William Godwin's Diary

Belsham, Thomas

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This person is mentioned in the diary a total of 22 times, and was a venue (V) 3 times.

You may also examine their meals and meetings in more detail.

1789

25  September  1789 3  November  1789 4  November  1789

1790

1  February  1790 5  March  1790 12  October  1790 30  November  1790

1791

11  January  1791 3  May  1791

1795

29  October  1795

1802

4  March  1802

1804

13  July  1804

1805

18  June  1805 23  July  1805

1810

28  September  1810

1811

11  January  1811

1821

21  November  1821

1822

16  July  1822 16  July  1822 (V) 18  July  1822 12  October  1822 (V) 13  November  1822 (V)

  • Name: Belsham, Thomas
  • Gender: Male
  • Birth Date: 15  April  1750
  • Death Date: 11  November  1829
  • Occupation: Unitarian minister

Belsham was professor of divinity at New College, Hackney 1789-1796. He later succeeded John Disney at the Essex Street Chapel, the foremost dissenting chapel in London, in 1805. He was persistently engaged with the struggle for civil rights for dissenters.

It is possible that the references are to his brother William who also moved in reforming circles. However, as Godwin distinguishes W Belsham in the 1796 list and notes the encounter in 1805 which matches the '2 Belshams' of 18 June that year, it is reasonable to assume that Godwin's main contact was with Thomas.

There are seven entries to Belcham in the 1780s and early 1790s. These are in circles with the Hollis's, Kippis, Price, and others strongly linked to dissent. It is unusual for Godwin to mispell names - and to use different spellings interchangeably (although see Hays/Hayes), although in this case there is only one Belsham before the Belcham's stop. . Nonetheless there is at least presumptive evidence for these entries being references to Thomas Belsham. The entries are on 25 September 1789; 3 November 1789; 4 November 1789; 1 February 1790; 5 March 1790; 30 November 1790; and 11 January 1791. They have been coded for Thomas Belsham, in large part because of the almost identical pattern of the circles in which the names appear, although there must remain some doubt over the attribution.

  • DNB
  • Memoirs of the late Reverend Thomas Belsham, ed. by John Williams (London, 1833).

This table lists the people this person is most frequently noted with in the diary.

Name Number of Meetings
Lindsey, Theophilus 5
Hollis, Timothy 4
Kippis, Andrew 4
Hollis, John 3
Hollis, Thomas Brand 3
Price, Richard 3
Lister, Dr William 3
Disney, John 3
Towers, Joseph 3
Knowles, John 2
Fuseli, Henry (Johann Heinrich Füssli) 2
Thorkelin, Grímur Jónsson 2
Bonnycastle, John 2
Rees, Abraham 2
Geddes, Dr Alexander 2
Morgan, George Cadogan 1
Morgan, William 1
Rogers, Samuel 1
Shore, Samuel 1
Stone, John Hurford 1
Vaughan, William 1
Wood, 1
Barbauld, Anna Letitia (née Aikin) 1
Johnson, Joseph 1
Barbauld, Rochemont 1
Notcutt, William Russell 1
Aikin, Charles Rochemont 1
Joyce, Jeremiah 1
Horne Tooke, John 1
Godwin, Mary Jane (Clairmont) (née de Vial) 1
Phillips, Sir Richard (Philip Richards) 1
Aikin, John 1
Edgeworth, Richard Lovell 1
Hoare, Prince 1
Wolcot, Dr John (pseudonym Peter Pindar) 1
Gregory, George 1
Belsham, William 1
Morgan, Lady Sydney (née Owenson) 1
White, 1
Moore, James (Carrick-Moore) 1
Priestley, Joseph 1