| Entry Type | Person |
| Surname | Wheatcroft |
| Forenames | Leonard |
| Also Known As | The Black Poet |
| Epithet | poet, craftsman, tailor, publican and Ashover parish clerk |
| Dates | 1627-1707 |
| Gender Identity | Male |
| Biography | Described as the laureate of Ashover, Leonard was one of nine children born to Leonard Wheatcroft and Anne. His original trade was as a tailor. He became parish clerk in 1650 and then a soldier in 1653. In 1657 he married Elizabeth Hawley of Winster after a two year courtship he described in manuscript verse known as The Art of Poetry, or, Come ye Gallants Look and Buy, here is Mirth and Melody.
Wheatcroft turned his hand to many things to make a living including gardening, orchard planting and carpentry with stints as an alehouse keeper and maltser. His compositions reflect the social events within the rural life such as hunting, bellringing and include elegies for notable local worthies. In 1696 he presented birthday verses to the Earl Of Rutland at Haddon Hall.
He died in January 1707 and is buried at Ashover. |
| Key Events | 1627 born, Ashover
1657 married Elizabeth Hawley of Winster
1707 died, Ashover |
| Family Tree | Parents: Leonard and Anne Wheatcroft
Father of Titus Wheatcroft. |
| Address | Lived most of his life in Ashover |
| Source | https://www.oxforddnb.com/view/10.1093/ref:odnb/9780198614128.001.0001/odnb-9780198614128-e-57645
https://archaeologydataservice.ac.uk/archives/view/daj/contents.cfm?vol_id=1010
https://recordoffice.wordpress.com/tag/leonard-wheatcroft/ |
| Authorised Form of Name | Wheatcroft; Leonard (1627-1707); poet, craftsman, tailor, publican and Ashover parish clerk |
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