Abbeville (Somme, Picardy, France), inhabited place [7010587]
Situated on the river Somme, c. 60 miles south of Calais (in the
far north of France), Abbeville became an important and increasingly
wealthy town in the 18th century due to its famous Van Robais Royal
Manufacture of luxury fabrics. Gray
visited Abbeville,
having travelled south from Calais, on 31st March 1739 N.S. while on the Grand Tour with
Horace
Walpole. He describes his impressions of the town and visits to
two convents in a letter to his mother sent from Amiens
on the following day. Much later, in March 1770, Gray's friend De
Bonstetten wrote a letter to Gray from
Abbeville on his way home to Switzerland. In June 1771, finally, Gray's friend Norton
Nichollswrote to
Gray from Paris
relating his impressions of Abbeville. He was on his way to visit
De Bonstetten in Switzerland, a journey Gray had contemplated taking
with Nicholls, but was then no longer equal to the exertion.
Aberdeen (Aberdeen, Scotland, United Kingdom), inhabited place [7009782]
Located on a bay of the North Sea, between the mouths of the rivers Don
and Dee on the northeastern coast of Scotland, Aberdeen was home to
two universities in the 18th century: King's College, founded in 1495
by Bishop William Elphinstone, and Marischal College, founded in 1593
by the 4th Earl Marischal on the site of the Franciscan Friary. Although Gray went
on an extensive tour in the Scottish Highlands with Lord Strathmore
between August and October of 1765, he failed to visit
Aberdeen. However, he corresponded with and invited James
Beattie, Professor of Moral Philosophy and Logic, at
Marischal College to meet with him at Glamis Castle,
Lord Strathmore's residence.
Gray refused an offer by Marischal College to receive a doctor of
laws degree on the ground that he had not taken it at Cambridge university.
Amiens (Somme, Picardy, France), inhabited place [7010588]
Amiens, situated on the Somme river c. 75 miles north of Paris,
is the capital of the Picardie region in the north of France. It is
the site of Amiens Cathedral, one of the largest `classic' Gothic
churches of the 13th century. Gray
visited Amiens, having travelled southeast from Abbeville, on 1st
April 1739 N.S. while on the
Grand Tour with
Horace
Walpole. He describes his impressions in a letter to his mother
sent from Amiens and in a letter to West
sent from Paris. Much later, in June 1771, Gray's friend Norton
Nichollswrote to
Gray from Paris
relating his impressions of Amiens. He was on his way to visit
De Bonstetten in Switzerland, a journey Gray had contemplated taking
with Nicholls, but was then no longer equal to the exertion.
Andover (Hampshire, England, United Kingdom), inhabited place [7011400]
Situated west of Basingstoke in Hampshire, Andover was a busy stopping
point on the stagecoach routes between Exeter, Salisbury and London
in the 18th century. Gray's
initially anonymous critic, Mr
Butler, lived in the neighbourhood of Andover. He posted his letters
of criticism of the "Bard"
and the "Progress of
Poesy", which had been published in 1757, from the Andover
post-office in December 1757 and January 1758 respectively. Later, in 1768, Gray instructed his publisher, James
Dodsley, to send a copy of his Poems to Mr Butler in Andover.
Aston (Rotherham, South Yorkshire, England, United Kingdom), inhabited
place [7029839]
Located c. five miles east of Sheffield, it was Aston to which William
Mason, Gray's
friend, literary executor, and biographer, was appointed Rector in
1754. Gray visited Mason in Aston several times. Christopher
Alderson became Mason's curate there in 1763 and
on the death of Mason in 1797 he succeeded him as Rector.
Aubonne (Vaud, Switzerland), inhabited place [7007297]
Situated on the north side of Lake Geneva, c. ten miles west of
Lausanne, Aubonne was the home of De
Bonstetten's brother, whom he visited after his return
from England in 1770.
De Bonstetten wrote a letter to Gray from there in
November of that year.
