fbpx
Wikipedia

Frederic Weatherly

January 07, 2023

Frederic Edward Weatherly, KC (4 October 1848 – 7 September 1929) was an English lawyer, author, lyricist and broadcaster. He was christened and brought up using the name Frederick Edward Weatherly, and appears to have adopted the spelling 'Frederic' later in life. He is estimated to have written the lyrics to at least 3,000 popular songs, among the best-known of which are the sentimental ballad "Danny Boy" set to the tune "Londonderry Air", the religious "The Holy City", and the wartime song "Roses of Picardy".

Weatherly in 1895

Life and career

Weatherly was born and brought up in Portishead, Somerset,[1] the eldest son in the large family of Frederick Weatherly (1820–1910), a medical doctor, and his wife, Julia Maria, née Ford (1823–98). His birth was registered in the Bedminster district of Bristol in the fourth quarter of 1848 and the 1851 census shows the family living at 5 Wood Hill, Portishead. He was educated at Hereford Cathedral School from 1859 to 1867, and won a scholarship to Brasenose College, Oxford in 1867.[2] Among his tutors was Walter Pater, who taught him about Italian art.[3] Weatherly entered three times for the Newdigate Prize for poetry, but without success.[3] In 1868, he helped out members of the Brasenose rowing team under Walter Bradford Woodgate who had practised for the Stewards' Challenge Cup at Henley Royal Regatta without a cox. The race at the time was for coxed fours and Weatherly volunteered to start the race with them and immediately jump out of the boat. He did so and the team won but were disqualified.[3][4] Woodgate had made his point and the race was later changed to one for coxless fours. Weatherly graduated with a degree in Classics in 1871, and in 1872 he married Anna Maria Hardwick (generally called "Minnie") of Axbridge in Somerset (d. 1920), with whom he had a son and two daughters. Weatherly and his wife later lived apart,[2] and on the night of the 1881 census he is recorded as being on his own with his three young children and four servants at his house, Sevensprings, South Parks Road, Oxford. Weatherly and his wife later separated (around 1900).

Weatherly remained in Oxford, briefly working as a schoolmaster and then as a private tutor until 1887 when he qualified as a barrister, practising first in London and then in the west of England. The 1901 census records him living as a boarder at 2 Harley Place in Clifton, Bristol. The 1911 census shows him aged 62 living at 12 Penn Lea Road, Lower Weston, Bath in Somerset with a Maude Eugenie Beatrice Weatherly, aged 53 from Esher in Surrey (who is recorded as his wife of nine years' standing), and their two servants. In fact Weatherly and his wife Minnie never divorced: Maude Francfort used the name Weatherly while they lived together as husband and wife in Bath. Minnie lived on in seclusion in Portishead, financially supported by her husband until her death in 1920. The children remained loyal to her. Some time after 1911, Frederic and Maude moved to Grosvenor Lodge (now St Christopher's) in Belmont Road, Combe Down, just outside Bath.[5]

Weatherly remained active both as an author and as a barrister until the end of his life. The Times wrote of his dual career, "His fertility was extraordinary, and though it is easy to be contemptuous of his drawing-room lyrics, sentimental, humorous and patriotic, which are said to number about 3,000 altogether, it is certain that no practising barrister has ever before provided so much innocent pleasure."[3] He celebrated his golden jubilee as a songwriter in 1919, at a dinner given for him by publishers and composers with whom he had been associated over the past fifty years.[3] In his last years he was much in demand as a lecturer, broadcaster and after-dinner speaker.[3]

 
Frederic Weatherly's grave (detail), Smallcombe Cemetery, Bath
 
Frederic Weatherly's grave, Smallcombe Cemetery, Bath

In early 1923 Maude Francfort died and on 2 August 1923 Weatherly married Miriam Bryan, née Davies (d. 1941), widow of a well-known tenor, John Bryan.[3] She had been nurse/companion to Maude in her final years. He was made a King's Counsel, a senior barrister, in 1926. In the same year he published an autobiography, Piano and Gown. He died at his home, Bathwick Lodge, Bath, after a short illness on 7 September 1929, at the age of 80.[2] At his funeral in Bath Abbey, the Londonderry Air, to which he had written the well-known words, was played as a voluntary.[6] He was buried at Smallcombe Cemetery. A plaque unveiled by Dame Clara Butt commemorates him at 10 Edward St in Bath.[7]

