Mr Isaac Taylor (1787 - 1865 (aged 78))

A few years ago, I set out on a winter afternoon to pay my first visit to Stanford Rivers. At that time, the most convenient way of reaching it from the metropolis was by way of the train from Shoreditch, and a covered van that ran (if it could be said to run) between Romford station and the village of Ongar. The latter conveyance was somewhat primitive almost antediluvian. It took the world easily, the coachman, among other leisurely acts, pulling up at a roadside inn, and letting down the passengers to warm their feet at a comfortable fire, and have a glass of beer if they chose, or smoke a pipe. The eight or nine miles between Romford and Stanford Rivers were traversed in this way in about a couple of hours. Nothing could have been more striking than the contrast between the commencement of the journey from London and it close; between the roar and commotion at the Shoreditch station, and the sober jogging of the covered van. One could hardly have supposed that within twenty miles of London one should find such a quiet scene; but it was just what seemed appropriate for the residence of Isaac Taylor – near enough to the busy word for him to know and appreciate the forces by which it was agitated, yet so beyond the whirlpool as to favour that course of calm meditation on its currents and eddies, seen and unseen, to which his life was given.

The name “Stanford Rivers” is a puzzle to people at a distance, leading them instinctively to think of a land of streams, while nothing of the kind meets the stranger’s eye. Stanford according to Morant, in his History and Antiquities of Essex, “is the name given to this parish because of a ford through the River Rodon here was naturally stony, or was paved with stone after the manner of the Romans;” and the addition of Rivers, “is from the family De Ripariis, or Rivers, its ancient owners, distinguishing it from Stanford Le Hope.”

Of this Stanford Rivers the reader must conceive as a thoroughly rural parish with a few houses scattered over its rich fields and wooded slopes, wearing a charming aspect of seclusion and simplicity. Though thickening somewhat near the parish church of Stanford Rivers, the houses are still too much apart to form a village, or even the appearance of one. No one probably would at first sight be particularly struck by a modest house near the roadside, with the square windows and low ceilings of the old English style, having in front a small plot of grass and a few ornamental trees and behind a garden off average size, embellished with no ribbon-borders or other devices of modern gardening, but with the old fashioned shrubs and flowers of half a century ago. As the coachman pulled up at the gate, I knew this to be the Stanford Rivers from which so many remarkable books had been dated. The scene of so much intellectual activity, the home of so much warm affection and Christian grace and purity, did not indicate one on whose fortunes the world had smiled. But the evidences of mental culture and refined taste, and of the victory of mind over unfavourable conditions of life, have showed with how much more lavish a hand the higher gifts had been bestowed than the lower. On entering the house, one felt that one was welcome, and at home. Not that Mr Taylor’s manner was particularly easy or genial; on the contrary, it was abrupt and angular; but there was an honesty and genuineness about it that at once impressed you: you felt that he meant what he said, and more than he said. A slight figure, below the middle height, suggested no idea of commanding power. But besides what one gathered from the compact firmness of the face, and the finely-chiselled brow, crowned by an ample supply of crisp gray hair, the quick bright eye told the tale of intellectual prowess – what a piercing glance he could cast into the field of intellectual vision, and how much he could see where all was mist and confusion to ordinary men. The very first look indicated one incapable of yielding his convictions in deference to any one; but you saw at the same time how much genuine Christian kindness mingled with this tone of decision, and how little his intellectual throne had interfered with the simplicity and kind-heartedness of the man.

In recent months a blue plaque has appeared on No. 10 Castle Street, Ongar, which reads:-

Jane Taylor
1783 – 1824
Author of
Twinkle Twinkle
Little Star
Lived here.

Jane was the second daughter of Isaac Taylor and his wife Ann. She was born on 23rd September 1783 at 54 Red Lion Street, Holborn. (Her elder sister, Ann, had been born in Islington on January 30th 1782). Isaac and his brothers Charles and Josiah were skilled engravers. In 1787 they produced a much admired set of illustrations for an edition of Shakespeare’s plays. Eventually, Isaac broke away from his brothers and set up his own business.

In June 1786 the Taylor family moved from London to what was described as a “spacious but out of the way domain”-Cooke’s House in Shilling Street, Lavenham. In 1793 their landlord, Mr. Cooke, required the use of his property and Isaac with his growing family moved to nearby Arundel House. The family lived in Lavenham until January 1796. During this time six more children were born of whom only three survived childhood (Isaac, Martin and Jeffreys). Whilst Isaac developed his engraving business Ann and Jane received their education from their parents. Their mother taught them to read and sew and their father taught them all other subjects.

The two sisters, only 18 months apart in age, were inseparable and created a world of their own, inhabited by mythical characters including (amongst others) two imaginary daughters of George III. From a young age they started to write short stories and poems – something they would continue to do throughout their lives.

