William Carus Wilson

William Carus Wilson (7 July 1791 – 30 December 1859) was an English churchman and the founder and editor of the long-lived monthly The Children's Friend.

He was the inspiration for Mr Brocklehurst, the autocratic head of Lowood School, depicted by Charlotte Brontë in her 1847 novel Jane Eyre.

[1] While he was a child his father (also called William) inherited an estate at Casterton, near Kirkby Lonsdale in Westmorland and took on the surname Wilson (which was a condition of the bequest).

Brocklehurst is presented as a hypocrite: He attests to his morality and charity and that all men, and especially young girls should be brought up in a way that teaches them humility and respect for their betters and he uses God and the Bible to make his points.

(Suzanne Hesse)[8]In the year of Jane Eyre's publication Carus Wilson reportedly took legal advice with a view to suing for defamation, but desisted on receiving a letter of explanation and apology from the author.

[9] However, the novel was published as the work of the pseudonymous Currer Bell, and it is not clear how many of the first readers of the book would have been in a position to make the connection between Lowood and Carus Wilson's foundation.

Williams, Charlotte describes overhearing an elderly clergyman talk about reading Jane Eyre and saying "Why, they have got Cowan Bridge School, and Mr. Wilson here, I declare!

[13] Carus Wilson addressed the high mortality rate and perceived sinfulness of his youthful readers, often describing the deaths of pious children as examples to emulate.

He even published on the subject of architecture:[16] given that he included elevations it has been suggested that he had some specialist help from George Webster, the presumed architect of the church at Casterton.

[2] An article about Carus Wilson that appeared some years after his death in The Children's Friend celebrated his efforts in later life to address drunkenness among British soldiers through personal visits to barracks and the distribution of tracts by mail.

[19] In this church there is a marble monument to his memory, with the inscription: "Erected by the Non-commissioned Officers and Privates of the British Army in token of their love and gratitude.