214:. While the latter mass-produced publicity photographs of him and sold his books, Close wrote about and advertised the Bowness studio in his publications. Those for tourist consumption ranged from the two-page âImpromptu Poem: On the Beauties of Windermere and Carver's Memorial Churchâ (1880) to the 64 illustrated pages of âPoet Close's Grand Lake Bookâ (1869). The breadth of local coverage included the 34 stanzas of âThe Windermere Regattaâ (1866), the three-page âGrand Marriage Poem on the Marriage of the Earl of Lonsdaleâ (1878) and the four-page
103:, resulting in ÂŁ300 damages being awarded against him, leaving him in reduced circumstances. It was now his assiduity in including his friends and neighbours in his verse, and more especially the gentry of the district, bore fruit in a petition to remedy his poverty with a Civil List pension on the grounds of his contribution to literature. This was granted in April 1860 and resulted in questions being asked in Parliament about the bestowal of such recognition on a hitherto unknown
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and troubadour of the borderâŚHe strews the express train with his handbills and recites his verses in the refreshment room. The handbills are adorned with the royal arms, with the Prince of Wales and âThe
Emperor of Franceâ as supporters, and the array of royal, ducal and episcopal personages who are mentioned as his admiring patrons is quite overpowering.
95:. This was a miscellany of prose and verse, featuring Kirkby Stephen under the name âLittle-Townâ and his own poems ascribed to one of his many aliases, Tom Dowell. It was printed in Appleby and the many typographical errors and omissions so annoyed him that in 1846 he established himself as a printer.
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also wrote several burlesques of the poet's huckstering verse, including âThe
Laureate to his Princess of Bonny", hinting at the mercenary motive behind the poetâs dedications. Close himself naively admits that his effusions of gratitude stem from benefits received, nor was he slow to denounce those
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At Kirkby
Stephen, where the train stops for refreshments, there appears upon the platform, and at the window of the carriage, with unkempt hair and his arms full of books which he offers for sale at the lamentably small price of three and sixpence a copy, a middle aged man who is the minnersinger
229:, and just a single sheet to "Poet's Close's Sad Misfortune at the Lakes, and what the Rats Didâ (1884). His prolific publications also included an annual "Christmas Book" which, in addition to his own verses, news and correspondence, reviewed the year's events in the district.
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The
Dictionary of National Biography remarked of Close that âhe may be termed a survival of the old packman-poetâ or itinerant ballad seller. His published broadsides and ballads on local subjects were not always appreciated, however. In 1856 he was sued for
129:, that he made Close his poet laureate and drew up an official paper to confirm it. Close's egalitarian sympathy was later manifested by his account of an amicable meeting with the former slave James Watkins during his lecturing tour of Britain in 1861.
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put it, âthe privileged idiot of a countyâ. According to his own account (writing under one of his aliases), Close's poem on âThe
Sorrows of Royaltyâ had so impressed King William Dappa Pepple, the temporarily deposed monarch of the West African
114:. The main accusations were that his poetry was no more than doggerel; that he wrote for venal reasons; and that his claim to be appointed laureate âUnder Royal Patronageâ by a West African chief made him appear a buffoon (as he was described in
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The memory of this colourful character survived in a number of ways. In 1887 a racehorse was named after him, no doubt because it had been sired by another called
Laureate. There was also an amusing contemporary reference to 'Poet Close' in
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An indefatigable self-promoter and in a position to publish his own work regardless of quality, Close renamed his place of business 'Poet's Hall'. He also formed an alliance with local photographer
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The case was widely reported, not only in Great
Britain but also in the United States and in colonial papers, where he was attacked particularly on the basis of his recently published
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and the pension was rescinded. Close received instead a royal grant of ÂŁ100 in compensation and continued for the next thirty years to issue printed statements relating to his wrongs.
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local preacher. Soon after 1830, while still working for his father, Close began issuing fly-sheets of verse which he sold at markets, his first substantial prose work being
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In 1858 Close had married Eliza Early, by whom he was to have four sons and a daughter. After his death in 1891, he was buried in Kirkby
Stephen cemetery.
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As a local character, Close frequently included news of himself as well. 72 pages of correspondence, poems, and commentary were given to
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249:. In this Elvira's lover goes in search of the author of the rhymed mottos in crackers and approaches various popular poets of the day.
