230:, Worcestershire. His Uncle, John Phillips, was also a vicar, so the family had strong religious tendencies which were to influence many of George's later writings. His friend and biographer, Charles Williams, noted that George, as a child, was 'taught to occupy and amuse himself', a trait which led him, unattended, to explore a local building site, where he suffered severe injuries falling into the newly dug foundations, leaving him with a scar on his forehead which he would bear for the rest of his life.
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Humphrey" to be no more than a pseudonym, but with the unexpected popularity of the articles, the public were soon keen to know more about "Old
Humphrey", and the author's identity became a matter of popular speculation in the press. In response Mogridge began to imbue his pseudonym with the character of an elderly, kind hearted gentleman, responding to one paper's article, "Who is Old Humphrey?" with an enigmatic description beginning,
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209:, under which name he published 46 works, but also used the pen-names "Jeremy Jaunt", "Ephraim Holding", "Peter Parley" and "Old Father Thames". He wrote approximately 200 published works, many of which are still in publication today, and at the time of his death it was estimated that over 15 million copies of his writings were in circulation.
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which were published and sold on the city streets. Mogridge's aim was to buy up every copy of the obscene ballads and destroy them, and to persuade the publishers to stop printing further copies. The publishers, naturally, refused his request, so
Mogridge decided to write his own ballad, in the style
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Mogridge was already a well-known and prolific writer by 1833, when he chose the pseudonym "Old
Humphrey" for his authorship of a series of children's books for the Religious Tract Society. He would write 46 tracts under this name, aimed at persuading children into Christian habits and morals, and it
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Mogridge used various other pseudonyms, both male and female, in his long career, including "Uncle Adam", "Old Alan Gray", "Ephraim
Holding", "Uncle Newbury", "Aunt Newbury", "Old Father Thames," "Grandfather Gregory", "Grandmamma Gilbert", "Aunt Upton", "Amos Armfield", "Godfrey Gilbert" and "Peter
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during his time there. He died, with his wife at his bedside, in
Hastings on 2 November 1854, and, by his own request, was buried against the wall in the graveyard of All Saints' Church, Hastings. His gravestone stresses his religious convictions. The Religious Tract Society estimated that they had
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If you see an elderly-looking man parting two passionate boys who are fighting; giving twopence to a poor girl who has by accident broken her jug, to make all right again; picking up a fallen child out of the dirt; guiding a blind man carefully across the street; or hesitating for a moment if an
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In 1826 Mogridge's
Japanning business collapsed, and he took to writing full-time for a living. He was unable to make a sufficient living through his writing, and Mogridge fell into financial difficulties, compounded, in 1828, by a period of ill-health. By this time he had entered into a deal to
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In 1833, The
Religious Tract Society began issuing a weekly periodical, "The Weekly Visitor" and invited Mogridge to contribute "articles on a variety of familiar topics treated in a popular manner." Mogridge chose to write these under a new pen-name, "Old Humphrey". He originally intended "Old
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Immediately after his death his house at
Hastings became, briefly, a tourist attraction, as readers of his works travelled to Hastings to view the room where 'Old Humphrey' had died. A plaque on the wall of the house records his residence there, and a street in the
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His contract with the
Religious Tract Society necessitated a move to London, involving a long separation from his wife who remained in Birmingham, but after many months, and with financial support from friends and readers, he was able to take on a property in
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In 1851 Mogridge sprained his ankle and during his convalescence fell into a further spell of the bad health which had dogged him for much of his life. On medical advice he left London and took a house at 6 High
Wickham,
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353:". The early columns dealt principally with the need for improvements to Birmingham, but in later years also tackled more widespread subjects including expressing support for the anti-slavery movement.
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Two biographies of his life appeared shortly after his death, one, particularly florid and exuberant, written by his close friend Charles Williams, the other sponsored by The Religious Tract Society.
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In 1812 he married Elizabeth Bloomer, who bore him two sons and a daughter. Elizabeth died in 1822, and three years later he married Mary Ridsdale, by whom he had one more son. Mary authored a book,
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under the pseudonym of "Jeremy Jaunt" (supposedly an aged, bewigged man with smallpox scars, who had lived in Birmingham his entire life). These were accepted and became a weekly column called "
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During his time in Birmingham, Mogridge joined with a relative in campaigning to rid the city of what he considered to be vice and immorality. A particular target was the 'obscene'
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The 'Old Humphrey' articles proved so popular with the public that Mogridge was eventually to write 46 articles and books under that name over a period of twenty years, including
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Mogridge had begun writing poems and short articles for his own amusement while still at school. Later, during his apprenticeship years, he made the acquaintance of
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importunate beggar is an imposter or not and then deciding in his favour; if you see such a one, so occupied, he is not unlikely to be Old Humphrey."
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was an instant success and sold thousands of copies; Mogridge's biographer records that one man derived his entire livelihood by singing
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and metre of the obscene ballads, but on a moral and religious topic. This led to the publication of his first Religious Tract,
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sold more than 15 million copies of his works worldwide by the time he died, and many of his Tracts are still in print today.
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201:(17 February 1787 – 2 November 1854) was a 19th century writer, poet and author of children's books and religious
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At the age of 14 he was apprenticed to a Japanner (varnisher) in Birmingham, and eventually started his own
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In his spare time, Mogridge, encouraged by Pratt, wrote and submitted a series of letters and articles to
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area of Hastings, a short walk from his house, was named "Old Humphrey Avenue" in his honour.
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George Mogridge: His Life, Character and Writings, by Charles William (online version)
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The Sabbath-Breaker reclaimed: or the Pleasing History of Thomas Brown, in verse
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The Sabbath-Breaker reclaimed: or the Pleasing History of Thomas Brown, in verse
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business in partnership with his brother, in Lancaster Street, Birmingham.
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Parley" – the latter bringing him into conflict with an American writer,
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George Mogridge: his life, character and writings (by Charles Williams)
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Memoir of Old Humphrey (Religious Tract Society) – online version
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Plaque commemorating George Mogridge on the wall of his house at
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Mogridge also wrote fifty books under his own name, including
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Samples of newly-published editions of Mogridge's works
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British author of children's books and religious tracts
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Old Humphrey's Lively Lectures and Cheerful Chapters
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London And County Directory, 1811, Vol 2: Birmingham
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284:is as "Old Humphrey" that he is best remembered.
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106:Writer, poet and religious tract author
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432:(1829) and
235:Dame school
119:Nationality
650:Categories
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252:Adult life
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103:Occupation
57:1787-02-17
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228:Kimbolton
213:Biography
127:Education
440:(1846).
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