Works

The first of Weatherly's well-known works was the hymn "The Holy City", written in 1892 to music by the British composer Stephen Adams. The song includes the refrain "Jerusalem, Jerusalem!". He wrote the song "Danny Boy" while living in Bath in 1910, but it did not meet with much success. In 1912 his sister-in-law Margaret Enright Weatherly in America suggested an old Irish tune called "Londonderry Air", which he had never heard before. Margaret had learned the tune from her Irish-born father Dennis. The tune matched his lyrics almost perfectly. He published the now-famous song in 1913. His ballad "Roses of Picardy", written in 1916 and set to music by Haydn Wood, was one of the most famous songs from World War I.[8][9][10]

Of his huge output of songs, Weatherly listed a selection of 61 titles in his Who's Who entry. In addition to the above, they were: "Nancy Lee"; "The Midshipmite"; "Polly"; "They all love Jack"; "Jack's Yarn"; "The Old Brigade"; "The Deathless Army"; "To the Front"; "John Bull"; "Darby and Joan"; "When We are Old and Grey"; "Auntie"; "The Chimney Corner"; "The Children's Home"; "The Old Maids of Lee"; "The Men of Ware"; "The Devoted Apple"; "To-morrow will be Friday"; "Douglas Gordon"; "Sleeping Tide"; "The Star of Bethlehem"; "Beauty's Eyes"; "In Sweet September"; "Bid me Good-bye"; "The Last Watch"; "London Bridge"; "The King's Highway"; "Go to Sea"; "Veteran's Song"; "Up from Somerset"; "Beyond the Dawn"; "Nirvana"; "Mifanwy"; "Sergeant of the Line"; "Stone-cracker John"; "Ailsa Mine"; "Old Black Mare"; "Coolan Dhu"; "Three for Jack"; "Bhoy I Love"; "The Blue Dragoons"; "At Santa Barbara"; "The Grenadier"; "Reuben Ranzo"; "Dinder Courtship"; "Friend o'Mine"; "When You Come Home"; "Little Road Home"; "Greenhills of Somerset"; "Danny Boy"; "As you pass by"; "Ships of my dreams"; "Why shouldn't I?"; "When Noah Went-a-sailing"; "Time to go"; "Chumleigh Fair"; "Our Little Home"; "The Bristol Pageant, Music Composed by Hubert Hunt in 1924" and "Little Lady of the Moon".[11]

Weatherly's prose publications include Wilton School, (1872); The Rudiments of Logic, Inductive and Deductive, (1879); Oxford Days: or How Ross got his Degree, (1879); Questions in Logic, Progressive and General, (1883) and Musical and Dramatic Copyright (1890), with Edward Cutler.[11] He published several collections of verse including Muriel and other Poems; Dresden China and other Songs; and Songs for Michael, 1927. Beatrix Potter's first signed illustrations were published in A Happy Pair, a book of verse written by Weatherly.[12]

Weatherly also worked in opera, making English translations of Pagliacci and Cavalleria rusticana, for Covent Garden[3] and writing the lyrics for the 1894 premiere of Mirette at the Savoy Theatre.[13]

References

  1. ^ Gregory, Paul. "Weatherly - Gordano Civic Society". www.gordanosociety.org.uk. Retrieved 2 October 2017.
  2. ^ a b c Pickles John D., "Weatherly, Frederick Edward (1848–1929)", Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, online edition, Oxford University Press, September 2004, accessed 29 August 2010. (subscription required)
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h The Times obituary, 9 September 1929, p. 7
  4. ^ Burnell, Richard (1989). Henley Royal Regatta : A celebration of 150 years. Heinemann Kingswood. p. 103. ISBN 0-434-98134-6.
  5. ^ "Pipes calling for a new centenary Danny Boy song". BBC News. 27 January 2013. Retrieved 3 October 2017.
  6. ^ The Times, 12 September 1929, p. 15
  7. ^ "Frederick E Weatherly". Bath Heritage. Retrieved 3 October 2017.
  8. ^ Tyler, Don (2016). Music of the First World War. ABC-CLIO. p. 23. ISBN 9781440839979.
  9. ^ "Edward Street, Bath: The Fred Weatherly Story". BBC. Retrieved 3 October 2017.
  10. ^ "Roses of Picardy". First World War.com. Retrieved 3 October 2017.
  11. ^ a b "Weatherly, Frederic Edward", Who Was Who, A & C Black, 1920–2008; online edition, Oxford University Press, December 2007, accessed 30 August 2010 (subscription required)
  12. ^ The Times, 12 December 1980, p. 18
  13. ^ The Times, 4 July 1894, p. 5

External links

 
Wikisource has original works by or about:
Frederic Edward Weatherly
 
Wikiquote has quotations related to Fred Weatherly.
 
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Frederic Weatherly.

