This revised, updated and greatly extended version of Part I of John Ruskin, Henry James and the Shropshire Lads (2008), under the new title of John Ruskin and his Oxford Tutor, Osborne Gordon: From Broseley, Shropshire, to Easthampstead, Berkshire, introduces new material and research, in particular about Osborne Gordon and his family links with Gordon's gin, and the restoration of the church of St Michael and St Mary Magdalene at Easthampstead, Berkshire.
Shropshire, a rural county on the border with Wales, attracted writers, painters, politicians, diplomats and clergymen, and above all John Ruskin (1819-1900). the pivotal figure in a stimulating circle of interesting and unusual Shropshire friends. Among these are Osborne Gordon who, after an education at Bridgnorth School, became Ruskin's tutor at Christ Church Oxford and later rector of the church of St Michael and St Mary Magdalene at Easthampstead, Berkshire; Jane and John Pritchard who created the magnificent Stanmore Hall, near Bridgnorth, Shropshire, and Edward Cheney of Badger Hall, Shropshire, Palazzo Soranzo-Piovene Venice and London. Ruskin’s own visits to Shropshire from an early age were inspirational; he returned in 1850 with his wife Effie and sketched among the ruins of medieval Wenlock Priory, providing material for The Stones of Venice, and visited the furnace workers at Coalbrookdale and Ironbridge.
In the course of unravelling the intricate network of Ruskinian connections, I examined original documents and engaged in dialogues with local people whose knowledge has been invaluable. My quest took me to Oxford, and to Easthampstead, Berkshire, in my pursuit of primary sources. In Shropshire, I explored Broseley Parish Church and the memorial tablets to the Gordons and the Pritchards whose lives and destinies became so inextricably interwoven. In St Leonard’s Church, Bridgnorth, I found more memorials to the Pritchards and to Thomas Rowley, Osborne Gordon’s Headmaster.
The background for much of my Ruskin work has been the Ruskin Library (re-named in 2019 The Ruskin – Library, Museum and Research Centre) at Lancaster University, with the stimulating seminars, the engagement with colleagues and friends, and the resources of the Library, a treasure store of manuscripts, paintings, books, journals and other items relating to Ruskin.
I am most grateful to many friends, colleagues and acquaintances for their wholehearted support. My particular thanks go to Jeffrey Richards, Professor Emeritus of Cultural History, Lancaster University, for his helpful comments and support. The late Dr John F. A. Mason, former pupil of Bridgnorth Grammar School, Emeritus Student, former History tutor and Librarian at Christ Church Oxford, was a constant source of inspiration and of much practical help. He kindly introduced me to George C. Baugh, formerly county editor of the Victoria County History, Shropshire, who generously shared his meticulous research with me. The Rev. Guy Cole, rector of the Church of St Michael and St Mary Magdalene, Easthampstead, Berkshire, inheritor of Osborne Gordon's mantle, willingly and enthusiastically responded to my many queries, particularly those of a theological nature. The Rev. Béatrice Pearson kindly welcomed me on my first visit when we shared memories of Amiens and its cathedral. In Broseley, Mel Mars, owner of The Lawns, Church Street, allowed me to explore the house in which George Pritchard lived and died, while Mike Starkey showed me the home of John Pritchard (now Broseley Social Club), and Pritchard's unusual Victorian flush toilet. I was warmly received by the Rev. Michael Kinna and by the Rev. David Shinton at the rectory in Broseley where, in the drawing room, we experienced the buzz of the discovery of the burial records of John and Jane Pritchard as we searched through the ancient parish registers.
I would like to thank Professsor Sandra Kemp, Director of The Ruskin – Library, Museum and Research Centre, Lancaster University, for permission to use material in the Library. I have also been greatly assisted by archivists and staff at Shropshire Newspapers; Shropshire Archives, Shrewsbury; Bridgnorth Library; Broseley Library; Much Wenlock Library; Much Wenlock Museum; Berkshire Record Office, Reading; City of Westminster Archives Centre, London; the British Library, London; the National Art Collection Library (NAL) housed in the Victoria and Albert Museum, London; the Warburg Institute, London and the Institute of Historical Research (IHR), University of London. I am extremely grateful to Easthampstead PCC for permission to reproduce, for the first time, unpublished letters from Sara Anderson concerning Ruskin's epitaph to Osborne Gordon. My warm personal thanks are to Ian Gordon, a member of the famous Gordon family, and to Professor George P. Landow who suggested that this book be hosted on his Victorian Web.