James Jennings

Born in Huntspill, Somerset, in 1772, he was the son of a shopkeeper and was educated locally before being apprenticed to an apothecary in Bristol. Early in life he contributed poems to magazines, and in 1794 published The Times, a satire.

He is chiefly remembered for writing about the dialect of western England, especially Somerset. His Observations on Some of the Dialects in the West of England, Particularly Somersetshire collected local words and included poems and other pieces that showed how the dialect sounded in real use.

Later, after building up the family business, he moved to London in 1817, where he worked as an editor and served as secretary of the Metropolitan Literary Institution. He died in 1833, leaving behind work that remains valuable both to readers of regional literature and to anyone interested in the history of English speech.