January 07, 2023
frederic, weatherly, frederic, edward, weatherly, october, 1848, september, 1929, english, lawyer, author, lyricist, broadcaster, christened, brought, using, name, frederick, edward, weatherly, appears, have, adopted, spelling, frederic, later, life, estimated. Frederic Edward Weatherly KC 4 October 1848 7 September 1929 was an English lawyer author lyricist and broadcaster He was christened and brought up using the name Frederick Edward Weatherly and appears to have adopted the spelling Frederic later in life He is estimated to have written the lyrics to at least 3 000 popular songs among the best known of which are the sentimental ballad Danny Boy set to the tune Londonderry Air the religious The Holy City and the wartime song Roses of Picardy Weatherly in 1895 Contents 1 Life and career 2 Works 3 References 4 External linksLife and career EditWeatherly was born and brought up in Portishead Somerset 1 the eldest son in the large family of Frederick Weatherly 1820 1910 a medical doctor and his wife Julia Maria nee Ford 1823 98 His birth was registered in the Bedminster district of Bristol in the fourth quarter of 1848 and the 1851 census shows the family living at 5 Wood Hill Portishead He was educated at Hereford Cathedral School from 1859 to 1867 and won a scholarship to Brasenose College Oxford in 1867 2 Among his tutors was Walter Pater who taught him about Italian art 3 Weatherly entered three times for the Newdigate Prize for poetry but without success 3 In 1868 he helped out members of the Brasenose rowing team under Walter Bradford Woodgate who had practised for the Stewards Challenge Cup at Henley Royal Regatta without a cox The race at the time was for coxed fours and Weatherly volunteered to start the race with them and immediately jump out of the boat He did so and the team won but were disqualified 3 4 Woodgate had made his point and the race was later changed to one for coxless fours Weatherly graduated with a degree in Classics in 1871 and in 1872 he married Anna Maria Hardwick generally called Minnie of Axbridge in Somerset d 1920 with whom he had a son and two daughters Weatherly and his wife later lived apart 2 and on the night of the 1881 census he is recorded as being on his own with his three young children and four servants at his house Sevensprings South Parks Road Oxford Weatherly and his wife later separated around 1900 Weatherly remained in Oxford briefly working as a schoolmaster and then as a private tutor until 1887 when he qualified as a barrister practising first in London and then in the west of England The 1901 census records him living as a boarder at 2 Harley Place in Clifton Bristol The 1911 census shows him aged 62 living at 12 Penn Lea Road Lower Weston Bath in Somerset with a Maude Eugenie Beatrice Weatherly aged 53 from Esher in Surrey who is recorded as his wife of nine years standing and their two servants In fact Weatherly and his wife Minnie never divorced Maude Francfort used the name Weatherly while they lived together as husband and wife in Bath Minnie lived on in seclusion in Portishead financially supported by her husband until her death in 1920 The children remained loyal to her Some time after 1911 Frederic and Maude moved to Grosvenor Lodge now St Christopher s in Belmont Road Combe Down just outside Bath 5 Weatherly remained active both as an author and as a barrister until the end of his life The Times wrote of his dual career His fertility was extraordinary and though it is easy to be contemptuous of his drawing room lyrics sentimental humorous and patriotic which are said to number about 3 000 altogether it is certain that no practising barrister has ever before provided so much innocent pleasure 3 He celebrated his golden jubilee as a songwriter in 1919 at a dinner given for him by publishers and composers with whom he had been associated over the past fifty years 3 In his last years he was much in demand as a lecturer broadcaster and after dinner speaker 3 Frederic Weatherly s grave detail Smallcombe Cemetery Bath Frederic Weatherly s grave Smallcombe Cemetery Bath In early 1923 Maude Francfort died and on 2 August 1923 Weatherly married Miriam Bryan nee Davies d 1941 widow of a well known tenor John Bryan 3 She had been nurse companion to Maude in her final years He was made a King s Counsel a senior barrister in 1926 In the same year he published an autobiography Piano and Gown He died at his home Bathwick Lodge Bath after a short illness on 7 September 1929 at the age of 80 2 At his funeral in Bath Abbey the Londonderry Air to which he had written the well known words was played as a voluntary 6 He was buried at Smallcombe Cemetery A plaque unveiled by Dame Clara Butt commemorates him at 10 Edward St in Bath 7 Works EditThe first of Weatherly s well known works was the