Bath (Bath and Northeast Somerset, England, United Kingdom), inhabited
place [7011197]
Located c. 15 miles east of Bristol, Bath was a resort city for the
wealthy from Elizabethan to Georgian times, and as a result of its
popularity during the latter period, the city is dominated by some of
the finest examples of Georgian architecture in Britain in their
characteristic uniformity of colour. In 1769Norton
Nicholls met and befriended De
Bonstetten there and later introduced him to Gray at Cambridge.
Bern (Bern canton, Switzerland), inhabited place [7007557]
Bern is the capital of Switzerland, situated on the river Aare in the
heartland of the country. It was the home town of Charles
Victor de Bonstetten, son of the then treasurer of the canton of Bern,
who wrote several letters to Gray from
there after his return to Switzerland in 1770.
Blundeston (Suffolk, England, United Kingdom), inhabited place
Located c. three miles north of Lowestoft and c. 20 miles southeast of
Norwich, Blundeston was the home, from 1767, of Gray's friend Norton
Nicholls. Having been ordained earlier in the year, he was
presented to the livings of Lound and Bradwell in October 1767.
Bologna (Bologna province, Emilia-Romagna, Italy), inhabited place [7004847]
Situated between the Po River and the Apennines in northern Italy,
Bologna emerged from Roman origins through the middle ages as a city
of learning. Its university, founded in 1088, is one of the oldest in
the world and over the centuries has attracted the brightest minds
in Europe. Gray
visited Bologna, having travelled there from Genoa,
for twelve days in the winter of 1739 while on the Grand Tour with
Horace
Walpole. He describes his impressions in a letter to his mother
sent from there on 9 December 1739. Gray later advised his friend William
Palgrave on what to see in Bologna.
Brussels (Bruxelles region, Belgium), inhabited place [7007868]
Brussels is the centrally-located capital of Belgium. From the
mid-18th century, the city developed increasingly as an economic centre
for the manufacture of articles of luxury. Gray's
friend William
Taylor How wrote a letter
to Gray from there on his way back from a visit to Italy for the sake
of his health.
Burnham (Buckinghamshire, England, United Kingdom), inhabited place [7026497]
Located just west of Stoke Poges
and c. 25 miles west of London,
Burnham was originally the home of Gray's
uncle Robert Antrobus, who supervised him at Eton. On his death in
1730, the property passed on to his sister, Gray's aunt, Anne who
lived there with her husband Jonathan Rogers, a retired attorney,
until his death in 1742.
Gray stayed with the couple in the late summer of 1736.
Cambridge (Cambridgeshire, England, United Kingdom), inhabited place [7010874]
| see gallery
Located c. 50 miles north of London,
Cambridge is an old English university town and the regional centre of the
county of Cambridgeshire. Gray attended
Cambridge university (Peterhouse) from 1734 to 1738, together with his Eton
friends Horace Walpole
and Thomas
Ashton (both King's College). In 1742, shortly after his return from
the Grand Tour with Horace Walpole, Gray returned to his old college in
Cambridge (also referred to, occasionally, as Cantabridge, Cambr:, C: etc.)
to study law, and the university remained his headquarters for the rest of
his life. Almost half
of Gray's surviving correspondence was conducted while resident at Cambridge.
In 1756,
he moved from Peterhouse (sometimes also referred to as St Peter's, P:C:,
Pet: Col: etc.) across the street to Pembroke College (also
Pemb: Hall, Pemb: Coll:, P: Hall etc.). Gray died in his
rooms at Pembroke on 30 July 1771
and was buried at Stoke Poges.
Chiswick (Hounslow, Greater London, England, United Kingdom),
neighborhood [1004281]
A few miles west of the city centre of London,
Chiswick was the temporary place of residence of William
Mason's distant relation Robert Darcy, 4th earl of Holdernesse
(1718-1778). Mason wrote a letter to Gray
from Lord Holdernesse's villa there in 1755.
