Person record for Foulkes, John

Foulkes, John

Diary Appearances
Biographical Details
Editorial Notes
Bibliography
Acquaintances

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This person is mentioned in the diary a total of 162 times, but was not at home (N) 27 times, and was a venue (V) 102 times.

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Name: Foulkes, John
Gender: Male
Death Date: 1821
Occupation: lawyer

John Foulkes was a lawyer who had worked with the defendents in the 1794 Treason trials; he was also associated with the defence of James O'Coigley in 1798 and was involved in the defence of Edward Despard in 1803 - which resulted in a break with Horne Tooke and the alienation of Foulkes from the radical cause (Tooke wanted to use any means to taint the witnesses; Foulkes was disinclined to resort to 'infamous means'.

Foulkes was initially very closely associated with Mrs and Joseph Clayton Jennings but by the end of 1794 and certainly in 1795 became an independent venue that Godwin called on and dined at a good deal, and vise-versa, and there is much less connection with the Jennings. Thomas Holcroft also seemed to be close to Foulkes. There appears to be some estrangement between Sept 1796 and 1798, and when contact resumed it was more centred on Holcroft in 1798 and 1799. In 1800 there are a lot of entries for 'call on Foulkes', many of which are listed as 'nah' (not at home), but some where they do meet. 1801 sees few succesful calls. Then Holcroft returns. 1804 sees a return to many calls but few contacts. Connections thereafter are not frequent - which makes it very unlikely that Godwin would use an abbreviation.

Accordingly, the E FKs in 1805-1807; and O Fks in 1805 have been coded as Fenwicks (see also the bibliographic entry for Eliza Fenwick) but there has to be some uncertainty over this - O Fks would be especially unusual since Godwin's usualy abbreviation is to take the first and last letters. Moreover, the O. Fk entries, while they might ber references to Orlando Fenwick (b. 1798) seem to involve a lot of individual contact with a boy who would be around six or seven years old! On the other hand, it is around the time when Godwin is writing books for children for his juvenile library .

Foulkes married Phillipa Brownlow Toler of Billingsborough, Lincs., in September 1787. In his will he acknowledged five children born between 1801 and 1809, but these may not be by his wife, from whom he was early estranged.

National Archive, PROB11/1653
J. Ann Hone, For the Cause of Truth: Radicalism in London, 1796-1821 (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1982), pp. 55-6 and p. 115.

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

Name	Number of Meetings
Holcroft, Thomas	35
Jennings, Joseph Clayton (Jennyns)	13
Jennings, Mrs (Jennyns)	12
Holcroft, Louisa (née Mercier)	9
Reveley, Maria (Gisborne) (née James)	7
Nicholson, William	6
Thelwall, John	6
Reveley, Willey	5
Batty, Robert	4
Stoddart, John	3
Sinclair, Charles	3
Clementi, Muzio	3
King, John (Jacob Rey)	3
Alderson, Amelia (Opie)	3
Godwin, Mary Jane (Clairmont) (née de Vial)	3
Smirke,	2
Hazlitt, John	2
Hazlitt, William	2
Wolcot, Dr John (pseudonym Peter Pindar)	2
Banks, Thomas	2
Harwood, Colonel William	2
Vaughan,	2
Gerrald, Joseph	2
Taylor, Richard	2
Gurney, Joseph	2
Marshall, James	2
Davy, Sir Humphry	1
Buchan, Dr Alexander Peter	1
Cole,	1
Tobin, James Webbe	1
Rowan, Archibald Hamilton	1
Cooper, Elizabeth Priscilla	1
Hill, (Thomas)	1
Aickin, James	1
Hayward, Richard	1
Opie, John	1
Gurney, Sir John	1
Smith, John Raphael	1
Heywood, Samuel	1
Barry, Major Henry	1
Barnard,	1
Harvey, Thomas	1
Grattan, Hon Mrs	1
Powell, James	1
Frost, John	1
Symonds, Henry Delahoy	1
Ridgeway, James	1
Horne Tooke, John	1
Underwood, Thomas Richard	1
Moore, John	1
Mackintosh, Sir James (of Kyllachy)	1
Pinkerton, John (pseudonym Robert Heron) (pseudonym H. Bennet)	1
Fenwick, Elizabeth (Eliza) (née Jaco, pseudonym Reverend David Blair)	1
Manning,	1
Porson, Richard	1
Higgins, Godfrey	1
Smith, George	1
Shield, William	1
Williams, Helen Maria	1
Robinson, George	1
Webb,	1
Moore, C[harles]?	1
Cooper, Thomas (Abthorpe)	1
Taylor, (Taylor Lanc)	1
	1
Rowan, Sarah Jane (née Dawson)	1

Foulkes, John

1793

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1811

1823