Editing Thomas Barnes (journalist)

{{Short description|English journalist, essayist, and editor (1785–1841)}}
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'''Thomas Barnes''' (11 September 1785 – 7 May 1841) was an English journalist, essayist, and [[editor in chief|editor]].<ref>{{cite book|editor=Brake, Laurel|editor2=Demoor, Marysa|chapter=Barnes, Thomas|title=Dictionary of Nineteenth-century Journalists in Great Britain and Ireland|page=39|year=2009|publisher=Academia Press|isbn=9789038213408|chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=qVrUTUelE6YC&pg=PA39}}</ref> He is best known for his work with ''[[The Times]]'' which he edited from 1817 until his death in 1841.

==Early life and education==
Barnes was the eldest son of John Barnes, a solicitor, and his wife Mary, ''née'' Anderson. After his mother's death, Barnes was raised by his grandmother before beginning his education at [[Christ's Hospital]]. When the school moved to [[Horsham]] in 1902 he had a boarding house named after him. While he was there he was a contemporary of [[James Henry Leigh Hunt|Leigh Hunt]] and Thomas Mitchell, later a prominent academic. From there Barnes went up to [[Pembroke College, Cambridge]], where he excelled both academically and athletically. While at Pembroke, Barnes studied [[classics]], and he took his degree in 1808 as head of the [[Wrangler (University of Cambridge)#Optimes|senior optimes]].<ref>Gordon Phillips, "Barnes, Thomas (1785–1841)", in ''The Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'', H.C.G. Matthew and Brian Harrison, eds. (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2004), vol. 3, p. 1013.</ref>

After considering a career as an academic, Barnes acceded to his family's wishes and embarked on a career in the law, moving to London in 1809 and entering the [[Inner Temple]]. While working at his new profession, Barnes joined the famous literary circle of which Hunt, [[Charles Lamb (writer)|Charles Lamb]] and [[William Hazlitt]] were prominent members. Barnes enjoyed the entertainments of the [[West End theatre|West End]], and he indulged his appetites frequently, much to the detriment of his physical appearance.<ref>''History of The Times'', vol. 1: ''"The Thunderer" in the Making'' (London: Printing House Square, 1935), p. 198.</ref>

==Career in journalism==
With his legal career characterised by drudgery, Barnes sought an outlet for his talents. He found this through his friendship with [[Barron Field]], who was the theatre critic for ''[[The Times]]''.  Through Field, Barnes met [[John Walter (second)|John Walter]], who soon employed Barnes as a journalist reporting on law cases, politics and the theatre. Upon Field's retirement Barnes succeeded him as theatre critic, and in 1811 he became a member of the parliamentary staff. As part of his duties he penned a number of parliamentary sketches, which were later collected and published in a book, ''Parliamentary Portraits'', in 1815. During this period, he also wrote for Leigh Hunt's publications the ''[[The Examiner (1808–86)|Examiner]]'' and the ''Reflector''.<ref>Phillips, op cit.</ref>

===Editor of ''The Times''===
Walter's trust in Barnes was soon demonstrated when in 1815 Walter empowered him revise the controversial [[editorial|leading articles]] written by the intemperate [[John Stoddart]], then the editor of the paper. Upon Stoddart's dismissal at the end of 1816 Barnes was named as his successor as editor, assuming a position which he held until his death. As editor, Barnes came to enjoy a greater degree of control over the paper than his predecessors, and received a share of ownership in the paper. He used it to reshape the paper, analysing events rather than merely summarising them, and making the leading article a central component of the paper.<ref>''History of The Times'', op cit, pgs. 159, 175, 391.</ref> With the [[Peterloo Massacre]] in August 1819 he inaugurated a policy of support for the [[Whig (British political party)|Whig]] opposition in Parliament that contrasted with his predecessor's staunchly pro-[[Tory (British political party)|Tory]] stance. He became a close friend of [[Henry Brougham, 1st Baron Brougham and Vaux|Henry Brougham]], who was an important source of information for Barnes's leading articles.<ref>Phillips, ''History of The Times'', p. 256.</ref>

During Barnes's editorship, the influence and the scope of ''The Times'' grew, and with it its prominence in public affairs. Moved by what he saw during a trip to Ireland, Barnes became a passionate supporter of [[Catholic Emancipation]]. By the early 1830s his paper had earned the nickname "The Thunderer", with [[Robert Peel]] declaring it to be "a powerful advocate of Reform"<ref>[https://api.parliament.uk/historic-hansard/commons/1832/mar/22/parliamentary-reform-bill-for-england ''Hansard'' 22 March 1832]</ref> and his colleague [[John Copley, 1st Baron Lyndhurst|Lord Lyndhurst]] describing Barnes as "the most powerful man in the country."<ref>Roy Jenkins, ''Portraits and Miniatures'' p. 176</ref> It was during this period that Barnes shifted politically, opposing the [[Poor Law Amendment Act 1834]] and falling out with Brougham.

Barnes feuded with [[Henry John Temple, 3rd Viscount Palmerston|Lord Palmerston]], who manipulated public opinion to enhance his control of foreign affairs. Palmerston leaked secrets to the press, published selected documents, and released letters to give himself more control and more publicity, all the while stirring up British nationalism. Barnes refused to play along with his propaganda ploys.<ref>Laurence Fenton, "Origins of Animosity: Lord Palmerston and The Times, 1830–41." ''Media History'' 16.4 (2010): 365–378; Fenton, ''Palmerston and The Times: foreign policy, the press and public opinion in mid-Victorian Britain'' (2013).</ref>

==Personal life==
Though Barnes never married, he had a relationship for over two decades with Dinah Mary Mondet. Together they lived at 49 [[Nelson Square]] Southwark, London from 1821 to 1836 and then at 25 Soho Square, London. After Barnes's death in 1841, Dinah Mondet continued to live in their home in Soho Square until her own death in 1852, after which she was buried next to Barnes in [[Kensal Green Cemetery]].<ref>Phillips, op cit, p. 1014.</ref> It is probable (from correspondence with the volume, between A. N. L. Munby and the Archivist of The Times, in 1971) that an auction catalogue of 'A valuable collection of books ... comprising the library of an editor, deceased' and sold by Mr Fletcher on 11-13 May 1842 represents Barnes's library, sold by 'the administratrix', presumably Mondet. A copy of the catalogue is at Cambridge University Library (shelfmark Munby.c.155(29)).

==References==
{{reflist}}

==Further reading==
*{{Cite EB1911|wstitle=Barnes, Thomas |short=x}}
*{{Cite DNB|wstitle=Barnes, Thomas (1785-1841) |short=x}}
*{{acad|id=BNS804T|name=Barnes, Thomas}}
*{{cite book |last=Hudson|first=Derek|title=Thomas Barnes of "The Times"|url=https://archive.org/details/thomasbarnesofti0000unse|url-access=registration|year=1943|location=London|publisher=Cambridge University Press}}
*{{cite book |last=Jenkins|first=Roy|title=Portraits and Miniatures|url=https://archive.org/details/portraitsminiatu00jenk|url-access=registration|year=1993|location=London|publisher=Macmillan|isbn=9780333592823 }}
*{{cite book|title=[[Oxford Dictionary of National Biography|Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Volume 3]]|year=2004}}

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[[Category:1785 births]]
[[Category:1841 deaths]]
[[Category:Alumni of Pembroke College, Cambridge]]
[[Category:English male journalists]]
[[Category:English newspaper editors]]
[[Category:The Times people]]
[[Category:People educated at Christ's Hospital]]
[[Category:Burials at Kensal Green Cemetery]]