Hutchinson

WILLIAM HUTCHINSON (1732 - 1814)

Not to be confused with William Hutchinson (1715-1801) of Newcastle, who came within an inch of being eaten by his starving shipmates but survived to write on seamanship and naval architecture. This Hutchinson was a Barnard Castle solicitor, who occupied his leisure with writing and who, with the help of his friend George Allen, published his valuable History and Antiquities of the County Palatine of Durham between 1785 and 1794. He wrote a number of topographical works on Northumberland and the Lake District, illustrated by Turner. Hutchinson and similar writers incurred the wrath of Coleridge who condemned them all as 'damned liars, harsh words but true'.

In 1788, Hutchinson wrote two plays in a single week but both were rejected by Covent Garden. A third, The Princess of Zanfara also rejected, was printed anonymously in 1792 and frequently performed in provincial theatres. Hutchinson also wrote romances, gothic tales and 'An Oration at the Dedication of the Free Masons Hall in Sunderland on the 16th of July 1778'.

Myers Literary Guide:	The North-East
WILLIAM HUTCHINSON (1732 - 1814) Not to be confused with William Hutchinson (1715-1801) of Newcastle, who came within an inch of being eaten by his starving shipmates but survived to write on seamanship and naval architecture. This Hutchinson was a Barnard Castle solicitor, who occupied his leisure with writing and who, with the help of his friend George Allen, published his valuable History and Antiquities of the County Palatine of Durham between 1785 and 1794. He wrote a number of topographical works on Northumberland and the Lake District, illustrated by Turner. Hutchinson and similar writers incurred the wrath of Coleridge who condemned them all as 'damned liars, harsh words but true'. In 1788, Hutchinson wrote two plays in a single week but both were rejected by Covent Garden. A third, The Princess of Zanfara also rejected, was printed anonymously in 1792 and frequently performed in provincial theatres. Hutchinson also wrote romances, gothic tales and 'An Oration at the Dedication of the Free Masons Hall in Sunderland on the 16th of July 1778'.
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