John MacEnery (27 November 1796 – 18 February 1841) was a Roman Catholic priest from Limerick, Ireland[1][2] and early archaeologist[3] who came to Devon as Chaplain to the Cary family at Torre Abbey in 1822.[4] In 1825, 1826 and 1829,[5] he investigated the prehistoric remains at Kent's Cavern in Devon,[6] having been shown the cave by Thomas Northmore.[7]
MacEnery concluded that the palaeolithic flint tools he found in the same contexts as the bones of extinct prehistoric mammals meant that early humans and the creatures such as mammoths co-existed.[8]
His contemporaries had great difficulty reconciling his findings to their pre-Darwinian, creationist view of the earth's history. 20th century commentators suggest it was the influence of the theologian William Buckland who persuaded MacEnery to doubt the evidence he saw before him, which led to MacEnery never publishing his work.[9] However, Edward Vivian stated that it was simply the expense which caused him to abandon publication.[10] MacEnery left Torquay and his cave research in 1830 and it was left to Vivian, whose heavily edited version of his work was published in 1859, and then later to William Pengelly who publicised and explored the original manuscript of his findings in 1869, many years after MacEnery's death at age 43.[9]
John MacEnery studied for the priesthood in St Munchin's College, the Limerick Diocesan College then in Palmerstown County Limerick, where he was ordained in 1819.[9]
MacEnery retired early due to ill health following an accident and lived for a time in Rome and Paris before returning to Torre Abbey in 1838. He died on 18 February 1841, and is buried in Torre Churchyard, Torquay.[9]
Gravestone in St. Andrew's churchyard in Torquay.
^Erik Trinkaus and Pat Shipman, The Neandertals: changing the image of mankind, ISBN 0-394-58900-9, 1993
^Edward Battersby Bailey, Charles Lyell, 1963
^Stringer, C., Homo Britannicus: The Incredible Story of Human Life in Britain, Penguin, London, 2006, ISBN 978-0-14-101813-3
^Malcolm Todd and Andrew Fleming, The South West to AD 1000, ISBN 0-582-49273-4, 1987
^A. Bowdoin Van Riper, Men among the mammoths: Victorian science and the discovery of human prehistory, ISBN 0-226-84991-0, 1993
^E. M. M Alexander, Father John MacEnery: scientist or charlatan?, Devonshire Association Report and Transactions, ed. H.H. Wilker, 96, 113-46, ISSN 0309-7994, 1964
^Rosemary Hill, God's Architect: Pugin and the Building of Romantic Britain, ISBN 0-300-15161-6, 2009
^The Dragon Seekers: How an Extraordinary Circle of Fossilists Discovered the Dinosaurs and Paved the Way for Darwin, Christopher McGowan, 2002, p 62
^ abcdWalker, Elizabeth A (2009). "Discoveries in Devon: the works of Father John MacEnery and William Pengelly". Great Prehistorians: 150 Years of Palaeolithic Research, 1859–2009 (Special Volume 30 of Lithics: Journal of the Lithic Studies Society).
^E. Vivian (ed) Cavern Researches, or discoveries of organic remains, and of British and Roman reliques, in the Caves of Kent's Hole, Anstis Cove, Chudleigh, and Berry Head by the late Rev. J. MacEnery, F.G.S. ISBN 9-781-24090772-4 1859.
Rev. J. MacEnery, F.G.S. ISBN 9-781-24090772-4 1859. Works by Rev. JohnMacEnery at Faded Page (Canada) Portrait of JohnMacEneryJohnMacEnery's grave[permanent...
Brinson) McEnery. He was educated at Ellesmere College, Shropshire. His younger brothers are actor John and the photographer David. McEnery appeared in...
contributed a volume to the first textbook on seismology in America JohnMacEnery (1797–1841) – archaeologist who investigated the Palaeolithic remains...
party including JohnMacEnery to explore the caves in an attempt to find evidence that Mithras was once worshipped in the area. MacEnery, the Roman Catholic...
with the find. He also was dismissive of the Kent's Cavern findings of JohnMacEnery in the later 1820s. In 1829 Philippe-Charles Schmerling discovered a...
