Rev. Edward Gregory in Langar, Nottinghamshire

The Rev. Edward Gregory (1744–1824), M.A., was born in Harlaxton, Lincolnshire and came to Langar in 1776. He had keen interests in botany and astronomy and built an observatory in the rectory grounds. On 8 January 1793 he discovered a new comet. Two days later he wrote of his findings in a letter to Dr Nevil Maskelyne, the Astronomer Royal, sending a further letter a few days after that, and the comet – also observed by the astronomer Pierre Méchain – was named Gregory-Méchain. There is a link below to the two letters Gregory sent to Maskelyne.

St Andrew's, Langar, 2013.

A wooden tablet hangs inside the church above the south door, with details of Gregory's posthumous gift to the poor of the parish:

'MEMORANDUM
The Revd Edw^d Gregory, Rector
of Langar cum Barnstone, by
will, dated 23^rd Oct^r, 1824, directed
the dividends of £107.7.8 stock
in the three per cent. consolida-
ted Bank Annuities, it being
£3.4.4 per Annum. to be received
by the Rector of the Parish for
the time being, and by him
applied to such charitable uses
as are directed by the said will,
and as appear by an Extract
therefrom entered in one of the
Registers of the said Parish.'

Gregory's tomb is now illegible, but many thanks to Finbarr Connolly for the Stamford Mercury link with the inscription copied here, although the date of death (see comments below) is questionable:

'H. S. E.

Edvardus Gregory, e familiâ Gregory de Harlexton, in comitatu Lincolniensi,

hujus Ecclesiæ per XLIX annos Rector.

Vir priscâ pietate et verē Christianâ imbutus,

lenis, pacificus, hospitalis, suis jucundis; omnibus humanus;

Philosophiæ Naturali et præsertim Astronomiæ deditus,

Obiit VIII die cal. Nov. Ann. Dom. MDCCCXXIV'

Ætatis suæ LXXX.

Monumentum hoc Patruo dilecto Georgius et Edvardus G.

Mærentes posuêre.'

 Near Gregory's tomb is the grave of the six-month-old William Butler, the writer Samuel's brother:

'IN FAITH
of him
who calleth little children
to come unto him.
Thomas Butler
Rector of this Parish
and Fanny his Wife,
sorrowing,
but not with bitterness,
nor without hope:
have placed this Stone
to the Memory of
WILLIAM, their Fourth Child,
who died Jan^ry 4^th 1839.
Aged 6 Months.'

Thomas Butler greatly restored St Andrew's in 1860.

The two letters:

–––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––
'Mr. Gregory's Account of the Discovery of the Comet'

Samuel Butler's Langar, Nottinghamshire

George Bernard Shaw lamented the fact that Samuel Butler (1835–1902) died virtually unknown, although he is now widely recognized as the author of such works as the novels Erewhon: or, Over the Range (1872) and The Way of All Flesh (1903). Many of his works are available through Project Gutenberg, a link to which is here .

Ian Brown's booklet Samuel Butler of Langar (West Bridgford, Nottingham: Nottinghamshire County Council Leisure Services, 1990) has an excellent cover photo of the Rectory on Church Lane, Langar (pronounced with a soft 'g'), where Butler was born. In the shot I took here, foliage almost completely conceals the building.

Samuel Butler's father Thomas was the rector of St Andrew's in Langar from 1834 to 1876. On his arrival the church was very run down, and the tower had to be almost rebuilt.

The former school was established by the Rev Thomas Butler and Francis Wright. Thomas gave classes there, although Samuel was probably taught by a governess. Brown's booklet suggests that stones from the kitchen garden walls of the old Langar Hall were used in the building of the school.

A closer view of the entrance, with the school bell above the datestone,

which records 'AD 1842'. The school continued to function until very recently, and this Grade II listed building is now undergoing conversion into a home.

The original school fireplace.

The well at the rear of the school might predate the building, and possibly even have served the village itself. Many thanks to Tom and Maria Jackson for showing us round.

No Butler connections that I'm aware of here, but it seems an error not to mention the village pub – the Unicorn's Head, which dates from the 17th century according to Everards, the present owners. The distinctive chimney was once part of the pub brewhouse.

The AA sign states that Langar is four miles from Bingham and twelve from Nottingham.