to us, it is likely that Chatterton got the name 'Rowley' from William Barrett himself. See p.59, in Meyerstein's A Life of Chatterton', (I show p.59 below for ease of reference).
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Take a close look at the brass plate shown below; notice that the spelling of Rowley is actually spelled as 'Ronley,' which is as Chatterton first wrote it before showing it to Barrett, who corrected it to Rowley.
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It is worth noting that Meyerstein credits Chatterton with the guile to manipulate Barrett into correcting his Ronlie, to the name he wanted to use and the one we all know and accept : 'ROWLEY.'
Meyerstein on Chatterton's Ronlie to Rowley.
Chatterton is Rowley
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Rowley is Chatterton
More than 20 years after Chatterton's death his works were still being published as Rowley's.
The examples above are quite stunning. The first example is in, of all things, Bristol : An Abstract of the City Charter (1792). Where the editor includes the Song to Ella:
Bristol : An Abstract of the City Charter (1792) - Title Page
Another example :
Old Ballads by Thomas Evans
Old Ballads by Thomas Evans, the first edition in 1777, and the second in 1784, both include The Execution of Sir Charles Bawdin (aka Bristows Tragedy or the Death of Sr Charles Bawdin). It is the first poem in Volume 2 . Evans also includes The Song to Ælle in Volume 1. As far as the editor is concerned, Rowley is the author and Chatterton is not mentioned in the book. A new edition of Old Ballads appeared in 1810 but without 'Rowlie's' works. Perhaps the editor (or rather the son of the original editor) had realised the mistake.
The Death of Chatterton
We all know that George Meredith was the model for Wallis's famous painting; but did you know that the gruesome image with the rats, by Bartolozzi, which was listed as The Death of Chatterton by the British Museum and the National Portrait Gallery, is not a representation of the death of Chatterton at all - or is it? It was engraved for the poem Retirement by James Henry Leigh Hunt, and can be seen in his book Juvenilia, 1802.
Death of Chatterton by Edward Orme. The earliest representation of this scene, engraved in 1794. Certainly looks like the inspiration for Henry Wallis's painting in 1856. Although, John Cranch also painted 'The Death of Chatterton' which I have been unable to trace.
A delightful little watercolour by John Absolon. The auction house claimed it was entitled The Death of Chatterton, however, it is actually called 'The First Night in a Convent'. The model lying in the Chatterton pose, is actually a young nun - and she is sleeping, not dying!
We all know that George Meredith was the model for Wallis's famous painting; but did you know that the gruesome image with the rats, by Bartolozzi, which was listed as The Death of Chatterton by the British Museum and the National Portrait Gallery, is not a representation of the death of Chatterton at all - or is it? It was engraved for the poem Retirement by James Henry Leigh Hunt, and can be seen in his book Juvenilia, 1802.
Did Chatterton commit suicide or was his death a tragic accident?
View the latest evidence, which indicates an accidental overdose.
On the 24th August, 1770, when Thomas Chatterton, was 12 weeks short of his 18th birthday, he swallowed a 'kill or cure' potion of opium and arsenic. It must have been an horrific sight when they broke into his attic room on the morning of the 25th and found him dead on his bed, with scraps of torn manuscripts scattered about the floor and an empty phial of the hateful medication on the windowsill.
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His tragic end as a supposed suicide is portrayed romantically in a painting by Henry Wallis, and horrifically in various engravings. It is well to remember that Wallis's painting does not tell the true story of that night, instead we should refer to the engraving by Orme, which is closer to the truth of it : View
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Some might think that merchandising is a modern invention, however, after his death, Chatterton achieved the fame that eluded him during life. Dozens of books were written about him and his amazing works. His story also appeared in newspapers and magazines; plays were written by the likes of De Vigny, which are still performed today. And it goes on, with stereoviews; photographs; postcards; linen handkerchiefs; Royal Doulton pots. He even has a life size statue, in bronze, sitting on a bench in Bristol. He has also been memorialised by a Bristol Lodge of the Freemasons : View to read more
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And still, we should be wary of everything we see or hear, for the image shown above was not drawn to represent Chatterton, instead it was engraved for the poem Retirement by James Henry Leigh Hunt, and can be seen in his book Juvenilia, 1802 - but, but, but, we could confirm the truth of it if we had sight of Raphael Lamar West's original painting with whatever title he gave it : View
Timeflow of Influences
Links to Chatterton's Works & Correspondence
Call it what you will, authentic, doubtful, lost, or plainly wrong - if it was linked with Chatterton it will be included in Chatterton's Works & Correspondence. This will be the base point from which we can examine every piece of work, and add notes and links accordingly.