Charles Crocker (1797-1861), The Vale of Obscurity, Kingley Vale, the Levant, and other poems (1830). Sagwan Press, 2015. Courtesy Amazon.com.
Charles Crocker (22 June 1797 - 6 October 1861) was an English poet.[1]
Life[]
Crocker, was born at Chichester to poor parents.[1]
At age 12 he was apprenticed to a shoemaker, and he worked at this trade for 20 years, meantime composing verses which he wrote down at intervals of leisure. Some lines which he sent to the Brighton Herald having attracted considerable attention, a list of subscribers was obtained for the publication of a volume of his poems, from which a large profit was obtained.[1]
In 1839 he obtained employment from Hayley Mason, the publisher of his works, in the bookselling department of the business, but in 1845 he resigned this situation for that of sexton in Chichester Cathedral, to which was soon afterwards added that of bishop's verger. He thoroughly mastered all the architectural details of the building, and his descriptive account of it to visitors was generally followed with more than usual interest. He also published a small handbook on the building entitled A Visit to Chichester Cathedral.[1]
Recognition[]
Among his warmest friends was Poet Laureate Robert Southey, who asserted that the sonnet "To the British Oak" was among the finest, if not the finest, in the English language.[1]
A complete edition of his Poetical Works appeared in 1860.[1]
Publications[]
Poetry[]
- The Vale of Obscurity, The Levant, and other poems. Chichester, UK: privately published, 1830; London: Longman, Rees, Orme, Brown, Green, & Longman, 1830.
- Poetical Works. Chichester, UK: Mason & Willmshurst, 1860.
Non-fiction[]
- A Visit to Chichester Cathedral. Chichester, UK: W.H. Mason, 1848.
Except where noted, bibliographical information courtesy WorldCat.[2]
See also[]
References[]
Henderson, Thomas Finlayson (1888) "Crocker, Charles" in Stephen, Leslie Dictionary of National Biography 13 London: Smith, Elder, p. 102 Wikisource, Web, May 23, 2016.
Notes[]
External links[]
- Poems
- Charles Crocker (1797-1861 info & 3 poems at English Poetry, 1579-1830
- Books
- Charles Crocker at Amazon.com
- About
This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain, the Dictionary of National Biography (edited by Leslie Stephen). London: Smith, Elder, 1885-1900. Original article is at: Crocker, Charles
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