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tourist trade. Of only local significance before 1860, what brought him national notoriety was his being granted and then stripped of a
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Poet Close and His
Pension: Shewing how it was Got, who Took it from Him, and what the Queen Sent Him from the Royal Bounty
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138:, giving as evidence his endorsement of Dr Rookeâs âOriental Pillsâ and of the Kendal carpet manufacturer John Whitwell.
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Poet Close's New Poem on the Late Awful Fire in His
Bookstall: On August 26th, 1875, Bowness, Windermere
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in 1861. During the season he sold his books there and at a stall near the steamer landing stage at
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What came to Close's rescue just in time was the growing tourist trade that followed the opening of
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One of the most detailed demonstrations that the poet's pen was for hire appeared in the American
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record John as still living with his parents in Kirkby Stephen. In 1842 he published
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anthology of bad verse. He is now included in reference textbooks such as
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In the 20th century, Close's verse earned him a place among the great in
245:'s âFerdinando and Elvira, or the Gentle Piemanâ, later included in his
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who did not respond upon receipt of his unsolicited publications:
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on 15 February 1891. He was an enterprising and prolific writer of
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The Book of the Chronicles: Winter Evening Tales of Westmorland
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as the son of Jarvis Close, a butcher who was well known as a
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Once A Year, tales and legends of Westmoreland, 1862,
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through the medium of a travel report in the magazine
87:, written when he was sixteen. Both the 1841 and 1851
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Enlarged edition 1948, pp.215-6, available online at
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and autographed with Close's motto, "Ever the same"
313:Close names his attackers in a cartoon on the
225:(1861). More modestly, he devoted 15 pages to
19:For the English banker and amateur rower, see
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640:(online ed.). Oxford University Press.
549:Edited from Harvard University Press, 1980,
634:Brown, Douglas. "Close, John (1816â1891)".
258:The Stanford Companion to Victorian Fiction
206:The poet at his Bowness bookstall in 1875
637:Oxford Dictionary of National Biography
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75:'Poet Close' was born in the Yorkshire
585:Catherine Reilly, A&C Black 2000,
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218:âGrand Electioneering Poemâ (1880).
32:The poet's calling card, created by
378:Poet Close's Christmas Book, 1862,
563:Poems available on Poetry Explorer
59:origin who catered to the English
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629:. London: Smith, Elder & Co.
625:Dictionary of National Biography
159:Who coolly take the Poetâs Books
47:, was born on 11 August 1816 at
262:Mid-Victorian Poetry, 1860-1879
162:And grudge him thanks or pence!
179:Kirkby Stephen railway station
112:The Poetical Works of J. Close
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187:Confederate States of America
135:Harper's New Monthly Magazine
654:UK public library membership
598:Nottingham Trent University
526:The 1862 publication is on
156:Have scarcely common sense;
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676:People from Kirkby Stephen
671:19th-century English poets
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612:Seccombe, Thomas (1901).
426:Volume 4, February 1868,
173:Poet to the tourist trade
153:Alas! our proud nobility
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646:10.1093/ref:odnb/5704
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183:Bowness-on-Windermere
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16:English doggerel poet
573:Stanford University
615:"Close, John"
315:Close Ancestry page
67:pension that year.
691:English male poets
402:November 4, 1865,
367:The Poetical Works
320:2014-09-11 at the
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652:(Subscription or
21:John Brooks Close
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127:Kingdom of Bonny
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681:1816 births
620:Lee, Sidney
260:(1990) and
247:Bab Ballads
216:blank verse
665:Categories
656:required.)
606:References
587:entry p.98
390:Volume 23
356:9 May 1861
303:Wikisource
71:Early life
65:Civil List
49:Gunnerside
45:Poet Close
41:John Close
120:) or, as
105:Lake Poet
77:Swaledale
392:p.417-18
318:Archived
81:Wesleyan
622:(ed.).
551:pp.72-4
380:pp.9-13
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236:Legacy
89:census
618:. In
575:p.134
428:p.307
404:p.175
369:, p.6
345:p.200
268:Notes
140:Punch
117:Punch
101:libel
416:p.19
642:doi
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193:.
648:.
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23:.
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