Dictionary of National Biography, 1885-1900/Gray, Edward William
GRAY, EDWARD WILLIAM (1787?–1860), topographer, born about 1787, carried on the business of a cheese factor and mealman in Bartholomew Street, Newbury, Berkshire. At the passing of the Municipal Act in 1835 he was chosen member of the town council, served the office of mayor in 1840, and was subsequently appointed alderman and magistrate. He died at his residence, Woodspeen, on 19 June 1860, aged 73, and was buried on the 26th of that month in the family vault in Enborne churchyard, near Newbury. He edited anonymously ‘The History and Antiquities of Newbury and its Environs, including twenty-eight Parishes situate in the County of Berks; also a Catalogue of Plants,’ 8vo, Speenhamland, 1839, an excellent specimen of thorough workmanship. It was his original intention to publish the book in numbers, but after the appearance of the first number in 1831, he abandoned the plan.
[Reading Mercury, 23 and 30 June 1860; Pigot's London and Provincial Directory for 1823–4; Notes and Queries, 4th ser. iii. 554, 607.]