William Hall (poet) facts for kids

William Hall (1748–1825) was an English poet and a collector of old things. He wrote poems about the area where he lived and worked.

Early Life and Work

William Hall was born on June 1, 1748. His birthplace was Willow Booth, a small island in the fen district of Lincolnshire, England. His family was very poor.

When he was young, William married a girl named Suke Holmes. He became a gozzard, which means he raised geese. Sadly, floods washed away his geese. He said his neighbors took some of them.

After this, William traveled a lot. He finally settled in Marshland, Norfolk. Here, he worked as an auctioneer, selling things at public sales. He also worked as a cow-leech, which was a person who treated sick cows. His wife helped people as a midwife (helping with births) and also did phlebotomy (a type of bloodletting, a medical practice at the time).

William later moved to Lynn. He started a business selling old books. His shop was called "The Antiquarian Library." He also sold other items besides books to make a living. William Hall passed away in 1825.

His Writings

William Hall wrote many poems. He often called himself "Low-Fen-Bill." His poems were about the fen lands, the life there, and the challenges he faced. He knew his poems were not perfect. He once wrote about another poet, John Taylor, saying:

Who near two centuries ago
Wrote much such nonsense as I do.

Even though he called his own work "nonsense," his poems are important. They show us what life was like in the fens a long time ago. They describe things that have now disappeared.

Here are some of the books he published in Lynn:

• A Sketch of Local History, being a Chain of Incidents relating to the state of the Fens from the Earliest Accounts to the Present Time, published in 1812. This book was about the history of the fen lands.
• Reflections upon Times, and Times, and Times! or a more than Sixty Years' Tour of the Mind, published in 1816. A second part of this book came out in 1818.

Sources

• Watt, Francis; Mills, Rebecca (2004). "Hall, William (1748–1825), poet and antiquary". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography. Oxford University Press. Retrieved 10 September 2022.
• Sketches of Obscure Poets: With Specimens of Their Writings. London: Cochrane & McCrone, 1833. pp. 156–177.

Attribution

•  This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Watt, Francis (1890). "Hall, William (1748-1825)". Dictionary of National Biography 24. Ed. Leslie Stephen and Sidney Lee. London: Smith, Elder & Co. 93-94.