Page:Notes and Queries - Series 11 - Volume 6.djvu/26

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NOTES AND QUERIES. m s. vi. JULY o, 101*

SIR WILLIAM COTJRTENAY ( 1 1 S. v. 428). MR. SOLOMONS will find in Mr. Baring- Gould's ' Cornish Characters and Strange Events ' (an amusing book, even if not rising above journalism) an interesting account of this man John Nichols Tom, born at St. Columb Major, Cornwall, 10 Nov., 1799. Mr. Gould gives a graphic description of the access and growth of his insanity up to 1832, when, in the excitement of a successful stroke of business, he left home to visit Lady Hester Stanhope, the " Queen of Lebanon," and was snubbed by her in a most amusing manner.

He did not remain long content with being merely Sir William Courtenay. When he presented himself to the electors of Canterbury in 1832, he was Sir William Percy Honeywood Courtenay, Knight of Malta and King of Jerusalem ; but he ulti- mately became Viscount Courtenay of Powderham Castle, Prince of Arabia, and King of the Gipsies. The supposition of his being the Messiah led to some very tragic events. In the volume referred to are a portrait of him as he appeared at the election of 1832, and an illustration commemorating his shooting Lieut. Bennet and a police con- stable near Canterbury, 31 May, 1838.

As a study in insanity his life is of par- t r cular interest, and the strange power he had over the ignorant people of Blean is one of the most extraordinary chapters in the history of popular delusions with which I am acquainted. Much information is given concerning him in The Times of June, 1838.

YGREC.

A very good account of this crazy Cornish- man will be found in Chambers's Journal for October, 1888. His real name was John Nicholl Thorn, but he assumed that of Sir William Courtenay, claiming to be a Knight of Malta. He was shot in the " battle " of Bosenden in Kent, 31 May, 1838, and was buried in the churchyard at Hernhill, about two miles distant from the scene of conflict. It is among the curiosities of Parliamentary elections that this man ventured to contest the city of Canterbury at the election immediately following the Reform Bill, and that he actually polled 375 votes. W. D. PINK.

MR. ISRAEL SOLOMONS will find an account of John Thorn, alias Sir William Courtenay, in ' The Annual Register ' for 1838. Other false Messiahs are William Hackett, who flourished in England in 1591 ; Davide Lazzaretti, who flourished in Italy in 1835 ;

and Anton Unternahrer, who lived in Switzerland 1759-1823 ; and there are others, I believe, recorded by the late J. A* Symonds in one of his books, and by Southey in the second volume of his ' History of Brazil.'

Among those who have falsely claimed to be Elias may be mentioned Ralph Durden (Cooper, ' Athenae Cantabrigienses,' ii. 22) and Elizeus Hall (' State Papers, Domestic, Elizabeth,' xxiii. 39), as well as John Dowie in our own times.

JOHN B. WAINEWRIGHT.

" John Nicholls Thorn, better known by his assumed name, Sir Wm. Courtenay, took up his- residence at Dunkirk, about 4i miles from Canter- bury, but in consequence of certain lawless acts by him and his followers a warrant was issued for his apprehension ; he, however, shot the constable sent to arrest him 31 May, 1838, whereupon a detachment of the 45th Regiment, under the command of Major Armstrong and Lieut. Bennett, was dispatched from Canterbury to put down the rioters and vindicate the law : Lieut. Bennett, with his forces, met Courtenay with 100 of his followers at Bosenden Wood ; the Riot Act was read, and on Bennett approaching to discuss with Courtenay, the latter immediately shot him dead : a soldier then promptly fired upon and killed the ringleader, and a general affray ensued, in which ten rioters Avere slain : Courtenay's body and those of six of the rioters were buried in the churchyard of the adjoining parish of Hern- hill. There is a mural tablet to Lieut. Bennett in Canterbury Cathedral." Kelly's ' Post Office Directory,' 1895.

In an article in The Kentish Express some years ago it is stated that

" at the time that Lady Hester Stanhope had! taken up her residence in Palestine to await the second coming of the Messiah, the young Cornish- man determined to travel there to convince the lady that he was the identical person whom she expected. Unfortunately for him, he had made certain prophecies which were never fulfilled, and in the end the lady rated him as an impostor."

See ' Bibliotheca Cantiana,' by John Russell Smith, p. 120 :

" An Essay on the Character of Sir W. Courte- nay, Knight of Malta, and the Causes of his Influ- ence over the Public Mind, with the recent Trial of that remarkable Individual at Maidstone, July 25, 1833. 8vo, pp. 24, with a Portrait. Canter- bury."

" The Eccentric and Singular Productions of Sir W. Courtenay, K.M., alias Mr. Tom, Spirit Merchant and Malster of Truro, in Cornwall, late Candidate for the Representation of the City of Canterbury in Parliament, now an Inmate of the Lunatic Asylum, Banning Heath, near Maid- stone, with his Trial at Maidstone for Perjury. 8vo. Canterbury. Pp. 40, with a frontispiece and facsimiles of his autographs."

R, J. FYNMORE, (MB. FRED. C. FROST thanked for reply.l