| G. Cosens Prior | |
|---|---|
 Prior in 1891 | |
| Born | 1856 (1856) Chichester, West Sussex, England |
| Died | 1937 (1938) (aged 81) Brentford, Middlesex, England |
| Occupations |
|
| Known for | Advocacy for temperance and vegetarianism |
| Criminal charges | Misappropriation of client funds |
| Criminal penalty | Five years' penal servitude |
| Spouse |
Clara Gertrude Wilkin
(m. 1880; died 1918) |
| Children | 9 |
George Cosens Prior (1856–1937) was an English solicitor, notary public, Unitarian minister, and activist. He led a prominent law firm in Portsmouth, managed key trusts, and maintained a large private practice. Prior was an advocate for temperance and vegetarianism. He served as president of the Portsmouth Gospel Temperance Union and Portsmouth Vegetarian Society. In 1904, following bankruptcy, Prior was convicted of misappropriating client funds and sentenced to five years' penal servitude.
Biography
Early life
Prior was born in Chichester in the final quarter of 1856. His parents were John Woods Prior, the founder of the family wool-stapling business in Chichester, and Amelia (née Underdown).
Career
Prior served as the head of one of the oldest law firms in Portsmouth, acted as a solicitor for several prominent trusts, and maintained an extensive private practice. He also worked as a notary public and served as a minister at the Portsmouth High-Street Unitarian Church. In 1904, Prior faced charges of misappropriating client funds during bankruptcy proceedings. He was sentenced to five years penal servitude.
Activism
Prior was an ardent worker in the temperance movement for a number of years. He served as president of the Portsmouth Gospel Temperance Union.
Prior became a vegetarian in 1889 on ethical grounds. He was a prominent figure in the Portsmouth Vegetarian Society, serving as president. He also delivered lectures on vegetarianism.
Personal life and death
Prior married Clara Gertrude Wilkin on 4 January 1880, at the parish church of Gaywood, King's Lynn. Clara, a devoted vegetarian, shared her lifestyle with her husband. Together, they raised a family of nine children, all adhering to a vegetarian diet. His wife died in 1918, at the age of 67.
Prior died in Brentford, Middlesex, at the age of 81 during the second quarter of 1937.
References
- "Births Dec 1855". FreeBMD. ONS. Retrieved 22 January 2025.
- The Chichester Papers. 1959. p. 34.
- ^ Forward, Charles Walter (1898). Fifty Years of Food Reform: A History of the Vegetarian Movement in England. London; Manchester: The Ideal Publishing Union; The Vegetarian Society.
- ^ "Marriages". The Hampshire Advertiser. 10 March 1880. p. 2. Retrieved 22 January 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Drew Clients' Money". Evening Dispatch. 9 November 1904. p. 4. Retrieved 22 January 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
- "Solicitor Sent to Penal Servitude". The Wells Journal. 1 December 1904. p. 6. Retrieved 22 January 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
- The Blue Ribbon Official Gazette and Gospel Temperance Herald. 1883. p. 275.
- Gregory, James Richard Thomas Elliott (2002). "Biographical Index of British Vegetarians and Food reformers of the Victorian Era". The Vegetarian Movement in Britain c.1840–1901: A Study of Its Development, Personnel and Wider Connections (PDF). Vol. 2. University of Southampton. p. 95.
- The Dietetic Reformer and Vegetarian Messenger. Vol. IX–Third series. London: F. Pitman. 1883. p. 100.
- "Deaths Mar 1918". FreeBMD. ONS. Retrieved 22 January 2025.
- "Deaths Jun 1937". FreeBMD. ONS. Retrieved 22 January 2025.
- 1856 births
- 1937 deaths
- 19th-century English clergy
- 19th-century English lawyers
- 20th-century English clergy
- 20th-century English lawyers
- British notaries
- English prisoners and detainees
- English solicitors
- English temperance activists
- English Unitarian ministers
- English vegetarianism activists
- People from Chichester
- People from Portsmouth
- Lawyers from Portsmouth