Whilst in Lavenham, Issac became an energetic member of the Independent Church of which he became a Deacon and taught at the Sunday school which he helped to found. At one stage it looked as though Isaac might take over as the minister but there was opposition from within the congregation. However, a member of the Lavenham congregation, who had moved to Colchester, invited Isaac to take over a dysfunctional Presbyterian chapel in Bucklersbury Lane, Colchester. Isaac preached his first sermon there on November 1st 1795 and on January 20 1796 he and his family moved to a house in Angel Lane, next door to St. Martin’s Church. During their time in Colchester two further children were born; Decimus, in 1796 (he died from Scarlet Fever at the age of 5) and Jemima who survived into her sixties.

In April 1796 Isaac was ordained and his new life as a minister began. Times were hard and earning very little from his ministry Isaac was forced to continue his work as an engraver. But in the aftermath of the war with France demand for works of art dried up and Isaac was reduced to engraving dog collars. All the children became involved with the engraving business and enough money came in to feed and clothe the family. Ann and Jane’s literary works began to sell well which helped the family finances.

In 1810 Isaac became fed up with his bickering and apathetic congregation and resigned his ministry. The family remained based in Colchester for a while and Isaac became an itinerant preacher. One of his trips took him to Ongar with which he was much taken. It was to become his home until his death in 1829. The family moved to Ongar on August 31st 1811 to Castle House, now and for many years the home of the Buxton family.
In a letter dated September 23rd to her friend Luck Conder, Ann gives a description of the family’s arrival in Ongar and of their delight with Castle House with ample space for the whole family and a beautiful location. She assured her friend that despite its historic site the house was not haunted.

Ann and Jane spent the Winter of 1811in Clapton with the Conder family preparing themselves for a joint teaching career. This never came to anything in part because their younger brother, Isaac, fell ill and the family doctor recommended that he should move to the West Country. Ann and Jane accompanied him and spent from October 1812 to July 1813 in Ilfracombe before returning to Ongar. With the onset of another Essex winter Isaac returned to the West Country this time accompanied only by Jane. They did not return to Ongar until June 1816.

Whilst they were away the owner of Castle House gave the family notice to quit and in June 1814 they moved to The Peaked Farm – an Elizabethan farmhouse on the Stondon road in Marden Ash. The house (now much smaller) still stands. In a letter which she wrote in December 1816, shortly after her return from the West Country, Jane described the Peaked Farm :- “Our house stands alone in a pretty country: it is an old farmhouse – more picturesque than splendid-and therefore it suits both our tastes and our fortunes.”

In December 1813 Ann had married the Rev. Joseph Gilbert and had moved to Rotherham but visited her family in Ongar as often as she could. Ann’s son, Josiah Gilbert, who spent some time living with his grandparents at Peaked Farm wrote that “…the old house and its inhabitants offered a remarkable spectacle-a literary and artistic workshop.” Isaac, helped by his children, continued with his work as an engraver.

In early 1822 their landlord, Capel Cure Esq. of Blake Hall, served a notice to quit Peaked Farm as he wished to let the farm land with the farmhouse. Isaac set about looking for somewhere to live and eventually found and purchased a suitable house at no. 10 Win Lane (now Castle Street). The younger Isaac Taylor described the house as “on the outskirts of the town” and as being “altogether more commodious” (by which he must have meant more convenient as the house was modest in size). Isaac set about improving the house which had been built by Nobles of Ongar in 1809. He added a study for himself (signs of which can still be seen on the west wall of the house) and created a garden on the “sadly small plot”.

Jane moved into 10 Castle Street with the family but by now she was suffering from cancer. Her younger sister, Jemima, writing some years later about life in Castle Street wrote:- “From 1822 we lived in that more compact house in Ongar – far better suited to my parents in their declining years but beside that the garden was small and the situation, comparatively townified – a feeling of melancholy attaches to it, for Aunt Jane’s health declined from the time we entered it.”

On April 13th 1824 Jane died at the age of 40 in her bedroom overlooking Castle Street. Her body was buried in the cemetery of the Chapel in Ongar “…close by a tall poplar near the vestry door,…” and within sight of the house which now bears the blue plaque – her home for such a short and sad part of her life.

Twinkle, twinkle, little star,
How I wonder what you are!
Up above the world so high,
Like a diamond in the sky!
When the blazing sun is gone,
When he nothing shines upon,
Then you show your little light,
Twinkle, twinkle, all the night.
Then the traveller in the dark,
Thanks you for your tiny spark,
He could not see which way to go,
If you did not twinkle so.
In the dark blue sky you keep,
And often through my curtains peep,
For you never shut your eye,
Till the sun is in the sky.
As your bright and tiny spark,
Lights the traveller in the dark,-
Though I know not what you are,
Twinkle, twinkle, little star.

