Thomas Chatterton Manuscript Project
About the Manuscript Project
Some notes by (QE!)
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The Muniment Room, Redcliffe Church.
Chatterton Discovering Rowley's Mss.
From the novel Bristol Bells by Emma Marshall.
The Project - Thirteen Years & Counting by (QE!)
The Thomas Chatterton Manuscript Project was created by a multitude of people, all mostly now dead. For they would, with the facilities we have these days, be doing what I am doing now with this website, and have been doing from the moment I bought my first Chatterton book back in the 20th century; telling anyone prepared to listen about Chatterton's life and works.
In truth, my interest in the life and works of Chatterton, must start with my wonder at the spectacular edifice that is the church of St Mary Redcliffe. This was years before I bought the infamous book written by the equally infamous John Dix. For I, from the age of six, would travel to school on a public bus, which passed St Mary Redcliffe on its route to my school in the centre of Bristol.
I continued the same journey when I started work in 1966, but any chance of my imagination being fired by the Chatterton statue, high up on its rather spectacular gothic pillar, was removed with its demolition in 1967.
The bits and pieces of the monument that remained were dumped in the outhouse attached to the small house that was Chatterton's birthplace. The parts were recovered and are now lying on a pallet in the warehouse of the M shed museum in Bristol. So, the ignominy continues, which begs the question; when will Bristol learn that it should treat every aspect of Chatterton with respect?
​I have to say, 'so you know where you stand with me', that I have a real fondness for all Chattertonian writers, biographers, bibliographers, essayists, editors, and chancers (Dix, Wilcox, Croft, Catcott, perhaps I should add an etc to the list of chancers). Whether their work be large or small, derivative (mostly derivative) or otherwise, there is usually something to delight about the work or the individual!
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As I write this I am surrounded by an array of Chatterton related books and periodicals, all of which I have used to work up the project, and yesterday (an actual date is not required as it could be any yesterday), I bought yet another Chatterton related book. The madness (you might think it a madness) is that I already own three copies of the same book.
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However, let me change your mind about my madness :
This new addition to my collection, is William Barrett's rather large, 4to, History of Bristol, 1789. It has an engraving tipped in of Rymsdick's portrait of Barrett himself, it's the first one I have ever seen available for sale, although it will now probably start popping up on various online sites. The reason for owning more than one copy makes sense when you consider what extra knowledge you might gain from any annotations. An example is a description of Chatterton written by William Seward onto the front free endpapers of a copy of George Gregory’s The Life of Chatterton, 1789.
So many books and so many writers, yet the Thomas Chatterton Manuscript Project is driven by two writers, Edward Harry William Meyerstein, via his 'A Life of Thomas Chatterton,' and Donald S. Taylor, via his 'The Complete Works of Thomas Chatterton'.
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A work I must also mention is 'Thomas Chatterton 1752-1770, An Annotated Bibliography,' by Jean C. Rowles, A.L.A. It's a wonderful piece of work 'submitted for fellowship of the Library Association, October 1981'. I have recently heard that Jean has passed on. I learned of Jean's work from Dawn Dyer of (Bristol Library), for which I owe her my thanks.
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Over the last few years I have taken thousands of photographs of manuscripts, postcards, newspapers and magazines, in fact all sorts of artefacts and ephemera. I am so fortunate that two of my favourite places, the absolutely wonderful, Bristol Reference Library, and Bristol Archives, are the source of most of my images to-date.
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Manuscripts uploaded to the Chatterton Project, include some by the following writers: Thomas Chatterton (obviously); George Catcott; Alexander Catcott; Alex Stopford Catcott; William Barrett; Dr Fry; Dr Lort; Thomas Tyrwhitt; Richard Smith; William Blake; and Horace Walpole.
​George Catcott, by transcribing Chatterton's works, played the key role in publicising Rowley; good old George was very, very prolific.
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Who to trust? You might ask why I often present the original manuscript along with the first and second printings? I do this because the project is about presenting the earliest documents and whatever proofs are available. This will allow the reader to judge for themselves and not be swayed by this or any other writer.
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(QE!) Ó Fionnalláin.
Project Update
I work on many different aspects of the Project daily; currently I am working on the following:
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Adding pages dedicated to the many names involved in the Chatterton story.
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Bristowe Tragedie - making all copies available for easy comparison.
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Transcribing the impossible scrawl of Michael Lort - I appreciate that they were notes to himself and not us.
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I have finished adding the titles of all of Chatterton's genuine works, plus works of doubtful authenticity, lost works and works incorrectly claimed as Chatterton's, and am now working on the next step; preparing and uploading images of original manuscripts or first printings to each of the titles - this might take a while.
