Papers of John Gregory

The collection consists of John Gregory's notebooks, manuscripts, scrapbooks, correspondence, printed and unprinted verse works, Labour movement and Socialist material, books on and by Sir Richard Gregory, and local Bristol newspapers and books.

John Gregory was born in Bideford, Devon in 1831 and died in 1922. The son of a Wesleyan lay preacher, he settled in Bristol after spending some time in Wales. By trade a shoemaker, he was an active member of the Labour movement for his whole life. He was a free-thinker, humanitarian, and an open-minded philosopher. He wrote poetry from a very early age on a variety of subjects, but was not published until he was 40. His poetry was regularly published in various Bristol newspapers, and in volumes such as Idylls of Labour (1871), Murmurs and Melodies (1885) and My Garden and Other Poems (1907). He received an honorary MA from the University of Bristol in 1912. He became leader of the Organising Committee of the Bristol Socialist Society in 1885, and was a staunch advocate of freedom of speech. His son, Richard Gregory, was knighted for his services to science, particularly in the field of astronomy.

Accessible to all bona fide readers

Purchased by the University of Bristol Special Collections in 1996

Description compiled by Martin Hall, Assistant Archivist, University of Bristol Special Collections

Typescript catalogue available in University of Bristol Special Collections

Permission must be obtained from the University of Bristol Special Collections

No further accruals expected.