Edmund Turnor (antiquarian) facts for kids

Edmund Turnor (born in 1755 or 1756, died in 1829) was an important English person who studied old things (an antiquarian). He was also a writer, a landowner, and a British politician. He was a member of the Royal Society and the Society of Antiquaries of London, which are groups for smart people who study science and history. He also served as a local judge.

Family Life of Edmund Turnor

Edmund Turnor was the son of Edmund Turnor (who died in 1805) and Mary Disney. His family had a long history, connected to a judge from the 1600s named Christopher Turnor. When his father passed away, Edmund inherited large estates in Stoke Rochford and Panton in Lincolnshire.

Edmund Turnor was married twice. His first wife was Elizabeth, who died in 1801. They had one daughter named Elizabeth Edmunda. His second wife was Dorothea Tucker. With Dorothea, he had five sons and two daughters. Some of his children became notable:

• Christopher became a MP and was interested in local buildings.
• Algernon became a priest.
• Henry Marten became a captain in the army.

Edmund Turnor passed away on March 19, 1829. He was buried in his family's special burial place at St Andrew and St Mary's Church, Stoke Rochford.

Edmund Turnor's Career and Studies

Edmund Turnor went to Trinity College, Cambridge, where he earned his first degree in 1777 and a master's degree in 1781. After college, he traveled around France, Switzerland, and Italy.

Studying History and Science

In 1778, he became a fellow of the Society of Antiquaries of London. This means he was recognized as an expert in studying ancient things. In 1786, he also became a fellow of the Royal Society, a very old and respected group for scientists.

While traveling, Turnor asked artists to draw old buildings and artifacts he found, especially in Normandy, France. He shared these drawings and his descriptions with the Society of Antiquaries. He even described an old fortress in Rouen that was built by King Henry V. Later, he became a fellow of the Royal Academy of Rouen in France.

Public Service

Turnor also served his community. He became a Justice of the Peace, which meant he helped keep law and order locally. From 1810 to 1811, he was the High Sheriff of Lincolnshire, a high-ranking official in his home county. He was also a MP for Midhurst from 1802 to 1806, helping to make laws for the country.

Friends and Discoveries

Edmund Turnor had many famous friends who shared his interests. These included:

• Andrew Kippis, who wrote biographies.
• Daniel Lysons and Samuel Lysons, who were also antiquarians.
• Richard Gough, another antiquarian.
• Bennet Langton, a writer.
• Joseph Banks, a famous naturalist who studied plants and animals.

Turnor helped Andrew Kippis write about Sir Richard Fanshawe by using the writings of Fanshawe's wife, Lady Fanshawe. Turnor's family actually got their Stoke Rochford Hall estate through a marriage connection to Lady Fanshawe's family.

In 1824, Turnor started a National School in Colsterworth. This school was based on the ideas of a Scottish teacher named Dr. Bell. It taught children from Colsterworth and nearby villages like Stoke Rochford and Woolsthorpe. The school had a classroom and a house for the teacher.

Turnor also made an interesting discovery: he found a Roman bath near the River Witham close to Stoke Rochford.

Works and Writings

Edmund Turnor wrote many books and papers about history and old things. Here are some of his important works:

• Chronological Tables of the High Sheriffs of the County of Lincoln and of the Knights of the Shire, Citizens, and Burgesses, within the same (1779)
• He wrote parts of "Lincolnshire" in Gough's Magna Britannia.
• He contributed to Archæologia with "Extracts from the Household Book of Thomas Cony of Bassingthorpe, co. Lincoln," (1794).
• He contributed to Philosophical Transactions with "A Narrative of the Earthquake felt in Lincolnshire on 25 Feb. 1792," (1792).
• He wrote a memoir about "Sir Richard Fanshawe" for Biographia Britannica.
• London's Gratitude; or an Account of such pieces of Sculpture and Painting as have been placed in Guildhall at the expense of the City of London (1783).
• Description of an Ancient Castle at Rouen in Normandy (1785).
• He edited Clarendon's Characters of Eminent Men in the Reigns of Charles I and II (1793).
• He presented A Description of the Diet of King Charles when Duke of York (1803) to the Society of Antiquaries.
• Collections for the History of the Town and Soke of Grantham, containing Authentic Memoirs of Sir Isaac Newton, from Lord Portsmouth's Manuscripts (1806).
• Remarks on the Military History of Bristol, containing the Royal Commission appointing Sir Edmund Turnor ... treasurer and paymaster of the garrisons ... ... With a Plan of the outworks of Bristol (1823).
• A short view of the proceedings of the several committees and meetings held in consequence of the intended petition to Parliament, from the county of Lincoln, for a limited exportation of wool, in the years 1781 and 1782 (1824).
• "Account of a Roman Bath near Stoke in Lincolnshire" (1829), published in Archæologia.