Author: Darnell, W. N.
Biography:
DARNELL, William Nicholas (1776-1865: ODNB)
He was born in Newcastle upon Tyne on 14 Mar. 1776, the only son of William Darnell (1731-1813), wine merchant, and his wife Frances (Dawson) Cook who had married on 19 Apr. 1763. Darnell was baptised on 16 Apr. 1776. He was educated at Newcastle grammar school and was awarded the Durham scholarship when he matriculated at Corpus Christi college, Oxford, on 29 Oct. 1792 (BA 1796, MA 1800, BD 1808). He was a fellow and tutor at his college and was a university examiner in 1801, 1803, and 1804. He was ordained deacon in 1801 and priest in 1802 and served as select preacher at the university in 1807. In 1804 he became a member of the Society of Antiquaries. He had an illustrious ecclesiastical career, and held various valuable church offices; from 1816 he was a prebendary of Durham Cathedral. In 1831 he was made rector of Stanhope, Durham, an office that he held until his death. On 15 June 1815 he married Elizabeth Bowe (d 1864) in Swale, Yorkshire; they had at least two daughters and three sons. The 1851 Census shows him living in the Stanhope rectory with his wife, two daughters, and seven servants. He died at home on 19 June 1865 and was buried in the churchyard at Durham Cathedral on 24 June. Darnell’s Lines Suggested by the Death of Vice-Admiral Lord Collingwood, listed in this bibliography and reissued in 1842, was his only book-length poem but he wrote some shorter ballads. His numerous other publications include Correspondence of Isaac Basire (1831) which he edited from manuscripts in the library at Durham Cathedral. Darnell left an estate of under £60,000. (ODNB 19 June 2024; ancestry.co.uk 19 June 2024; CCEd 19 June 2024; Alumni Oxonienses; GM 219 [1865] 250-51)
Other Names:
- the Rev. W. N. Darnell