Author: Goodchild, Lawrence
Biography:
GOODCHILD, Lawrence (1813-81: Monthly Chronicle)
Born at Pallion, Sunderland, to John Goodchild, a banker, and his wife, Elisabeth (Nesham), he became blind in early adulthood. His father was financially ruined when Goodchild was a boy and the family was forced to sell the Pallion estate; they moved to Perthshire but returned to Sunderland after the death of John Goodchild in about 1822. He was taught at Dr Wood’s school at Monkwearmouth and became a classical scholar. Despite his blindness, he worked for many years as a classics teacher at a Newcastle school where he was known both for his excellent memory and his feats of long-distance walking. He is said to have travelled on foot across the north of England selling his book, written during the early years of his teaching career. He died at Newcastle after a brief illness. (Monthly Chronicle of North-Country Lore and Legend [1889])