Author: Bidlake, John
Biography:
BIDLAKE, John (1755-1814: ODNB)
His birth year is usually given as 1755 but no record has been located; he was baptised on 6 Feb. 1756 at St. Andrew’s church, Plymouth. His father, Richard Bidlake (a jeweller), and mother, Sarah Newton, had married in the same church on 11 Feb. 1754. He had one brother, Richard, born in 1757. He was educated at the Plymouth grammar school and matriculated at Christ Church, Oxford, on 16 Mar. 1774 (BA 1778, MA 1808, DD 1808). He was ordained deacon in 1778 and priest in 1781 and became the curate at the Stonehouse chapel of St. Andrew’s. Later he served as chaplain to the Duke of Clarence and the Prince of Wales. But his chosen career was teaching and in 1799-1810 he was headmaster of the Plymouth school where he had been educated. Among his pupils was the artist Benjamin Robert Haydon (1786-1846) whose father, a Plymouth bookseller, printed and published some of Bidlake’s works. His verse play, Virginia, was acted by pupils at the school. Bidlake published both sermons and poetry to supplement his meagre salary. In 1811 he was elected to the Bampton lectureship but he suffered a stroke while delivering his third lecture; it caused blindness which meant he could no longer continue as curate at the Stonehouse chapel and lost his means of support. He continued serving as vice-president of the Stonehouse Public School for poor children until at least Jan. 1812. His friends applied to the RLF on his behalf and he was awarded £5 monthly for six months in 1813. He died on 17 Feb. 1814 and was buried at St. Andrew’s church on 5 Mar. His will left most of his estate to his brother, Richard (d 1817), who was a Lieutenant Colonel in the Plymouth division of the Royal Marines. (ODNB 7 June 2023; ancestry.co.uk 7 June 2023; findmypast.co.uk 7 June 2023; RLF file 299; CCEd 7 June 2023; Alumni Oxonienses; Exeter Flying Post 23 Jan. 1812) SR
Other Names:
- J. Bidlake