Godfrey Higgins
| Godfrey Higgins | |
|---|---|
Detail of a miniature of Higgins
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| Born |
Godfrey Higgins 30 January 1772 Owston, Yorkshire |
| Died | 9 August 1833 (aged 61) Cambridge |
| Nationality | UK |
| Occupation | magistrate; mythographer |
| Years active | 1800–1833 |
| Notable work | Anacalypsis; The Celtic Druids |
Godfrey Higgins (30 January 1772 in Owston, Yorkshire – 9 August 1833 in Cambridge) was an English magistrate and landowner, a prominent advocate for social reform, historian, and antiquarian. He is now best known for his writings on ancient myths, especially his posthumously published book Anacalypsis, in which he asserts a commonality among various religious myths, which he traces back to the supposed lost religion of Atlantis. He has been called a "political radical, reforming county magistrate and idiosyncratic historian of religions".
He was the son of Godfrey Higgins of Skellow Grange, near Doncaster. He was educated in Hemsworth before being admitted to Emmanuel College, Cambridge in 1790, and migrating to Trinity Hall in 1791. He later studied law at the Inner Temple, but was not called to the bar, and refrained from practice. When Napoleon threatened an invasion of the United Kingdom, Higgins joined the Volunteer Corps and became a Captain in the Third West York Militia. In 1800 he married Jane Thorpe, who gave birth to his son, also named Godfrey, and two daughters, Jane and Charlotte. After Higgins' promotion to the rank of major in 1808, he resigned from the Volunteer Corps citing a severe fever as reason. Soon thereafter he was appointed as magistrate or justice of the peace in Yorkshire.
Higgins' work as a magistrate was highlighted by reformist campaigns, within which he "courageously exposed the scandalous treatment of pauper lunatics and campaigned for Parliamentary Reform, criticizing excessive taxation, the Corn Laws, and the exploitation of children in factories". He was also in favour of disestablishing the Church of Ireland. In 1814 he played a leading role in uncovering the abuse of patients at the York Lunatic Asylum after rumours of serious misconduct had come to his attention. He joined Quaker William Tuke in agitating for reform. In a surprise visit he forced staff to open doors which revealed female patients kept in "a number of secret cells in a state of filth, horrible beyond description...the most miserable objects I ever beheld." Most of the staff were dismissed and Higgins was able to secure a government enquiry into the running of the asylum, at which he gave evidence. Higgins was appointed as a Governor of the Asylum. He proceeded to investigate a suspicious fire that had destroyed many of the asylum's records, concluding that it was unlikely to have started by accident.
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