Dijon (Côte-d'Or, Burgundy region, France), inhabited place [7008224]
Situated on the Canal de Bourgogne, c. 200 miles south-east of Paris,
Dijon is the historical capital of the Burgundy region in eastern France. Gray visited Dijon,
having travelled south from
Reims, for four days in September 1739 while on the Grand Tour with
Horace
Walpole. He describes his very positive impressions in a letter to his father
sent from there on 11 September N.S.
Dover (Kent, England, United Kingdom), inhabited place [7011554]
The closest point of proximity between England and continental Europe,
just 21 miles from the French port of Calais, Dover was an important
channel port and point of departure for Gray and Walpole
when they set out for the Grand Tour on 29 March 1739. On his arrival back in England about
1 September 1741, Gray wrote a letter
from there to John
Chute whom Gray and Walpole had met at Florence
in 1740, and with whom Gray spent
two months at Venice after he had parted from Walpole at Reggio. Later, in the
Spring of 1766, Gray travelled
through Kent, revisiting Dover and relating his impressions in letters
to friends.
Durham (England, United Kingdom), county [7008127]
Durham, a small cathedral town in the northeast of England, roughly 20
miles south of Newcastle upon Tyne, was the centre of the administrative,
geographic, and historic county of Durham on the North Sea coast.
In the summer of 1753, Gray accompanied
Richard
Stonhewer on a visit to Houghton le Spring, in historic County Durham,
the parish of which Stonhewer's father was Rector from 1727. On this
occasion (and several others to follow), Gray visited his old friend Wharton who had
succeeded to the estate of Old Park, near Darlington, Durham, on the death
of his father in 1752. Wharton made Old Park his permanent place of residence
from 1758.
Epsom (Surrey, England, United Kingdom), inhabited place [7011734]
Epsom is a town in the county of Surrey, c. 15 miles south-west of London.
Gray's friend Richard West spent
most of the winter of 1738/39 with his mother and sister there. Several
letters seem to have passed between them during this period, of
which only one survives. Epsom
was also the place of residence of Gray's friend John Clerke. On the
death of Clerke's wife (27 April 1757), Gray wrote the epitaph, which
is inscribed on the tablet to her memory in the Church of Beckenham, Kent.
Florence (Firenze province, Tuscany, Italy), inhabited place [7000457]
Situated on the river Arno in north-west Italy, Florence is the capital of
the region of Tuscany. A centre of medieval European trade and finance, the
city is sometimes considered the birthplace of the Italian Renaissance.
Florence is famous for its wealth of fine art and architecture. Gray
intermittently stayed in Florence, having travelled there from Bologna,
from mid-December 1739 to April
1741, while on the Grand Tour
with Horace
Walpole. They spent the Spring months of
1740 with Horace Mann,
a distant relation of Walpole's and Minister at the Court of Tuscany,
and met, among others, John Chute
there. Gray wrote more than a dozen letters from there mainly to his parents
and to his friend Richard West.
Genoa (Genova province, Liguria, Italy), inhabited place [7008546]
A seaport on the Mediterranean Sea in north-west Italy, Genoa is the capital
of Liguria. It is famous for its Palazzo Ducale (Doge's Palace) and the
Cattedrale di San Lorenzo (St. Lawrence Cathedral). Gray
visited Genoa, having travelled there from Turin,
for a few days in November 1739 while on the Grand Tour with
Horace
Walpole. He describes his very positive impressions of the city,
the harbour, and the Mediterranean in a letter to his friend West
sent from there on 21 November.
Glamis Castle (Angus, Scotland, United Kingdom), castle [1100274]
Glamis Castle, the seat of the Earls of Strathmore, is situated beside the
village of Glamis c. 50 miles north of Edinburgh. Gray
was a visitor there in September 1765
and went on an extensive tour in the Scottish Highlands with Lord Strathmore
between August and October of that year. He met James
Beattie, Professor of Moral Philosophy and Logic at Marischal College, Aberdeen,
there.
