Person    | Male  Born 20/4/1798  Died 25/2/1868

Chauncy Hare Townshend

Collector, dilettante, ordained clergyman, mesmerist, and hypochondriac (list from Wikipedia). Born Godalming into a wealthy family.

Famous for his 1821 meeting with the poet John Clare (whom he initially mistook for a highwayman), reported in 'The life of John Clare' by Martin Frederick, 1865. Friend of Charles Dickens.

Due to health concerns he spent much of his time living in Lausanne or travelling and collecting. Died Norfolk Street, now Dunraven Street W1. He had no children and was separated from his wife in 1843. Under his will his collections went to what is now the V&A Museum and the Wisbech museum, and to found the school with the plaque.

We puzzled over Wikipedia's judgemental designation of him as a hypochondriac, but then we found that in 1840 in his 'Descriptive Tour of Scotland' he cheerfully applies that term to himself: "The secret which I have to tell you, is this (come a little closer, if you please): I am a decided hypochondriac." For anyone interested in CHT, or in Scotland, this looks like an entertaining read.

Note: the OxfordDNB has him born on the 20th; Wikipedia, the 10th.

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This section lists the memorials where the subject on this page is commemorated:
Chauncy Hare Townshend

Commemorated ati

Chauncy Hare Townshend Schools

The Chauncy Hare Townshend Schools The Baroness Burdett-Coutts, the Revd. Tho...

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British Library

British Library

16 years between the laying of the foundation stone in 1982 and the opening in 1998.  The Independent explains the delay: "The reason it has taken so long to build ... has relatively little to do w...

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International Exhibition + RHS Garden, South Ken

International Exhibition + RHS Garden, South Ken

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Henry Buxton Forman

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William Ralston Shedden-Ralston

William Ralston Shedden-Ralston

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Dr Walther Model von Thunen

Dr Walther Model von Thunen

Pastor and philatelist. He had been a collector of stamps for most of his life, but his collections and library were lost when his house was looted by members of the occupying Russian army. His col...

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