Dugdale, William

William Dugdale (September 12, 1605, Shustok, near Coleshill, Warwickshire - February 10, 1686, Blythe Hall) is an English antiquarian.

Born in the family of a local nobleman of Lancashire descent, educated in Coventry . In an effort to please his father, who at that time was already old and weak, he married at the age of 17. Subsequently, he lived with his wife's family until the death of his father in 1624, after which he went to the Phillongli estate near Shustok, previously bought for him by his father. In 1625, the Blythe estate bought a goal, also in the vicinity of Shustok, and settled there in 162.

At an early age he showed great interest in the study of antiquarianism and in 1635, meeting with Simon Archer (1581-1662), one of the most famous antiquaries of those times, who was then hired to collect materials on the history of Warwickshire, accompanied him to London . he made an acquaintance with Sir Christopher Hatton (later Lord), the Court Comptroller, and Earl Thomas Arundel, at that time Earl Marshal of England. In 1638, Dugdale was promoted to the Persevant of the newly established coat of arms of the White Lion and in 1639 was promoted to Persian of the Red Cross. Since that time, he lived at the heraldic college and spent most of his time in London studying the documents of the Tower and the Cotton Library. In 1641, Sir Christopher Hatton, foreseeing the war and fearing the looting and seizure of church property, authorized him to make accurate designs of all the monuments in Westminster Abbey and the main churches in England, including cities such as Peterborough , Ely, Norwich , Lincoln , Newark ^{[ clarify ]} , Beverly , Southwell, Kingston upon Hill , York , Selby , Chester , Lichfield , Temvors and Warwick . In June 1642, he was appointed to accompany the king to York . When the war began, Karl instructed him to call for the surrender of Banbury and Warwick castles and other fortresses, which quickly filled with ammunition and rebels. He went with Charles to Oxford , staying there until his surrender in 1646. Dudgeil described the battle of Edgill , subsequently supplementing it with an accurate overview of the terrain and describing what forces the armies consisted of, where and in which direction these or those attacks took place, and also designated the burial sites of the dead.

In November 1642 he received a master's degree in art from the university, and in 1644 the king appointed him the Chester herald . In his spare time, while at Oxford , he collected materials at the Bodleian library and college libraries for his books. In 1646, Dugdale returned to London and bought his estates, which were confiscated, paying 168 pounds. After visiting France in 1648, he continued his antique research in London , collaborating during this period with Richard Dodsworth on his work Monasticon Anglicanum , which was published sequentially in a single volume in 1655, 1664 and 1673. In the era of the Stuart Restoration, he received the position of Royal Herald of Norroi, and in 1677 he was made king by the herald of the garter and knighted.