Britton

Britton, John, was born in a humble position near Chippenham, Gloucestershire, in 1771, and after being educated at the village school, was apprenticed to a tavern-keeper in London. His health broke down, and he took to literature for a livelihood, having a strong bent towards archaeology and topography. In 1801 he produced in conjunction with Brayley, The Beauties of Wiltshire, and dealing with other counties in succession he completed the work known as The Beauties of England and Wales. His Architectural Antiquities of Great Britain appeared in 1805; his Cathedral Antiquities of England in 1825; and his Antiquities of Normandy in 1827. Brayley was once more his partner in the History of the Houses of Parliament, completed in 1836. Many other interesting pieces of descriptive writing came from his pen, and he did much to arouse a popular taste for antiquarian subjects. He died in 1857.