IGl 



EDWARD ADRIAN WOODRUFFE-PEACOCK 



(1858-1922). 



Edward Adhian Peacock (who added his mother's name to his 

 patronymic, and who is best known by the combination) was born 

 at Bottesi'ord Manor, Brigg, Lincohishire, on July 28, 1858. His 

 father, Edward Peacock, E.S.A., was an antiqiuii-y of distinction and 

 an autliority on Lincohishire dialect, and especially interested in the 

 folk-lore and ])opular names of plants ; by a curious coincidence he 

 had an extraoi'dinarily harsh voice — I remember that when he came 

 to see me at Bloomsburj^, in pre-South-Kensington days, Trinien said 

 when he left, ''Who was that man with the terrible voice?" and 

 when I replied, " You won't believe me when I tell \^ou his name is 

 Peacock," he said, " Of course I don't ! " 



Adrian Peacock was educated at Edinburgh Academy, then at 

 St. John's College, Cambridge, and Bishop Hatheld Hall, Durham, 

 where he took the degree of Licentiate in Theologj^ in 1880. After 

 holding various curacies, he became Vicar of Cadney, near Brigg, in 

 1891 ; here he remained until 1920, when he became Yicar of Gi-ay- 

 ingham, at which place he died on February 3. 



For a general summary of his work 1 cannot do better than quote 

 the account prepared by Mr. Richard W. Goulding, Librarian to the 

 Duke of Portland at Welbeck Abbey, of which he was kind enough 

 to send me a copy. Mr. Goulding writes : — 



" Mr. Peacock was a man of many attainments and activities, 

 but he- was best known as a capable and experienced held naturalist. 

 He will be greatly missed, particularly by those who are interested in 

 the natural history of Lincolnshire, for he accomplished probably 

 more than any other single worker in the accumulation of facts 

 relating to the distribution of plants and animals in the county in 

 which he was born, and in which he spent the greater part of 

 his life. He was one of the founders of the Lincolnshire Naturalists' 

 Union in 1893 ; for ten years he was its Organizing Secretary ; he 

 was its President in 1905-G ; during the entire period of its existence 

 he has been its moving spirit, and he was once aptlj' described by the 

 late Canon William Fowler as its * nursing father.' He was an all- 

 round naturahst. Full of enthusiasm himself, he inspired enthusiasm 

 in others, and he was ever ready to help and encourage fellow- workers 

 and junior students. From his youth up he was an indefatigable 

 observer and note-taker — ' a humble recorder of trifling every-day 

 facts ' is the description he gave of himself in the preface to his 

 Check-List of Lincolnshire Flants published in 1909. 



" Mr. Peacock was thorough in everything he undertook. In his 

 preaching he always made it his aim to get a series of correlated 

 ideas for every address, and he then endeavoured to give expression 

 to his thoughts in plain, simple, forcible language." 



In his Check-List published by the Lincolnshire Naturalists' 



Union in its Transactions m 1909 (ii. 1-GG) and continued up to 



1911 in the same volume (pp. 290-299) Peacock presented "an 



analysis of some 500,000 observations " that he had accumulated in 



Journal of BoxA.Nr. — Vol. GO. [Ji>e, 1922.] ii 



