The Steele Circle
A network of several generations of nonconformist writers, primarily women, centred in the West Country of England (primarily at Exeter in Devonshire). Among its most well-known members were Anne Steele, a well-known hymn-writer after whom the circle is named, Mary Scott, Hannah Towgood Wakeford, and Mary Steele Wakeford. See Nonconformist Women Writers, 1720-1840, 8 vols., ed. Timothy Whelan, Pickering & Chatto, 2011.
- Regions: Exeter, Devon
- Devon
Anne Steele
- 1717
- 1778
| Coteries | Hannah More circle, and The Steele Circle |
|---|
Hymn writer and poet; daughter of Baptist minister William Steele, with whom she contributed to the Hannah More circle; also a member of the Towgood-Steele-Wakeford family network of nonconformist women writers.
Hannah Towgood Wakeford
- 1725
- 1746
| Coteries | The Steele Circle |
|---|
Nonconformist poet; Joseph Wakeford’s first wife; the primary author (under the pseudonym “Amynta”) of an anonymous manuscript verse miscellany of religious hymns and poems on friendship.
Joseph Wakeford, Jr.
- 1719
- 1785
| Coteries | The Steele Circle |
|---|
Nonconformist linen-draper and banker; married to Hannah Towgood Wakeford, whose writings he circulated posthumously and prepared for publication, with the assistance of his second wife, Mary Steele Wakeford.
Beinecke Osborn c153
| Title | Untitled |
|---|---|
| Period | 1731-1760 |
| Archive | Beinecke Rare Book & Manuscript Library |
Anonymous, ca. 1746.
37 items, 23 poems.
Largely the work of Hannah Wakeford ("Amynta"). Begins with seven letters from Amynta to Aurelia followed by religious hymns and poems, enigmas, and poems on friendship and solitude.
Reflects the work of the Towgood-Steele-Wakeford family.
| Period | Description | Manuscripts | Coteries |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1731-1760 | Some or all of the miscellany's compilation period falls within this timespan |
62 | 7 |