William Borlase
| William Borlase | |
|---|---|
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|
| Born |
2 February 1696 Pendeen, Cornwall |
| Died | 31 August 1772 (aged 76) Ludgvan |
| Residence | Ludgvan |
| Nationality | British |
| Fields | Geologist, naturalist, antiquary |
| Alma mater | Exeter College, Oxford |
William Borlase (2 February 1696 – 31 August 1772), Cornish antiquary, geologist and naturalist. From 1722 he was Rector of Ludgvan, Cornwall, where he died. He was a contemporary of John Wesley and attempted to enter him into the Royal Navy by compulsion, but relented when he realised Wesley was a "gentleman".
Borlase was born on 2 February 1695/6 at Pendeen, of an ancient family originating at St Wenn. He was educated at Exeter College, Oxford from 1713, and in 1719 he was ordained. In 1722 he was presented to the rectory of Ludgvan, and in 1732 he obtained in addition the vicarage of St Just, his native parish. The garden of the Rectory (now known as Hogus House) was established by Borlase; during the reign of Queen Victoria the garden was further developed by a successor, Arthur Boscawen, and was known for its fine collection of trees and shrubs.
Between 1744 and 1746, Borlase was active against the Methodist preachers in his capacity of magistrate. Various Methodist preachers were seized on warrants issued by him and press-ganged to serve on ships abroad. In John Wesley's Diary there is an account of how he personally laid hands on Wesley, "to serve his majesty", but withdrew when he realised that Wesley was a gentleman.
In the parish of Ludgvan were rich copper works, abounding with mineral and metallic fossils, of which he made a collection, and thus was led to study somewhat minutely the natural history of Cornwall. In 1750, he was admitted a Fellow of the Royal Society; and, in 1754, he published, at Oxford, his Antiquities of Cornwall (2nd ed., London, 1769). His next publication was Observations on the Ancient and Present State of the Islands of Scilly, and their Importance to the Trade of Great Britain (Oxford, 1756). In 1758 appeared his Natural History of Cornwall which includes a chapter on the inhabitants and their native language (about one ninth of the whole).
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