Editing Granville Sharp (section)

==Life==
Granville Sharp was the son of Judith Wheler (d. 1757) and [[Thomas Sharp (archdeacon)|Thomas Sharp]] (1693–1759), [[Archdeacon of Northumberland]], prolific theological writer and biographer of his father, [[John Sharp (archbishop)|John Sharp]], [[Archbishop of York]]. Judith was the daughter of travel writer [[George Wheler (clergyman and scholar)|George Wheler]] and Grace née Higgons, who grew up in the political household of Sir [[Thomas Higgons]].

Sharp was born in [[Durham, England|Durham]] in 1735. He had eight older brothers and five younger sisters. Five of his brothers survived their infancy and by the time Sharp had reached his midteens the family funds set aside for their education had been all but depleted, so Sharp was educated at [[Durham School]]<ref>{{cite journal |last=Ditchfield |first= G. M. |title=Sharp, Granville (1735–1813)|journal=[[Oxford Dictionary of National Biography]]|issue=Sept 2004; online edn, Jan 2008  |url=http://www.oxforddnb.com./view/article/25208 |access-date=9 September 2009 |quote=According to Prince Hoare, his first biographer, Granville: was at a very early age withdrawn from the public grammar-school at Durham, before he had gained more than the first rudiments of the learned languages, and was sent to a smaller school, to be instructed more particularly in writing and arithmetic. }}</ref> but mainly at home.<ref name="Sheppard">{{cite book|title=Granville Sharp: Father of the Anti-Slavery Movement in Britain|last=Sheppard|first=John|publisher=London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham|year=2007|location=London|oclc=271769207}}</ref>

He was apprenticed to a London linen-draper at the age of fifteen.  Sharp loved to argue and debate, and his keen intellect found little outlet in the mundane work in which he was involved.  However, one of his fellow-apprentices was [[Socinianism|Socinian]] (a Unitarian sect that denied the divinity of Christ), and in order better to argue, Sharp taught himself [[Greek language|Greek]].  Another fellow apprentice was Jewish, and so Sharp learned [[Hebrew language|Hebrew]] in order to be able to discuss theological matters with his colleague. Sharp also conducted genealogical research for one of his masters, [[Henry Willoughby, 13th Baron Willoughby of Parham|Henry Willoughby]], who had a claim to the barony of [[Baron Willoughby of Parham|Willoughby de Parham]], and it was through Sharp's work that Willoughby was able to take his place in the House of Lords.

Sharp's apprenticeship ended in 1757, and both his parents died soon after. That same year he accepted a position as Clerk in the Ordnance Office at the [[Tower of London]]. This civil service position allowed him plenty of free time to pursue his scholarly and intellectual pursuits.<ref name=Sheppard/> 
 
[[File:The Sharp Family by Johann Zoffany.jpg|thumb|left|''[[The Sharp Family]]'', by [[Johann Zoffany]], 1779–81, National Portrait Gallery, London. The family musical ensemble are pictured on their barge, ''Apollo'', with [[All Saints Church, Fulham|All Saints', Fulham]] in the background.  Granville Sharp is the seated male figure in the centre.]]

Sharp had a keen musical interest. Four of his siblings – [[William Sharp (surgeon)|William]], later to become surgeon to [[George III of the United Kingdom|George III]], James, Elizabeth and Judith – had also come to London, and they met every day.  They all played musical instruments as a family orchestra, giving concerts at William's house in [[Mincing Lane]] and later in the family sailing barge, ''Apollo'', which was moored at the Bishop of London's steps in [[Fulham]], near William's country home, [[Fulham House]].<ref>Fulham at the time was a village surrounded by countryside, not part of the Greater London conurbation as today.  The Sharps' Fulham House is not the house now known as Fulham House – the Sharps' Fulham House was demolished in the 1840s, and stood roughly where the Putney Travel Inn stands today.</ref> The fortnightly water-borne concerts took place from 1775–1783, the year his brother James died. Sharp had an excellent bass voice, described by George III as "the best in Britain", and he played the clarinet, oboe, flageolet, kettle drums, harp and a double-flute which he had made himself. He often signed his name in notes to friends as [[G♯ (musical note)|G♯]].<ref name=Sheppard/> 
 
Sharp died at Fulham House on 6 July 1813, and a memorial of him was erected in [[Westminster Abbey]].<ref>[[Arthur Penrhyn Stanley|Stanley, A.P.]], ''Historical Memorials of Westminster Abbey'' ([[London]]; [[John Murray (publishing house)|John Murray]]; [[1882]]), p. 248.</ref>  He lived in [[Fulham]], London, and was buried in the churchyard of [[All Saints Church, Fulham|All Saints', Fulham]]. The vicar would not allow a funeral sermon to be preached in the church because Sharp had been involved with the [[British and Foreign Bible Society]], which was [[Nonconformist (Protestantism)|Nonconformist]].<ref name=Sheppard/>