The 10^th October 1810 was a Wednesday and although perhaps not a remarkable date in history it was an occasion in Heydon and Little Chishill, for this is the day the new rector arrived, Rev. John Horseman.

Rev. Horseman had moved around the country. He was a Fellow of Corpus Christi College Oxford where he was a lecturer in Greek. He ordained as a priest in June 1800 and resigned his duties as tutor to concentrate on his chosen profession. Starting as a curate in Luton he then moved to Bury in Lancashire and from there to Whitchurch in Shropshire. Whitchurch was an important parish and had four curates, one of whom was his brother James. But perhaps even more importantly Rev. Horseman became acquainted with Emma, the daughter of Edward Jones. He was next offered a place at West Hendred in Berkshire but he exchanged this for the recently consolidated rectories of Heydon and Little Chishill, married Emma and settled in Heydon.

How do we know so much about John Horseman? Well, he wrote poems. Apparently the poems were not for publication but he must have kept a collection of them as when he passed away in 1844 a group of his friends got together a published a book of his poetry with a short biography of him. According to the preface it was printed so they may have a memory of him. Money was raised to publish the book from a list of subscribers and these are listed in the front of the book. John Horseman was obviously well thought of. There were 622 subscribers ordering a total of 1400 copies!

The names are listed out with the number of copies beside them and they make fascinating reading. They include local farmers such as Mr Brand of Chrishall, John Wilks of Lofts Hall, James Pigg of Chrishall, and gentry: Sir Peter Soame, who was connected with Heydon, and Sir John Stoddart of Brompton in Middlesex. But the connections ranged much further afield as well. There were a lot of clergy connections: Rev. Smith from Wolverhamton and Venerable Archdeacon Scott from Northumberland. There is even the Rt. Hon. Sir Lancelot Shadwell, Vice-Chancellor of England! Most of the subscribers were individuals but “Bishops Stortford Book Club” bought one copy, and his old college of Corpus Christi in Oxford bought 25 copies. 

In the biography at the beginning of the book it is described how John Horseman was extremely short-sighted but was never without a book to read. He would set off, with his book and an overnight bag, and walk the 14 miles to Cambridge where he would spend time in the library and the Fitzwilliam Museum. He would stay with a friend overnight and return the next day but so deep would he be in his reading he often wandered off his path and took a lot longer to return home!

When John Horseman passed away he had left instructions in a poem:

Whene’er my time shall come to die
May I in Heydon church-yard lie;
And near the chancel-window’s wall,
Where ivy I have taught to crawl.

No richer monument I crave,
Than, when enlarged, by poor boy’s grave;
There, with fresh sods, and briar bound,
How sweet, with him, my sleep, and sound.

The service at the desk all o’er,
A stave or two I beg – no more;
Were I to choose, I should like best,
“Since our good friend is gone to rest”.

But be it rightly understood,
I know that none but God is good:
Though, through my life, and to its end,
To all I would be a “good friend”.

You can read the full poem and the rest of the book online at https://babel.hathitrust.org.