Brand

JOHN BRAND (1744 - 1806)

Brand was born in Washington, where his father was parish clerk, but soon came under the care of his maternal uncle, Anthony Wheatley, a cordwainer in Back Row, Newcastle. He was educated at the Royal Grammar School under Hugh Moises, where he acquired a taste for classical studies. Moises helped to send him to Lincoln College, Oxford, where he graduated in 1775. Previous to this, Brand had been ordained curate at Bolam in Northumberland, and was now appointed curate at St Andrew's in Newcastle, and then at Cramlington. He was elected a fellow of the Society of Antiquaries in 1777, and remained resident secretary until his death. Brand's lack of system in compiling his material was apparently mirrored in his employment. After his death, the Society's accounts were found to be in complete disorder.

Brand had a guarded attitude to strangers but improved on acquaintance. He was especially warm to those interested in his own line of study. As well as his Popular Antiquities (1777), based on Bourne's previous work, Brand left a vast mass of manuscript collections to add to that work. His History and Antiquities of the Town and County of Newcastle-upon-Tyne was published in London in two volumes in 1789.

Myers Literary Guide:	The North-East
JOHN BRAND (1744 - 1806) Brand was born in Washington, where his father was parish clerk, but soon came under the care of his maternal uncle, Anthony Wheatley, a cordwainer in Back Row, Newcastle. He was educated at the Royal Grammar School under Hugh Moises, where he acquired a taste for classical studies. Moises helped to send him to Lincoln College, Oxford, where he graduated in 1775. Previous to this, Brand had been ordained curate at Bolam in Northumberland, and was now appointed curate at St Andrew's in Newcastle, and then at Cramlington. He was elected a fellow of the Society of Antiquaries in 1777, and remained resident secretary until his death. Brand's lack of system in compiling his material was apparently mirrored in his employment. After his death, the Society's accounts were found to be in complete disorder. Brand had a guarded attitude to strangers but improved on acquaintance. He was especially warm to those interested in his own line of study. As well as his Popular Antiquities (1777), based on Bourne's previous work, Brand left a vast mass of manuscript collections to add to that work. His History and Antiquities of the Town and County of Newcastle-upon-Tyne was published in London in two volumes in 1789.
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