Thomas Chatterton Manuscript Project
Key People
Henry Burgum
1739 - 1789
1. Portrait of Henry Burgum by John Simmons. 2. Burgum's coat of arms, created & painted by Chatterton.
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Henry Burgum is shown posing with a prized possession, a folio of Handel's music. In 1752, at the age of 13, Henry became a Pewterer's apprentice. In 1765 he went into business with George Catcott, making all kinds of pewter, from plates & bowls to lidded tankards & inkstands. Now, here's areal treat for you all; Alyson & Mike Marsden's delightful article about : Burgum & Catcott, Pewterers of Bristol. And that's not all, you might also like to visit the Burgum Family website to view their biography of Henry, but do bear in mind that some of the 'facts' will conflict with our own current knowledge of the Chatterton story.
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It seems that Chatterton saw Burgum as an easy target, and came up with a plan to present him with a fake pedigree, for which Burgum paid him five shillings. Chatterton must have been flushed with delight and promised burgum that he would have much more about the history of his family in due course. The promised second instalment arrived soon after, complete with poems supposedly written by Henry's ancestor John Burgum, and a second payment of five shillings (according to Joseph Cottle) was duly paid.
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Even though Chatterton perpetrated this somewhat cruel hoax, he also wrote about Burgum in glowing terms in his poem Kew Gardens:
'Account of the Family of the De Bergham's'
Chatterton's Original Handwritten Manuscript
Written 1768/9 : Published 1788 / 1803
Account of the Family of the De Berghams (Aka: De Burgham's; Burgum) : Written in two exercise books with central staples and marbled covers. Each of the two books have been additionally bound within red covers with white labels.
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The two books are held by Bristol Reference Library:
Book One (ref. No. B20927) ; and Book Two (ref. No. B21640).
Book One
Book One : Section 1
Book One : Section 2
Book One - Contents : (In two sections) :
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Book One, Section 1, contains:
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Account of the Family of the De Bergham's (Ist Part) : View
This work is written from the cover to the middle of the book​​.
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De Burghams Coat of Arm : View
( A separate, loose item, on parchment) ; see top of page.
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Book One, Section 2, contains:
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Chatterton and Burgum, the Bristol Pewterer (a newspaper cutting) : View
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The Tournament an Interlude : View
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Gouler's Requiem : View
The two works above start from the cover and continue to the middle of the book . They are not part of the Account of the De Berghams. After writing the works above, Chatterton flipped the book over and wrote the first part of the Account of the...De Burgham's, see below.
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Book Two
Book Two - Front cover
Book Two - Rear cover
Book Two - Contents
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Account of the Family of the De Burgham's (2nd Part) : View
(Continuation of the Account of the Family of the
De Burgham's from the Norman Conquest to this time )
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Which includes:
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Also, one page of 'forged' signatures written by:
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William Henry Ireland, the Shakespeare Forger : View
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That's the end of the two books of Chatterton's 'Account of the Family of the De Bergham's'
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Spooky Note:
One of Chatterton’s sources for his Account of the Family of the De Bergham’s is the 'Baronettage of England.' See page 19, of volume 1, which contains two mentions of the name Thomas Chatterton; and then take a look at page 20, which mentions Sir Baldwin:
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Baronettage of England, 1720, by Arthur Collins - volume 1 : View
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Baronettage of England, 1720, by Arthur Collins - volume 2 : View
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Henry Burgum
Works & Sundry Items
(More to come, when time allows.)
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Poor Henry, he seems to be the target of a number of people.
Waiting to update this page - QE!
When you read Henry Burgum's writings you simply know that he was mortified when James Thistlethwaite wrote the 'Epistle Dedicatory' to him in his 'The Consultation, A Mock Heroic, in Four Cantos : View online