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In March 1732 he appointed Samuel
Johnson (1709–1784) to the position of usher at the school, though he did not have the required university degree. Another stipulation of the school statutes that Dixie ignored was that the master be provided with a house of his own. Instead, Johnson was lodged at Bosworth Hall and, in the words of Johnson's biographer James Boswell (who had it from Johnson's friend
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George II at a levee as Sir
Wolstan Dixie "of Bosworth Park", the king, wanting perhaps to show some knowledge of important English battles, said, "'Bosworth-Bosworth! Big battle at Bosworth, wasn't it?' 'Yes, Sire. But I thrashed him', replied Sir Wolstan, oblivious of any other fight than his own".
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He had a reputation for being a pugnacious bully, with a penchant for using his fists to settle any dispute, which often set him at odds with his neighbours and even ex-employees. As the chief trustee of the local school he "had complete control" over the appointment of tutors at the establishment.
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Dixie was also "legendary for his ignorance". An anecdote was told about his violent encounter with a neighbouring squire who objected to Dixie barring access to a footpath across his land. The ensuing fight must have been memorable, for Dixie at least: when he was presented to the
Germanic King
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A more disturbing (unattributed) local legend (in various versions) is the following: "But in 1758 tragedy finally resulted from one of Sir
Wolstan's ill-conceived actions. He heard that his daughter Anne was surreptitiously meeting a young man in Bosworth Park and resolved to put a stop to the
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liaison. He put man-traps out to catch the young suitor but caught his daughter Ann instead. Although she was rescued from the trap and carried back to the hall, nothing could be done to staunch her wounds and she bled to death. Even today her ghost is said to haunt the hall..."
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to prove to people that he could do anything he wanted to, and nobody could stop him. This story probably has its origin in well-documented conflicts between the 4th
Baronet and the School.
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One local story of him is that he strongly objected to men with waggons driving across his park, and having one day beaten the waggoner of a neighbouring squire,
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The 4th
Baronet was renowned for engaging 'in lawsuits against the high and the low'. Among those lawsuits is evidence for a thwarted attempt to regain land at
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1 May 1735, Anna Frere (died July 1739), daughter of John Frere, President of the
Council of Barbados and heiress of Tobias Frere
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Peter Foss & T. Parry, A Truly Honest Man (Diary of Joseph Moxon), Moxon Family
Research Trust, 1998, p4
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Wolstan Dixie, 4th Bt (1701–1767) of
Bosworth Hall, Leicestershire, and his family seated around a
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Sir
Wolstan was a colourful character and stories, real and possibly spurious abound. He was
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Another local story is that Sir Wolstan allegedly appointed his butler as headmaster of the
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Following his death in 1767, he was succeeded by his son, also called
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Theodosia Wright (died 14 May 1751), daughter of Henry Offley Wright
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in 1700. The very rare but characteristic male given name
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J.L. Clifford, 1955, Young Samuel Johnson, p. 131
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191:Margaret Cross, daughter of William Cross
296:"The night that drove old Dixie down..."
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45:(himself grand-nephew of the first Sir
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225:. 26 November 1726. p. 1.
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27:Sir Wolstan Dixie, 4th Baronet
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53:in 1585, during the reign of
341:"In Focus 11: Dormer's Hall"
181:He was married three times:
81:The 4th Baronet was born at
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426:People from Market Bosworth
263:Walter Jackson Bate, 1975,
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22:Sir Wolstan Dixie (detail)
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153:which the Dormer family (
102:Sheriff of Leicestershire
97:the 11th-century bishop.
93:, probably deriving from
89:is a variant spelling of
303:Hinckley, Leicestershire
110:John Taylor of Ashbourne
171:Commonwealth of England
343:. applebymagna.org.uk.
282:Samuel Johnson: A Life
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403:at Wikimedia Commons
355:Baronetage of England
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373:(of Market Bosworth)
140:Dixie Grammar School
51:Lord Mayor of London
43:Sheriff of Leicester
248:Walter Jackson Bate
123:Bosworth Hall, 1791
222:The London Gazette
177:Marriage and issue
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399:Media related to
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380:Succeeded by
167:English Civil War
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361:Preceded by
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421:1767 deaths
416:1700 births
277:David Nokes
173:1653–1659.
71:harpsichord
55:Elizabeth I
410:Categories
377:1713–1767
217:"No. 6533"
203:References
163:Royalists
159:Roundhead
104:in 1727.
61:Biography
279:, 2009,
250:, 1975,
369:Baronet
197:Wolstan
155:Puritan
95:Wolstan
91:Wulstan
87:Wolstan
39:James I
316:11 May
77:(1755)
73:, by
318:2021
157:and
131:of
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Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. Additional terms may apply.
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_of_Bosworth_Hall_by_Henry_Pickering.jpg)
