In 1789, James Artis and his wife Mary (née Watling) welcomed a son into their home at Sweffling, near Saxmundham in Suffolk. Christened Edmund, the boy would grow into an avid and influential researcher whose work spanned the scholarly interests of the late Georgian period, from studying geology and collecting plant fossils to excavating Roman remains. A talented artist, his publications were beautifully self-illustrated, and one of his key contributions to archaeology was The Durobrivae of Antoninus, a series of plates drawing on his investigations at Castor, near Peterborough. These were produced in several parts, with the first sets released in 1823-1824. To mark the 200th anniversary of the volume’s creation, the Nene Valley Archaeological Trust has published an A4 facsimile volume of the Durobrivae’s plates (see ‘Further reading’ below), for which I wrote the foreword – and here I will share the story of the relatively unsung, pioneering polymath behind the original. It is a tale of life-changing cakes and encounters with poets, of fossils and philandering, and of racehorses and Roman remains.
Portrait of Edmund Artis as a young man
Although Artis would later be described as having been born into ‘easy circumstances’, it is hard to argue that his origins were not humble. His father was a carpenter or cabinet-maker, his mother was illiterate, and both parents died poor. Edmund himself appears to have received little in the way of education – but in 1805 he was offered what would prove to be a transformative opportunity, when he was sent to London to work for his uncle in the wine trade. The teenaged Artis thrived in the capital: by 1811 he had opened his own confectioner’s shop in Marylebone, and his star continued to rise. In the same year he married Elizabeth Poole, originally from the Bristol area; their daughter, also called Elizabeth but known as Betsy, was born in 1812, and in 1813 the family’s fortunes were changed forever when Artis attracted the attention of an influential new patron.
William Wentworth-Fitzwilliam, the 4th Earl Fitzwilliam, was a leading Whig politician of the day, and he was reportedly so taken by one of Artis’ iced cakes – shaped like a fantastic castle – that he invited its creator to join his household. By 1816 Artis had risen to the rank of House Steward at Milton Hall, the Earl’s seat near Peterborough. There, he proved that his artistry extended beyond baking, painting the Earl’s portrait in oils, and it was also around this time that he met the poet John Clare, best known for his rural writings. Clare freely acknowledged the debt that he owed to Artis on the subject of Natural History (this shared interest in the natural world may have sparked Artis’ long pursuit of fossil-collecting), and it appears that he also shared Artis’ archaeological interests. When Clare’s copy of the Durobrivae was rediscovered, its margins preserved notes indicating that the poet had participated in Artis’ excavations; one of the engravings is also thought to commemorate this assistance, showing Clare working on a Roman pottery kiln.