Isaac Taylor (1787-1865) was a member of the celebrated local family known as the Taylors of Ongar. His first name was not unique within the family but the Isaac, the subject of this article, is generally referred to as Isaac Taylor of Stanford Rivers. Isaac Taylor (1787-1865) was a member of the celebrated local family known as the Taylors of Ongar. His first name was not unique within the family but the Isaac, the subject of this article, is generally referred to as Isaac Taylor of Stanford Rivers.
The Eclectic Review was published between 1805 and 1868. It was “clearly aimed at the highly literate and thoughtful reader” but it was “anything but elitist about the audience it sought”. The founders deliberately set a low price so that many classes of people could purchase the journal. For a period, Isaac was on the staff of the journal. The following is his obituary taken from The Eclectic Review of July 1865.

“On Wednesday 1st, after many weeks of great suffering, borne with Christian resignation, the author of Natural History of Enthusiasm closed a long career of usefulness at the advanced age of 77.

Originally trained as an artist, Isaac Taylor at an early age abandoned his profession for that literary career in which so many members of his family had attained distinction. His father, the Rev Isaac Taylor, or Ongar; his uncle Charles Taylor, the learned editor of Calmet; his sisters, Ann and Jane Taylor, the joint authors of Original Poems and Hymns for Infant Minds; his mother, Ann Taylor, and his brother, Jefferys Taylor, have all written works which have attained a wide popularity.

In 1818 Mr Isaac Taylor first became a contributor to the Eclectic Review, in conjunction with Robert Hall, John Foster and Josiah Conder. His first independent literary venture was a small volume entitled Elements of Thought, published in 1822. This was succeeded by a translation of the Characters of Theorphrastus, with clever original illustrations, etched by the author; by the History of the Transmission of Ancient Books to Modern Times, the Process of Historical Proof, the Memoirs and Correspondence of Jane Taylor, and by a new translation of Herodotus. None of these early literary ventures had achieved any very eminent success. Mr Taylor at last discovered the true vein in which his genius lay. In 1829 the Natural History of Enthusiasm was published anonymously. Coming out at a time of great political and religious ferment, and offering a philosophy of the problems of the day, the book was received with extraordinary fervour by the public, and rapidly ran through eight or nine editions. With the object of giving continuity to the philosophical and religious theories which he has advanced in the History of Enthusiasm, Mr Taylor in the course of the next seven years published that series of works on which his fame must rest, Fanaticism, Spiritual Despotism, Saturday Evening, and the Physical Theory of Another Life, works which have all had and continue to command and extensive sale.

The publication of the last of these works led to the reluctant surrender of the author’s incognito. The unknown writer received an urgent request from the late Dr Chalmers to stand for the chair of Logic in the University of Edinburgh in opposition to the late Sir William Hamilton, who was elected by a small majority.

In 1838 Mr Taylor gave to the world the thoughts which had suggested themselves while a large family was growing up around him in his country seclusion at Stanford Rivers. This work, Home Education, has had an extensive popularity, and has induced many parents to endeavour to promote the enjoyments of children — to educate rather than to instruct.

In the following year Mr Taylor was induced to take part with the Rev Robert Traill in bringing out a new translation of Josephus. This costly and magnificent work was accompanied with numerous illustrations engraved by some most ingenious and elaborate machinery, the invention of which had been the amusement of Mr Taylor’s leisure hours. The inopportune death of Dr Traill at the eve of the publication of this work brought upon Mr Taylor ruinous pecuniary responsibilities, from which for many years he was unable to extricate himself. The engraving machine was patented in England, Scotland and America, and, though, productive of small benefit to the inventor, has realised large returns in the hands of others.

About this period the Tracts for the Times were creating an unexampled excitement in the religious world. Mr Taylor had long made himself familiar with the whole range of patristic literature; he felt that the writers of the Tracts were giving an essentially perverted view of the tendencies, doctrinal and ritual, of the early Church. As a layman, standing clear of any secular embarrassments of an ecclesiastical kind, Mr Taylor felt himself impelled to come forward and state the results to which his independent and unbiased study of the Fathers had led him. This he did in a work entitled Ancient Christianity, a work which was virulently attacked, and as warmly defended, by the respective partisans in the great controversy which was then shaking the English Church. Some of the leaders of the succession which ensued have acknowledged that the facts and reasonings of this work did more than anything else to drive them over to Rome.

After an interval of seven years, Mr Taylor published essays, partly philosophical, partly historical, on the lives of Loyola and Wesley. Shortly afterwards a volume on the Christian argument was published anonymously at Cambridge, entitled the Restoration of Belief. Two volumes of essays — Logic and Theology, and Ultimate Civilisation — a series of lectures, originally delivered in Edinburgh, on The Spirit of Hebrew Poetry, and a series of autobiographical papers published in the last year in Good Words were the last occupations of his declining years. To the end his mind retained all its power. He leaves, we believe, a large family.

A work by his eldest son, the Rev Isaac Taylor, entitled Words and Places, we recently had occasion to notice very favourably in these columns.”

Isaac Taylor is buried with his wife, Elizabeth Medland, in the churchyard of St Margaret’s, Stanford Rivers. A memorial plaque to him is situated on the north wall of the chancel. In a future note Isaac Taylor of Stanford Rivers will be revisited.