Allingham, William |
| POET, DIARIST, EDITOR, CIVIL SERVANT (IRELAND) |
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BORN 19 Mar 1824, Ballyshannon, County Donegal - DIED 18 Nov 1889, London: Hampstead GRAVE LOCATION Ballyshannon, County Donegal: St. Anne's Churchyard ((ashes)) |
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Son of a banker. He was a civil servant, but he actively sought out literary acquaintances. On June 27th, 1847 he met Leigh Hunt for the first time and he came to write for Hunt's London Journal. Hunt introduced him to Thomas Carlyle and he was also part of the Rossetti circle. Between 1850 and 1857 he wrote a dozen volumes of poetry. In 1864 he visited the Shelleys in Bournemouth and in 1868 he visited them again. In 1870 he retired from his job at the customs service. He settled in London and became sub-editor of Fraser's Magazine. In 1874 he succeeded James Froude as editor (until 1879). Also in 1874 he married the illustrator Helen Paterson. They had three children and lived near Thomas Carlyle in Chelsea. After Carlyle's death they moved to sandhills near Witley in Surrey. In 1888 they moved back to London after Allingham's health had declined. In 1889 he died there. Related persons • knew Hunt, Leigh • was a friend of Rossetti, Dante Gabriel • knew Shelley, Percy Florence, 3rd Baronet • knew St. John, Jane Events |
| 27/6/1847 | First meeting between Leigh Hunt and William Allingham. Allingham had gone to Hunt's house several times before but this time Hunt was home. His first impression of Hunt was that he was a very tolerant person. [Hunt, Leigh] |
| 28/10/1864 | William Allingham meets Lady Shelley. In the morning he had visited the Shelley monument in Priory Church, Christchurch. Afterwards he left his card with the Shelleys with a letter of introduction by Lord Houghton, who had known Mary Shelley. In the afternoon he returned and he met Lady Shelley, who invited him the dinner of the next day. [St. John, Jane] |
| 29/10/1864 | William Allingham dines with Sir Percy Florence Shelley. During the dinner Lady Shelley and two of Shelley's sisters were present. One of the sisters was Helen. Sir Percy stated clearly that he wasn't interested in literature and poetry and that he preferred sailing and private theatre. Helen Shelley's memories of Leigh Hunt were not favourable and Allingham, who had known Hunt, decided not to about Hunt anymore. [Hunt, Leigh][Shelley, Percy Florence, 3rd Baronet][St. John, Jane] |
| 9/12/1868 | Sir Percy Florence Shelley receives William Allingham for lunch. Lady Shelley tells him about Mary Shelley's last moments and about the Christianity of Shelley's daughter Ianthe. [Shelley, Percy Florence, 3rd Baronet][St. John, Jane] |
| 12/12/1868 | William Allingham enters Sir Percy Florence Shelley's steam yacht. He was invited by the boatsman at Inman's Quay to enter the yacht Nökken. Sir Percy Florence Shelley and Lady Shelley were there. Allingham describes in his diary that it was rather cold and the decided to go ashore to dine. [Shelley, Percy Florence, 3rd Baronet][St. John, Jane] |
Sources • Allingham, William, William Allingham, A Diary, 1824 - 1889, Penguin Books, Harmondsworth, 1985 |