Adrian Woodruffe-Peacock
English clergyman and ecologist (1858-1922)
Edward Adrian Woodruffe-Peacock (23 July 1858 – 3 February 1922) was an English clergyman and ecologist.
He was an early exponent of the ecological approach to natural history recording.
Early life and education
Woodruffe-Peacock was born at Bottesford Manor in north Lincolnshire on 23 July 1858, the son of Edward Peacock (1831–1915), a farmer, antiquary and author, and Lucy Ann Wetherell (1823–1887). He had six siblings, one of whom was the folklorist Mabel Peacock.
He was educated at Edinburgh Academy from 1870 to 1873 and briefly at St Peter's School, York, before receiving private tuition back home in Lincolnshire. In April 1877 he entered St John's College, Cambridge, where he studied mathematics, classics, science and natural history. However, financial difficulties, poor health and his decision to enter the Anglican ministry led him to leave without taking a degree.
In 1879 he transferred to Bishop Hatfield's Hall at Durham University. At Durham, he indulged in extensive botanising, boating, and tennis; his social life being so time-consuming that there were complaints he treated the university as a private club.
He obtained his licentiate in theology in December 1880 and was ordained deacon in 1881 and then priest in 1883.
Begin with the source’s own compact description: “Adrian Woodruffe-Peacock” is english clergyman and ecologist (1858-1922). The dossier treats that line as a proposition to test through Adrian, Woodruffe-Peacock and English, not as a finished interpretation.
Why this record matters
The phrase “english clergyman and ecologist (1858-1922)” supplies a clear boundary for inquiry. It also exposes the unanswered questions: who defined that boundary, when it became stable and which sources sit outside it.
Vocabulary and entity names are the principal evidence signals here, because they determine the precision of every later search. The source revision retrieved here is dated Aug 29, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q18670638. VIAF identifies the subject as 1420159234593403372151. 1 of 2 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1858, 1922, 1831 and 1915.
The absence of detail may reflect summary conventions rather than a lack of surviving documentation. The source lead contains qualifying language; that uncertainty should survive quotation, summary and reuse. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
How to read it
Use the entry as an orientation point, then follow its citations and revision history. Names, dates and institutional relationships should be checked against the original record.
- Subject orientation
- Search vocabulary
- Locating named sources
The closest primary source, responsible institution and strongest cited specialist reference.
Three-step research path
- Establish the record: confirm the title “Adrian Woodruffe-Peacock”, its source revision and the description used here.
- Expand the search: follow Adrian Woodruffe-Peacock primary sources, Adrian Woodruffe-Peacock archive and Adrian research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
- Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.
Questions for further research
- Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Adrian Woodruffe-Peacock”?
- What terminology or title could unlock a more precise catalogue search?
- Which cited source is closest to the event, object or claim?
Search terms from this dossier
This entry incorporates text from “Adrian Woodruffe-Peacock” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.