THE CORYS OF

LONDON AND CAMBRIDGE

Area Co-ordinator: Ida Birch  mailto:cory@one-name.com

~o~ ~o~ ~o~    ~o~ ~o~ ~o~    ~o~ ~o~ ~o~ 

 

LONDON:

The Hundred Years War started in 1338 followed by the Black Death which came to England in 1349.  At Westminster and Windsor, John Cory, prince's clerk, is mentioned in various documents connected to the Royal Court in the period between 1340-45.  Life at court was very unpredictable and he must have lived through some perilous times. To hold such a post in that century, John's family must have had some influence and wealth.

Over 450 years later, William Cory (1783-1862), the founder of William Cory & Sons, was a farmer's son born at Week St Mary in Cornwall.  By the early 19th century he had moved to London and gone into partnership with a coal merchant, a man called West.   The business prospered and by the middle of the 19th century 'William Cory & Son' (West had gone,- gone west) owned a fleet of colliers.  His sons William and Richard went into the business and by the time William Senior retired, he was a respected gentleman of Bloomsbury.  One of William Junior's daughter's, Hannah Taylor Cory,  married William Heward Bell and their son Clive Bell was a member of the famous Bloomsbury Group. Another daughter was Ann Maria Cory who married Harry Liddell.  Harry's sister was Alice Liddell the original Alice in Wonderland.

If you are in London, take the opportunity to visit the Victoria & Albert Museum, in South Kensington and look at the jewellery in display case 19 in Gallery 92.  The museum catalogue shows that most of the case is taken up by Dame Jane Anne Gordon Cory's jewellery, although the name plate on the case is that of Louisa Dowager Viscountess Wolseley, it refers to her portrait on the wall above.  The collection consists of garnets, amethysts, jade, rubies, emeralds, sapphires, pearls and diamonds. Some of these are presumed to be wedding gifts as details of jewellery were included in a newspaper report of Jane Anne's marriage. The marriage was to Mr Clifford John Cory, son of John Cory of Glamorganshire. These Cory jewels are alongside cases of items from the Russian Crown Jewels sold by the Bolshevik government so they are in sparkling company.  The Cory Society has arranged a visit to the Victoria and Albert Museum for their members in the Autumn of 2001 for a special emphasis on Lady Cory's jewels.(V & A site http://www.vam.ac.uk)

Dame Jane Anne Cory
nee Lethbridge and her husband
Clifford John Cory
who became a Baronet in 1907

William Johnson Cory
o0o

A quote from the Alumni Cantebrigiensis: reads: "Very short-sighted, he is said to have pursued a hen down Windsor Hill, under the belief that she was his own lost hat."

 

CAMBRIDGE:

William Johnson Cory whose poem is featured on the Site Map page was a fellow of King's College, Cambridge.  He was a pupil of Eton from 1832-1841 and a master from 1845-1872.  He wrote Ionica; Clovelly Beach -9 stanzas of 3 line verse- published in the Devonian Year Book 1931; and the Eton Boating Song, first published in the June 1865 number of the Eton Scrap Book, the Royalties supplying the Drummond-Cory music prize, (Drummond being the composer of the music). Yet he was not born a Cory but changed his name appending Cory to William Johnson. William chose the Cory name after his paternal grandmother Bridget Johnson, daughter of John and Dorothy Cory who were of the Holsworthy line of mercers and clergy.

We have in our records some descendants of Norfolk Corys who resided in Cambridge. James Cory  (1733-1793) Rector of Kettlestone, was Moderator of Cambridge University and Head of Perse School. This line (Norfolk Corys Table A4) is the one on which our Archivist Michael R Cory can be found.  However, it was Reginald Radcliffe Cory of the South Wales branch who is especially known for his association with Cambridge.  He gave generously during his lifetime and bequeathed much of his fortune to Cambridge University Botanic Garden. Cory Lodge was built in 1925 as a residence for the Director of the Botanic Garden, and was converted to a library and administrative offices in 1984/5. 

There is a rose grown at Cory Lodge called the Rosa xcoryana H which is a deep shade of pink.  These 'shrub species' roses can be ordered direct from rose grower Peter Beales at sales@classicroses.co.uk  The gardeners amongst you will enjoy the easy to follow lists and I found the staff most helpful on the freephone line. I discovered on my recent connection to the site that there is also another rose of the shrub species rosa Corymbifera H. which was first listed in 1897 and is said to have open pale pink tipped flowers similar to the wild rose producing prominent red fruits in clusters after the flowers have faded. Depending when you order, delivery might be delayed as the roses are only taken up for despatch in November.

Census
Whittlesey 1841 1851 1861
Cambridge 1851
Cambridgeshire 1881

Alumni Cantabrigienses 1534-1899
The Shaping of Cambridge Botony by S M Walters




Michael & Frances Cory
at Wimborne Minster
in front of  Rosa xcoryana

Local Information Sites:

Cambridge County Records Office    genuki.org.uk/big/eng/CAM/RecordOffice.html
Shire Hall
Castle Hill
Cambridge
CB3 0AP

Cambridge Newspapers at cambridge-news.co.uk

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS:
Michael R Cory
D.R. Holmes

A tendency to talk non-stop to anyone about Corys.  This has been found to occur in Cory family researchers who, after long periods of research, discover Cory connections anywhere. After years of research, the name Cory seems to jump off the page -not just with people or place names but anything. Perhaps you have noticed something similar?

For example, in new edition of The Royal Horticultural Society Encyclopedia A-Z you will find the following: CORYDALIS; CORYLOPSIS; CORYLUS; CORYNOCARPUS; CORYPHA; CORYPHANTHA. 
And in Virtues English Dictionary (1953) which enthuses about "the romance of words" we find
CORYBANT,  a priest of Cybele who celebrated the mysteries with mad dances to the sound of drum and cymbal,
CORYMB, a cluster of fruit or flowers with a convex or level top;
CORYPHEUS, the chief of a chorus or company;
CORYPHÉE, a ballet dancer;
CORYZA, a cold in the head!

So if you have noticed signs of this obsession developing yourself, please feel free to talk it over with someone who has been there and has the T shirt to prove it!  Download your Cory discoveries to  cory@one-name.com

Coryphée