hymn The Holy City written in 1892 to music by the British composer Stephen Adams The song includes the refrain Jerusalem Jerusalem He wrote the song Danny Boy while living in Bath in 1910 but it did not meet with much success In 1912 his sister in law Margaret Enright Weatherly in America suggested an old Irish tune called Londonderry Air which he had never heard before Margaret had learned the tune from her Irish born father Dennis The tune matched his lyrics almost perfectly He published the now famous song in 1913 His ballad Roses of Picardy written in 1916 and set to music by Haydn Wood was one of the most famous songs from World War I 8 9 10 Of his huge output of songs Weatherly listed a selection of 61 titles in his Who s Who entry In addition to the above they were Nancy Lee The Midshipmite Polly They all love Jack Jack s Yarn The Old Brigade The Deathless Army To the Front John Bull Darby and Joan When We are Old and Grey Auntie The Chimney Corner The Children s Home The Old Maids of Lee The Men of Ware The Devoted Apple To morrow will be Friday Douglas Gordon Sleeping Tide The Star of Bethlehem Beauty s Eyes In Sweet September Bid me Good bye The Last Watch London Bridge The King s Highway Go to Sea Veteran s Song Up from Somerset Beyond the Dawn Nirvana Mifanwy Sergeant of the Line Stone cracker John Ailsa Mine Old Black Mare Coolan Dhu Three for Jack Bhoy I Love The Blue Dragoons At Santa Barbara The Grenadier Reuben Ranzo Dinder Courtship Friend o Mine When You Come Home Little Road Home Greenhills of Somerset Danny Boy As you pass by Ships of my dreams Why shouldn t I When Noah Went a sailing Time to go Chumleigh Fair Our Little Home The Bristol Pageant Music Composed by Hubert Hunt in 1924 and Little Lady of the Moon 11 Weatherly s prose publications include Wilton School 1872 The Rudiments of Logic Inductive and Deductive 1879 Oxford Days or How Ross got his Degree 1879 Questions in Logic Progressive and General 1883 and Musical and Dramatic Copyright 1890 with Edward Cutler 11 He published several collections of verse including Muriel and other Poems Dresden China and other Songs and Songs for Michael 1927 Beatrix Potter s first signed illustrations were published in A Happy Pair a book of verse written by Weatherly 12 Weatherly also worked in opera making English translations of Pagliacci and Cavalleria rusticana for Covent Garden 3 and writing the lyrics for the 1894 premiere of Mirette at the Savoy Theatre 13 References Edit Gregory Paul Weatherly Gordano Civic Society www gordanosociety org uk Retrieved 2 October 2017 a b c Pickles John D Weatherly Frederick Edward 1848 1929 Oxford Dictionary of National Biography online edition Oxford University Press September 2004 accessed 29 August 2010 subscription required a b c d e f g h The Times obituary 9 September 1929 p 7 Burnell Richard 1989 Henley Royal Regatta A celebration of 150 years Heinemann Kingswood p 103 ISBN 0 434 98134 6 Pipes calling for a new centenary Danny Boy song BBC News 27 January 2013 Retrieved 3 October 2017 The Times 12 September 1929 p 15 Frederick E Weatherly Bath Heritage Retrieved 3 October 2017 Tyler Don 2016 Music of the First World War ABC CLIO p 23 ISBN 9781440839979 Edward Street Bath The Fred Weatherly Story BBC Retrieved 3 October 2017 Roses of Picardy First World War com Retrieved 3 October 2017 a b Weatherly Frederic Edward Who Was Who A amp C Black 1920 2008 online edition Oxford University Press December 2007 accessed 30 August 2010 subscription required The Times 12 December 1980 p 18 The Times 4 July 1894 p 5External links Edit Wikisource has original works by or about Frederic Edward Weatherly Wikiquote has quotations related to Fred Weatherly Wikimedia Commons has media related to Frederic Weatherly Library resources in your library and in other libraries about Frederic Weatherly Online books and library resources in your library and in other libraries by Frederic Weatherly The Londonderry Air facts and fiction URL accessed on 11 September 2005 The Origin of Danny Boy URL accessed on 11 September 2005 Who was at Brasenose URL accessed on 11 September 2005 First World War Vintage Audio Roses of Picardy URL accessed on 13 January 2009 Works by Frederic Edward Weatherly at Project Gutenberg Works by or about Frederic Weatherly at Internet Archive Works by Frederic Weatherly at LibriVox public domain audiobooks F E Weatherly at Library of Congress Authorities with 34 catalogue records F E Weatherly recordings at the Discography of American Historical Recordings Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Frederic Weatherly amp oldid 1107249255, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

article

, read, download, free, free download, mp3, video, mp4, 3gp, jpg, jpeg, gif, png, picture, music, song, movie, book, game, games.