Hanover (Hannover district, Lower Saxony, Germany), inhabited place [7013260]
Hanover, situated on the Leine river in northern Germany, is the capital of
the state of Lower Saxony. It became an Electorate in 1692 and through the
marriage of Elector Ernst August to Princess Sophie of the Palatinate,
the House of Hanover claimed the British throne. Their son ascended to the
throne as George I, King of Great Britain and Ireland in 1714. Hanover's
"personal union" with Great Britain ended in 1837. Gray's friend William
Mason accompanied Lord Holdernesse, a secretary of state from 1751, on a
visit to Germany, when King George II went to Hanover in the Spring of 1755. He describes his impressions of
northern Germany in a letter
to Gray sent from Hanover on 27 June.
Hornby Castle (North Yorkshire, England, United Kingdom), castle
Hornby Castle, the residence of William
Mason's distant relation Robert Darcy, 4th earl of Holdernesse
(1718-1778), is situated in historic County Yorkshire North Riding
c. five miles south of Richmond. Mason wrote a letter to Gray
from there in 1768.
Kingston-Upon-Hull (Kingston upon Hull, England, United Kingdom),
inhabited place [7010370]
Kingston upon Hull or simply Hull, situated on the north bank of the
Humber estuary c. 50 miles northeast of Sheffield, was the home town of William
Mason. His father, the Rev. William Mason, was Vicar of Holy
Trinity in Hull, the largest parish church in England, from 1722 to his death
in 1753. Mason stayed there for several weeks after the death of his father
and wrote a letter from there to Gray.
Lancaster (Lancashire, England, United Kingdom), inhabited place [7010393]
Lancaster, located on the river Lune c. 50 miles north of Liverpool, is on
the main access route into the Lake District from the south. Gray passed
through it, visiting its great castle, on his way back from a visit to
the Lakes and wrote a letter from there
to James Brown
in October of 1769.
London (Greater London, England, United Kingdom), inhabited place [7011781]
| see gallery
Situated on the river Thames, in the south-east of the country, London was the
political, commercial, and cultural capital of Great Britain and by the
18th century the biggest city in the world. Thomas Gray was
born in London at his parent's house at 41 Cornhill, near St
Michael's Church, and spent his early childhood there until 1725, when he was
sent to Eton. This childhood home burned down in 1748. Gray visited
and stayed in London frequently, but lived there only intermittently, most
notably for a while after his return from the Grand Tour, and from
1759 to 1761, when he took up lodgings
in Southampton-row, at Wharton's
old place, to study at the newly opened British Museum.
Lyon (Rhône, Rhône-Alpes, France), inhabited place [7008772]
Situated in eastern central France c. 100 miles south of Dijon,
Lyon emerged from Roman origins
during the Renaissance as a centre of the silk trade, especially with
Italy. Gray
visited Lyon, having travelled there from Dijon,
in September and October of 1739 while on the Grand Tour with
Horace
Walpole. Gray wrote several letters from there to his parents
and to his friend Richard West.
Milton (Cambridgeshire, England, United Kingdom), inhabited place [1030066]
Milton, a village on the Ely road c. three miles from Cambridge,
was the place of residence of William
Cole, when he wrote a letter to Gray from
there in 1770.
Naples (Napoli province, Campania, Italy), inhabited place [7004474]
Situated on the Tyrrhenian Sea, near Mount Vesuvius c. 100 miles
southeast of Rome,
Naples was an artistical and cultural centre and became an
independent monarchy in the 18th century. It was the site of the ongoing
excavations at Herculaneum, the Roman town destroyed during the same
series of eruptions that obliterated Pompeii. Gray
visited Naples, on an excursion from Rome, in June 1740 while on the Grand Tour with
Horace
Walpole. He wrote a letter to his mother
from there on 14 June.
Oxford (Oxfordshire, England, United Kingdom), inhabited place [7011931]
Located c. 50 miles west of London,
Oxford is the regional centre of the county of Oxfordshire and
the home of the oldest university in the English-speaking world. Gray's friend Richard West
attended Christ Church, Oxford, from 1735 to 1738 as the only one of the
Eton `Quadruple Alliance'. West regularly corresponded with Gray
throughout this time of separation. Gray visited Oxford much later on
one of his excursions into the country in August 1770.