American postmaster (d. 1859) Alexis Bonami, Canadian fur trader (d. 1890) JohnMacEnery, British archaeologist (d. 1841) Richard Mayne, English barrister, joint...
(d. 1881) 1796: November 27 - JohnMacEnery, Irish-born priest and pioneer archaeologist (d. 1841) 1797: October 5 - John Gardiner Wilkinson, English traveller...
by Father JohnMacEnery, and found similar evidence (Palaeolithic flint tools and the bones of extinct animals in the same strata) as MacEnery. Pengelly...
4th Earl of Kingston, soldier and politician (died 1867). 27 November JohnMacEnery, priest and pioneer archaeologist (died 1841). Richard Mayne, barrister...
for her beauty and poise, who had a daughter, Alice Trudeau (Mrs. Jack McEnery, from 1963 Mrs Denis Rolleston Gwynn) (1904-1991) from a previous marriage...
The San Jose McEnery Convention Center (commonly known simply as the San Jose Convention Center) is a convention center in Downtown San Jose, California...
Kathleen McEnery Cunningham (1888–1971) was an American painter. McEnery was born in Brooklyn, New York. She studied at a Belgian convent for one year...
was later delayed to 2012, but it had finally been canceled by early 2010. John Lasseter noted that the film's proposed plot line was similar to another...
Sean Bean, David Thewlis, Jim Carter, Peter Davison, Alun Armstrong, John McEnery, Eleanor Bron, Peter Cook, Keeley Flanders, Niall O'Brien, Alan Cumming...
of Rosalind in As You Like It, directed by Trevor Nunn, opposite Peter McEnery in Stratford-upon-Avon and the following year in London. This she followed...
Walt Disney Pictures / Pixar Animation Studios John Lasseter (director); Andrew Stanton, Donald McEnery, Bob Shaw (screenplay); Dave Foley, Kevin Spacey...
Ronald Neame, starring Alec Guinness and John Mills, featuring Dennis Price, Kay Walsh, John Fraser, Duncan MacRae, Gordon Jackson and Susannah York. It...
The Moon-Spinners (1964), getting her first on screen kiss from Peter McEnery. Mills had a change of pace with Sky West and Crooked (1965), set in the...
Gent, Frank Yablans (screenplay); Nick Nolte, Mac Davis, Charles Durning, Dayle Haddon, Bo Svenson, John Matuszak, Steve Forrest, G.D. Spradlin, Dabney...
1998, Clapton, then 53, met 22-year-old administrative assistant Melia McEnery in Columbus, Ohio, at a party given for him after a performance. He quietly...
(screenplay); Topol, Georgia Brown, Edward Fox, John Gielgud, Margaret Leighton, Tom Conti, Patrick Magee, John McEnery, Michael Lonsdale, Clive Revill, Job Stewart...
(screenplay); David Keith, Malcolm McDowell, David Suchet, Warren Clarke, John McEnery, Nancy Paul, Brian Pettifer, George Pravda, Eugene Lipinski, Shane Rimmer...
Pondera Shari Lennon (R) Powder River Jeffrey Noble (R) Powell Kathryn McEnery (R) Prairie Daniel Rice (R) Ravalli Bill Fulbright (R) Richland Charity...
Charles Wood (screenplay); Peter McEnery, Claudia Cardinale, Eli Wallach, Jack Hawkins, Mark Burns, Norman Rossington, John Neville, Paolo Stoppa, Ivan Desny...
Shaw, Don McEnery (screenplay); Michael J. Fox, Geena Davis, Hugh Laurie, Wayne Brady, Kevin Schon, Corey Padnos, Virginia Madsen, Peter MacNicol, Rino...
Sean Murray, Trevor Peacock, Pete Postlethwaite, Christopher Fairbank, John McEnery, Richard Warwick, Christien Anholt The Russia House Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer...
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