Birthplace Gallery

Birthplace of Addison, 1844. Creator: Unknown

Birthplace of Addison, 1844. The house where British writer and politician Joseph Addison was born. Milston, the birth-place of Addison, is a retired village, containing only 107 inhabitants, and is distant a few miles from the town of Amesbury, in Wiltshire. The Essayist's father, who was Dean of Lichfield, was also Rector of the parish, and here, in the Rectory-house, on the 1st of May, 1672, the celebrated author of "The Spectator" was born. Our sketch represents the house in its present state of repair; but even in the days of Addison, it must have been a very humble abode'. From "Illustrated London News", 1844, Vol I

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Birth Place of the Rev. C.H. Spurgeon, Kelvedon, Essex, mid-late 19th century. Creator: Unknown

Birth Place of the Rev. C.H. Spurgeon, Kelvedon, Essex, mid-late 19th century. The Wheatsheaf Inn in the village of Kelvedon, birthplace of British Baptist preacher Charles Haddon Spurgeon (1834-1892), who preached his first sermon at the age of sixteen. Spurgeon quickly became known for his oratory skills, and people from all walks of life would flock to hear him preach. In 1861 the Metropolitan Tabernacle in Newington opened. This had been specifically built for him, as the halls he preached in could not hold the numbers of people that came to listen. He was minister there until his death. Spurgeon also instigated the establishment of many institutions, such as a pastors college founded at Camberwell in 1856, which transferred to the Metropolitan Tabernacle in 1861; and an orphanage founded in 1867 at Stockwell

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Cobbetts Birthplace, Farnham, 1911, (1914). Artist: James S Ogilvy

Cobbett's Birthplace, Farnham, 1911, (1914). William Cobbett (1763-1835), Pamphleteer, farmer and journalist, born in Farnham, Surrey. Cobbett successfully campaigned for the Representation of the People Act 1832, the Act granted seats in the House of Commons to large cities and removed seats from smaller corrupt boroughs. The Act also increased the electorate from 500, 000 to 813, 000 which allowed about one out of five adult males to vote. From A Pilgrimage In Surrey, Vol. 1, by James S. Ogilvy. [George Routledge & Sons Limited, London, 1914]

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