Paris (Ville de Paris department, Ile-de-France, France), inhabited
place [7008038]
Situated on the river Seine, in northern France, Paris was the cultural and
political centre of France. Gray
visited Paris, having travelled there from Amiens,
from April to June 1739 while on the Grand Tour with
Horace
Walpole. Walpole's connections opened the doors to fashionable
society for the two, and they indulged in sightseeing and the
amusements of the Parisian night-life. Gray describes his impressions
and adventures among Parisian society in several letters to his
friends West and
Ashton.
Much later, in 1770, Gray's friend De
Bonstetten wrote several letters to Gray from
Paris on his way home to Switzerland. In June 1771, finally, Gray's friend Norton
Nichollswrote to
Gray from Paris.
He was on his way to visit De Bonstetten in Switzerland, a journey
Gray had contemplated taking with Nicholls, but was then no longer
equal to the exertion.
Pisa (Pisa province, Tuscany, Italy), inhabited place [7006082]
Situated at the mouth of the river Arno on the Mediterranean, Pisa was
an important commercial centre from the Middle Ages. It was, from 1762, the residence of Conte
Algarotti and at the same time of William
Taylor How who passed on letters from Conte Algarotti to both Gray and Mason.
Pope's (Hatfield, Hertfordshire, England, United Kingdom), inhabited place
Located near Hatfield, c. 15 miles north of London,
Pope's was the home of David Mitchell, Esq., where Richard
West spent the last few months of his life in 1742. Gray and
West corresponded
regularly while West was there.
Reims (Marne, Champagne-Ardenne, France), inhabited place [7011060]
Situated c. 90 miles east-northeast of Paris,
Reims lies in the Champagne-Ardenne region in eastern France. It is,
most notably, the place of Reims Cathedral, Notre Dame de Reims, where
most of the French monarchs were crowned. Gray visited Reims,
having travelled there from Paris, in June and July of 1739 while on the Grand Tour with
Horace
Walpole. He wrote several letters from there to his parents
and to his friends Richard
West and Thomas
Ashton.
Rome (Roma province, Lazio, Italy), inhabited place [7000874]
Situated on the river Tiber, in the central part of the country, Rome
is the capital of Italy. It emerged from Roman origins through the
middle ages as the world-wide centre of Christianity and the Papal
States. Gray
visited Rome, having travelled there from Florence via Siena, from March to July 1740 while on the Grand Tour with
Horace
Walpole. They saw all the famous sites, including many art galleries and
Vatican City, and made a number of excursions, among others to the Duke of
Modena's at Tivoli.
Gray wrote several letters from there to his mother
and friends back in England.
Royal Tunbridge Wells (Kent, England, United Kingdom), inhabited place [7011676]
Situated c. 30 miles southeast of the city centre of London, and
named after the nearby town of Tonbridge, which was then spelt `Tunbridge',
Tunbridge Wells was founded around the Chalybeate Spring, discovered
in 1606, and developed as a spa town around it. Gray's friend William
Mason wrote a letter to Gray from there in 1755.
Southampton (Southampton, England, United Kingdom), inhabited place [7011385]
A sea-port, situated on the south coast of England approximately
halfway between Portsmouth and Bournemouth, Southampton was
historically in the county of Hampshire. Gray visited it on one of his
excursions into the country in October 1764. He wrote two letters from
there to his friend James Brown.
Spa (Lihge province, Wallonia, Belgium), inhabited place [7007991]
Spa is a municipality, located c. 50 miles east-southeast of Brussels,
in the Belgian province of Lihge. Gray's
friend William
Taylor How wrote a letter
to Gray from there on his way back from a visit to Italy for the sake
of his health.
Stoke Poges (Buckinghamshire, England, United Kingdom), inhabited
place [7011896]
| see gallery
A village in Buckinghamshire, located c. 25 miles west of London,
West End, Stoke Poges, was the residence, from 1742, of Gray'smother
and her sisters Mary and Anne. In the following years, Gray,
consequently, spent his summers away from university at Stoke Poges. It
was there, at Lady Cobham's residence Stoke Manor House, that he made the
acquaintance of Lady Schaub
and Henrietta
Jane Speed in the summer of 1750, which led to the
composition of "A Long Story".
