Peter Armstrong Whittle

Peter Armstrong Whittle (9 July 1789 – 7 January 1866) was an English antiquarian.

Peter Armstrong Whittle
Born(1789-07-09)9 July 1789
Died7 January 1866(1866-01-07) (aged 76)
NationalityEnglish
OccupationAntiquarian

Biography

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Whittle was born at Inglewhite in the parish of Goosnargh, Lancashire, on 9 July 1789, and was educated at the grammar schools of Goosnargh, Walton-le-Dale, and Preston. He began business as a bookseller and printer at Preston in 1810, and became an active contributor to various journals. He was intelligent but ill-educated, and his works, though not without value, abound in errors. He styled himself F.S.A., but was not a fellow of the Society of Antiquaries. In 1858, Lord Derby, as prime minister, gave him a pension of 50l. a year for ‘literary services.’ After giving up business in 1851, he lived at Bolton for some years, and then removed to Mount Vernon, Liverpool. Whittle, who was a Roman catholic, died on 7 January 1866. He married, in October 1827, Matilda Henrietta Armstrong, and had two sons: Robert Claudius, author of ‘The Wayfarer in Lancashire,’ and Henry Armstrong.

He was the author of the following local histories:

  • ‘A Topographical Account, &c., of Preston,’ 1821; vol. ii. 1837, 12mo (the first volume was published under the pseudonym of ‘Marmaduke Tulket’).
  • ‘Marina; or an Historical and Descriptive Account of Southport, Lytham, and Blackpool,’ Preston, 1831, 8vo (anon.).
  • ‘Architectural Description of St. Ignatius's Church, Preston,’ 1833.
  • ‘Description of St. Mary's Cistercian Church at Penwortham,’ 8vo.
  • ‘Historical Notices of Hoghton Tower,’ 1845.
  • ‘An Account of St. Marie's Chapel at Fernyhalgh,’ 1851, 8vo.
  • ‘Blackburn as it is,’ 1852.
  • ‘Bolton-le-Moors and the Townships in the Parish,’ Bolton, 1855, 8vo.

References

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  This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domainSutton, Charles William (1900). "Whittle, Peter Armstrong". In Lee, Sidney (ed.). Dictionary of National Biography. Vol. 61. London: Smith, Elder & Co.