G. Cosens Prior

G. Cosens Prior
G. Cosens Prior
	Prior in 1891
Born	1856; Chichester, West Sussex, England
Died	1937 (aged 81); Brentford, Middlesex, England
Occupations	Solicitor; notary public; Unitarian minister; activist;
Known for	Advocacy for temperance and vegetarianism
Criminal charges	Misappropriation of client funds
Criminal penalty	Five years' penal servitude
Spouse	Clara Gertrude Wilkin (m. 1880; died 1918)
Children	9

George Cosens Prior (1856–1937) was an English solicitor, notary public, Unitarian minister, and activist. He led a prominent law firm in Portsmouth, managed key trusts, and maintained a large private practice. Prior was an advocate for temperance and vegetarianism. He served as president of the Portsmouth Gospel Temperance Union and Portsmouth Vegetarian Society. In 1904, following bankruptcy, Prior was convicted of misappropriating client funds and sentenced to five years' penal servitude.

Biography

Early life

Prior was born in Chichester in the final quarter of 1856.^[1] His parents were John Woods Prior, the founder of the family wool-stapling business in Chichester, and Amelia (née Underdown).^[2]

Career

Prior served as the head of one of the oldest law firms in Portsmouth, acted as a solicitor for several prominent trusts, and maintained an extensive private practice.^[3]^: 173 He also worked as a notary public^[4] and served as a minister at the Portsmouth High-Street Unitarian Church.^[5] In 1904, Prior faced charges of misappropriating client funds during bankruptcy proceedings.^[5] He was sentenced to five years penal servitude.^[6]

Activism

Prior was an ardent worker in the temperance movement for a number of years.^[3]^: 173 He served as president of the Portsmouth Gospel Temperance Union.^[7]

Prior became a vegetarian in 1889 on ethical grounds.^[8] He was a prominent figure in the Portsmouth Vegetarian Society, serving as president.^[3]^: 146 He also delivered lectures on vegetarianism.^[9]

Prior was honorary solicitor for the Order of the Golden Age from 1901 to 1903.^[10]^[11]

Personal life and death

Prior married Clara Gertrude Wilkin on 4 January 1880, at the parish church of Gaywood, King's Lynn.^[4] Clara, a devoted vegetarian, shared her lifestyle with her husband. Together, they raised a family of nine children, all adhering to a vegetarian diet.^[3]^: 173 His wife died in 1918, at the age of 67.^[12]

Prior died in Brentford, Middlesex, at the age of 81 during the second quarter of 1937.^[13]

References

^ "Births Dec 1855". FreeBMD. ONS. Retrieved 22 January 2025.
^ The Chichester Papers. 1959. p. 34.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d Forward, Charles Walter (1898). Fifty Years of Food Reform: A History of the Vegetarian Movement in England. London; Manchester: The Ideal Publishing Union; The Vegetarian Society.
^ ^a ^b "Marriages". The Hampshire Advertiser. 10 March 1880. p. 2. Retrieved 22 January 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
^ ^a ^b "Drew Clients' Money". Evening Dispatch. 9 November 1904. p. 4. Retrieved 22 January 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
^ "Solicitor Sent to Penal Servitude". The Wells Journal. 1 December 1904. p. 6. Retrieved 22 January 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
^ The Blue Ribbon Official Gazette and Gospel Temperance Herald. 1883. p. 275.
^ Gregory, James Richard Thomas Elliott (2002). "Biographical Index of British Vegetarians and Food reformers of the Victorian Era". The Vegetarian Movement in Britain c.1840–1901: A Study of Its Development, Personnel and Wider Connections (PDF). Vol. 2. University of Southampton. p. 95.
^ The Dietetic Reformer and Vegetarian Messenger. Vol. IX–Third series. London: F. Pitman. 1883. p. 100.
^ "The Order of the Golden Age" (PDF). The Herald of the Golden Age. 6 (10). 1901.
^ "The Order of the Golden Age" (PDF). The Herald of the Golden Age. 8 (9). 1903.
^ "Deaths Mar 1918". FreeBMD. ONS. Retrieved 22 January 2025.
^ "Deaths Jun 1937". FreeBMD. ONS. Retrieved 22 January 2025.

[1] "Births Dec 1855". FreeBMD. ONS. Retrieved 22 January 2025.

[2] The Chichester Papers. 1959. p. 34.

[:02-3] Forward, Charles Walter (1898). Fifty Years of Food Reform: A History of the Vegetarian Movement in England. London; Manchester: The Ideal Publishing Union; The Vegetarian Society.

[:0-4] "Marriages". The Hampshire Advertiser. 10 March 1880. p. 2. Retrieved 22 January 2021 – via Newspapers.com.

[:1-5] "Drew Clients' Money". Evening Dispatch. 9 November 1904. p. 4. Retrieved 22 January 2021 – via Newspapers.com.

[6] "Solicitor Sent to Penal Servitude". The Wells Journal. 1 December 1904. p. 6. Retrieved 22 January 2025 – via Newspapers.com.

[7] The Blue Ribbon Official Gazette and Gospel Temperance Herald. 1883. p. 275.

[Gregory_20022-8] Gregory, James Richard Thomas Elliott (2002). "Biographical Index of British Vegetarians and Food reformers of the Victorian Era". The Vegetarian Movement in Britain c.1840–1901: A Study of Its Development, Personnel and Wider Connections (PDF). Vol. 2. University of Southampton. p. 95.

[9] The Dietetic Reformer and Vegetarian Messenger. Vol. IX–Third series. London: F. Pitman. 1883. p. 100.

[10] "The Order of the Golden Age" (PDF). The Herald of the Golden Age. 6 (10). 1901.

[11] "The Order of the Golden Age" (PDF). The Herald of the Golden Age. 8 (9). 1903.

[12] "Deaths Mar 1918". FreeBMD. ONS. Retrieved 22 January 2025.

[13] "Deaths Jun 1937". FreeBMD. ONS. Retrieved 22 January 2025.

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