Author: Graile, John
Biography:
GRAILE, John (c. 1646-1732: ancestry.co.uk)
He is a prior author whose Latin prayers were made available in English for the first time after 1770. No birth record has been located and ODNB gives a birth year of 1648/9. However, his tomb at Blickling, Norfolk, where he was the rector states that he died in his 87th year, making 1646 more likely. He was the son of the Rev. John Graile (or Grayle), a Church of England clergyman who was sympathetic to nonconformists, and his wife Bridget Scudder. They had married on 15 Jan. 1645 at All Hallows, Barking, London. He matriculated at Exeter College, Oxford, on 10 Mar. 1664/5 (BA 1667/8, MA 1670). He became the rector at Blickling in 1674. On 17 Sept. 1678 he married Elizabeth Rix at Thorpe next Norwich, Norfolk. They had at least one daughter, Bridget (b 1680), whose son Anthony Norris was a historian. Graile died on 18 Nov. 1732 at Blickling. The title page of Morning and Evening Prayers describes Graile as archdeacon at Norwich but no confirmation of his claim to that title has been found. Graile’s prayers were written in Latin and translated by the Rev. John Blyth. He was probably the John Blyth who was born to Samuel and Sarah Blyth and baptised on 13 Sept. 1724 in Warwick, Warwickshire. He was educated at Pembroke Hall, Cambridge (BA, MA), and was appointed curate at Coleshill, Warwickshire, in 1747. He married Sarah Baugh on 19 Aug. 1755. Blyth served as the vicar of Coleshill until his death in 1800 or 1801. His son Thomas, the editor of Morning and Evening Prayers, was baptised at Coleshill on 12 June 1761 and also became a clergyman. He died in 1838. Thomas Blyth’s introduction to Morning and Evening Prayers does not explain how his father came to have a copy of John Graile’s Latin prayers. The book was printed for private distribution. (ODNB [for John Graile senior] 15 Oct. 2024; ancestry.co.uk 15 Oct. 2024; findmypast.co.uk 15 Oct. 2024; CCEd 15 Oct. 2024; ACAD)