C. H. Hartshorne

Charles Henry Hartshorne (17 March 1802 - 11 March 1865) was an English cleric and antiquary. Born at Broseley in Shropshire on 17 March 1802, he was the only child of John Hartshorne, an ironmaster,. He was educated at Shrewsbury School, and in 1821 entered St John's College, Cambridge, as a "pensioner", that is to say self-funded. He graduated B.A. in 1825, and M.A. in 1828. In 1825 Hartshorne was invited by his friend Frederick North, 5th Earl of Guilford, who had been appointed "archon" over the University of Corfu he had founded, to accompany him to the island, which was then ruled by the British. He travelled through Italy and made a tour in the Levant. In 1826 he returned to England. There he encountered gossip and innuendo that had blown up in his absence, concerned with a friendship he had made through the Roxburghe Club of bibliophiles with Richard Heber. John Bull hinted over two of its issues at the idea that the relationship of Heber and Hartshorne was homosexual. Heber had abruptly left the country; Hartshorne pursued John Bull successfully through the courts. Hartshorne had thought of applying to work at the British Museum, but after the scandal had little choice of career. In 1827 he followed early advice from James Alan Park, and was ordained. Hartshorne was curate at Benthall, Shropshire, from 1825 to 1828, and from 1828 to 1836 at Little Wenlock. After two years at Leamington he took charge of the parish of Cogenhoe, Northamptonshire, from 1838 till 1850, when he was presented by the crown to the rectory of Holdenby in the same county. He was honorary chaplain to the seventh and eighth Dukes of Bedford, and fellow of the Society of Antiquaries of London. He died suddenly at Holdenby on 11 March 1865.