Home > Derbyshire Events > 2005 Wedding of Dr Samuel Johnson re-enactment


Photos of the wedding of Dr Samuel Johnson to Elizabeth Porter, Derbyshire, England
This page features pictures from the annual event in Derby.

This annual event is celebrated in St Werburgh's church, Derby every year. St Werburgh's Church is located on the corner of the Wardwick and Cheapside in the heart of Derby city.
It is the re-enactment of the wedding of Dr Samuel Johnson to Elizabeth (Tetty) Porter which originally took place on July 9th 1735. The parts are being acted out by Dave and Christina Morley, the Vicar is Peter Elliott (alias the Reverend Lockett).
The wedding re-enactment took place in the Johnson Chapel. This event took place on Saturday July 16th at 11:15 am. This year the Derby Choristers from Derby Cathedral were present at the event.

So who was Dr Samuel Johnson?.....

If you have watched the well known BBC TV comedy series Black Adder the Third, there is an episode called Ink & Incapability which features Dr Johnson (played by Robbie Coltrane). In the episode Dr. Samual Johnson asks Prince George for support of his dictionary but it accidentally gets used for firewood by the brainless Baldrick, Edmund Blackadder tries to rewrite it before Dr. Johnson finds out. This is a classic episode and well worth viewing again if you have not seen it for some time.

Back to reality.....

Dr Johnson is best remembered as the compiler of the first comprehensive English Dictionary.
Born in Lichfield (Staffordshire) in 1709, he began to earn a living as a journalist and critic, whilst working on plays, poetry, and biographies. Johnson began a dictionary of the English language in 1747 but did not finish it until 1755.
Dr. Johnson's last great work was the 10 volume 'Lives of the English Poets' in 1781.
He died in 1784 and is buried in Westminster Abbey. Birmingham Central Library has a Johnson Collection, with 2,000 volumes of works by him, and books and periodicals about him.

Photo selection
To view large versions of any of the photographs below, simply click on a thumbnail.

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© Andy Savage © www.derbyphotos.co.uk