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However, however, however, I have already uploaded many manuscripts and first printings, but I still have lots of titles waiting for the link to the manuscript or first printing to go live. I will be trying to upload them daily, so do click a title and hope for the best. If you can't find a specific item do let me know and I will try to supply it.
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I like to do the above online and in real time because this allows anyone interested in Chatterton to see these wonderful documents as soon as I have them ready.
If you would like to collaborate by photographing manuscripts local to you or have any questions or suggestions, do let me know Contact me .
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Question everything (QE!) & accept nothing but an image, if it exists, of the original manuscript. If the original is lost I will upload the first printing and any relevant handwritten transcript of the work.
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I do hope you find the website interesting -:- May your research be filled with joy.
From the creator and writer of the TCMP (Thomas Chatterton Manuscript Project) ; (QE!) Ó Fionnalláin.
Reading Manuscripts via Google Docs
Original manuscripts from the 18th century can be difficult to read; this applies especially to Chattertonian Manuscripts. For this reason, as well as controlling costs, I use Google Docs to present high quality images of manuscripts, which allows close-up and almost forensic views. The website can be viewed in all of its beauty on any platform, however, if you wish to study the original manuscripts on a Mobile Phone or Tablet (but why would you - that way madness lies), you would be best served by downloading the Google Docs App, which is also available via the Apple app store etc.
Time to be serious: when studying stuff like this you should be using a Laptop or PC, rather than a mobile or tablet. This is because the manuscripts, thanks to the settings on mobile or tablet, sometimes appear 'fuzzy,' which can, of course, be adjusted, but it does make viewing awkward - Read more about settings for mobiles and tablets.
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Contact me if you need anything specific :-
My imprint throughout is 'QE! ' because I question everything!
Collaborate - The Project Needs YOU !
Chattertonian Manuscripts are widely distributed making it extremely difficult to view or study them. We either live too far away or don't have the accreditation that gets us into the hallowed libraries of massy knowledge.
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The Thomas Chatterton Manuscript Project aims to ensure that high quality & zoomable images of all Chattertonian Manuscripts are freely available on the Project Website for study and collaboration or simply for the joy of it!
It is too costly for me to do all of this alone, although I will continue to try. So, if you are near to any source of original Chattertonian documents and can find the time, do consider helping by photographing them for the Project. All you need is a smartphone; do send me an email if you are able to help.
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Even Horace Walpole's 'Shade,' thanks to the collecting zeal of Lefty-Lewis (Lewis Walpole Library, Yale University), has its hands on Chattertonian Manuscripts.
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I have been working steadily on the project for a number of years and have, to date, uploaded numerous manuscripts but still have hundreds to collate, crop, adjust, delete, prepare & upload - a true labour of love!
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Many of the manuscripts in Bristol Reference Library and Archives are in the autograph of George Symes Catcott, a friend and mentor to Chatterton; he seems never to have let the quill pen fall from his inky fingers.
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The good news is that Chatterton Manuscripts outside of Bristol will often be one or two pages only, which is much less onerous on the person taking the photographs. Spare a thought for me, one of Catcott's Copy Books, which contains over 533 pages, took weeks to photograph & prepare for uploading.
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Bristol & London are the key locations for Chatterton manuscripts, but there are a few in English and American Universities.
Finally, do let me know if I can help your Chatterton researches in any way.
Chatterton Documents Consumed by Fire
Another reason to get on with the Project
Daniel Wilson's 1869 biography of Chatterton mentions the 1860 fire in Kerslake's Shop. It was originally reported in The Bristol Times & Felix Farley's Journal for Feb 18th 1860.
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The fire destroyed "Manuscript Chattertoniana" collected by J. M. Gutch, and William Tyson, and further augmented by Thomas Kerslake'. It also consumed the infamous Fust manuscript.
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Then, 20 years later, on October 9th, 1881, the 'Great Fire' in Canynges' House, Bristol, destroyed the stock of C. T. Jefferies, Printer & Bookseller. Fortunately the fabulous Canynges fireplace shown in the painting by E. H. Parkman, survived the fire - see below.
The Blitz
Chattertonian Documents and Alexander Catcott's Fossil Collection were destroyed when bombs landed on Temple Church and Bristol Museum.
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Heads Up
Irreplaceable Manuscripts should be photographed ASAP! If funding is short, opt for the low cost and simple option - use a smartphone - it does an excellent job, which allows forensic views. The Images on this website show what can be achieved.
Here's a friendly little Chattertonian Manuscript Riddle:
