AdminHistory | The Reverened Dr. John Wheler was born in 1734, the son of Sir William Wheler, 5th Baronet, of Leamington Hastings, Warwickshire and Penelope Glynne. He was educated at Rugby School and Clare College, Cambridge. He became Rector of Mareham le Fenn in Lincolnshire in 1764 and remained so until his death in 1818. He was Chaplain of the East India Company's Chapel at Poplar from 1774-1802. He was also appointed a Prebendary at Westminster Abbey in 1797. He died at Brighton in 1818 and was buried at Preston, Sussex.
The twelve manuscript sermons are written in a large hand in uncovered excercise books. In some there is indication of the source of the sermons such as "Copy'd from P.N. first at Petersham Lodge, 11 Decr. 1782" (P/WHE/6), several others have "P.N." on the front cover. In some instances it is indicated that sermons have been recopied. The sermons carry on the front cover the dates they were delivered at Poplar (of which they all were). At the end are diary-style personal entries, usually relating to the day the sermon was given. The most often-preached at Places in addition to Poplar are Mareham le Fenn and Revesby (the parish adjoining Mareham). It would appear that when sermons were recopied, diary entries were copied as well. The diary entries by the Rev. John Wheler cover the period 1767-1800. Entries in a different hand covering the period 1818-1832 are possibly by a nephew. These entries are made at Leamington Hastings in Warwickshire, the family seat, and at Sutton-on-Derwent, a parish where the Wheler family also had connections.
The Rev John Wheler's diary entries make mention of a number of prominent people in Poplar society such as the Perry and Green families of the Blackwall Shipyard and the Currie family of Bromley. Entries for elsewhere mention the explorer and botanist Sir Joseph Banks (1743-1820), whose seat was at Revesby Abbey in Lincolnshire, and Thomas Pitt, first Baron Camelford (1737-1793). |
CustodialHistory | The sermons were presented to Tower Hamlets Local History Library and Archives by the Cheltenham Art Gallery and Museum in February 2000. They were apparently discovered in a store and the provenance was unknown. All the sermons have, on the front cover, a small circular stamp, in purple ink, of a Gothic letter "M" over the date 1893. The significance of this is not known. |