In 1759 Gray's connection
with Stoke Poges ended when his last relative there died. Gray is
buried in Stoke Poges in the same vault as his mother in the
churchyard of St Giles church.
Strawberry Hill (Richmond upon Thames, Greater London, England, United
Kingdom), neighborhood [4010855]
Strawberry Hill, near Twickenham in southwest London,
was the place of the 18th-century Gothic revival mansion, which
was the home, from 1747, of Horace
Walpole, who had it built to his own specification. In 1757 Walpole
opened his private press there, the first production of which was the
printing of two unpublished odes by Gray. Walpole
wrote a letter to Gray from
there in 1760.
Syon Hill (Isleworth, Hounslow, Greater London, England, United
Kingdom), inhabited place
A few miles southwest of the city centre of London,
Syon Hill was the residence of the Duke of Northumberland. William
Mason wrote two letters to Gray
from there in 1758.
Tivoli (Roma province, Lazio, Italy), inhabited place [7006968]
Situated on the Aniene river, c. 15 miles east of Rome
in the Monti Tiburtini hills, Tivoli is a historic hilltown famous for
its great monuments, the Villa d'Este and the Villa Adriana (Hadrian's Villa).
Gray
visited Tivoli, on an excursion from Rome, in May 1740 while on the Grand Tour with
Horace
Walpole. He wrote a letter to his friend West
from there on 20/21 May.
Turin (Torino province, Piedmont, Italy), inhabited place [7005688]
Located mainly on the west bank of the Po River, in the far northwest
of Italy, Turin, the origins of which can be traced to pre-Roman
times, was the capital of the Piedmont region. Gray
visited Turin, having travelled there from Lyon,
in November 1739 while on the Grand Tour with
Horace
Walpole. He wrote letters from there to his mother
and to his friend Richard
West.
The Vyne (Hampshire, England, United Kingdom), country house
Situated just north of Basingstoke, c. 50 miles west-southwest of London,
the Vyne was built in the 16th-century for Lord Sandys, Henry VIII's
Lord Chamberlain, and then became home to the Chute family for over
300 years. John Chute,
who had made Gray's
and Walpole's
acquaintance in Florence
in 1740 and with whom Gray spent
two months at Venice after he had parted from Walpole at Reggio in 1741, succeeded to the family
estates in 1754. Gray
visited him there in the following year and in
1756.
Wadworth (Doncaster unitary authority, South Yorkshire, England,
United Kingdom), inhabited place
"Four miles south of Doncaster. Mason's
first cousin, Ann Robinson, daughter of Arthur Robinson, of Hull,
and of Mary Mason, his father's sister, married Josiah Wordsworth, of
Wadworth [...]" ([T/W_1971]Correspondence of Thomas Gray. Ed. by the late Paget Toynbee
and Leonard Whibley, in 3 vols., with corrections and additions by H. W.
Starr. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1971 [1st ed. 1935], vol. i, p. 443).
Mason wrote a letter to Gray
from there in 1755.
Winchester (Hampshire, England, United Kingdom), inhabited place [7011375]
Situated in southern England, c. 10 miles north of Southampton,
Winchester is the administrative capital of the county of Hampshire. Its
important historic buildings include Winchester Cathedral, built in
the 12th century, and Winchester College, a public school founded in
1382. Gray visited
Winchester in the autumn of 1764. Thomas Warton,
whose brother Dr Joseph Warton was at this time head master of
Winchester, wrote a
letter to
Gray from there in 1770.
York (York, England, United Kingdom), inhabited place [7011995]
Built at the confluence of the Rivers Ouse and Foss, c. 50 miles
west-northwest of Hull
in north England, York is the traditional
county town of Yorkshire, to which it lends its name. Gray's
friend William
Mason was appointed Canon Residentiary and Precentor of York in 1762. Gray visited him there
several times.
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