Author: Dudley, Henry Bate
Biography:
DUDLEY, Henry Bate, formerly Bate (1745-1824: ODNB)
The second son of the Rev. Henry Bate and his wife Sarah White, he was born on 25 Aug. 1745 at Fenny Compton, Warwickshire, where his father was the curate. He was baptised on 4 Sept. at Fenny Compton. He matriculated at Magdalen Hall, Oxford, on 24 June 1758 although he seems not to have proceeded to a degree. He was ordained deacon in 1769 and priest in 1770 and succeeded his father as rector of North Fambridge, Essex. He preferred being in London, however, and in 1773 acquired local fame for defending the actor Elizabeth Hartley in what was known as “the Vauxhall affray.” At about the same time he became curate at Hendon and began writing comic operas. In 1775 he was appointed editor of the Morning Post, a role in which he prospered—at least until he was accused of libelling the duke of Richmond and sentenced to a year’s imprisonment. Dudley subsequently left the Post to set up a rival, the Morning Herald, which proved a great success not least because of Dudley’s eager adoption of what today is called tabloid journalism. In 1780 he married Mary White (q.v. as Dudley), younger sister of Elizabeth Hartley; no marriage record has been located and they did not have children. In 1784 he inherited from an uncle and assumed the name of Dudley as a condition of the inheritance. Dudley, as the ODNB describes him, was constant only in his pursuit of personal advantage. He befriended the Prince of Wales and sought preferment, including in the church, through him. The prince made him a baronet in 1812 and Dudley became a prebendary of Ely Cathedral in 1817. He served as a magistrate in no fewer than seven English counties. Success seems not to have been enough to stave off debt, however, and in 1823 Dudley wrote to the prime minister, Lord Liverpool, seeking help. He was awarded an annuity of £300 in Dec. 1823 but did not live long to enjoy it: he died at Cheltenham on 1 Feb. 1824 and was buried on 6 Feb. A controversial figure, Dudley was a popular subject for satirical prints and many images of him survive; he and his wife were also painted by Thomas Gainsborough. (ODNB 12 Aug. 2024; CCEd 12 Aug. 2024; Alumni Oxonienses; ancestry.co.uk 12 Aug. 2024)
Other Names:
- Henry Bate