William Ayrton

Letter to William Ayrton 17 May 1817 from Charles Lamb in the lapidary style:
My friend, the poet laureat (meaning R Southey)
Who is a great lawyer at
anything comical
Was the first who tried it
The letter concludes:
Hey! Mr Ayrton
With all your rare tone
I am
Charles Lamb

From The Oxford Dictionary of Music, © Oxford University Press 1994:

(in note on his father Edmund Ayrton): William (London, 1777 - London, 1858) was a mus. critic and a founder of the Philharmonic Soc. As dir. of It. opera at King's Th., London, was first to stage Don Giovanni in Britain (1817). Marriage Contract form (sent by Raymond Airton):
Vicar General's Office, 12th May 1803

"Which day appeared personally William Ayrton and made oath, that he is of the Parish of Saint Margaret Westminster in the County of Middlesex, a Bachelor aged twenty one years and upwards, and intendeth to intermarry with Marianne Arnold of the parish of Kensington in the same county, a spinster also aged twenty one years or upwards, and that he knoweth of no lawful Impediment, by Reason of any Pre-Contract, Consanguinity, Affinity, or any other lawful Cause whatsoever, to hinder the said intended Marriage, and prayed a Licence to solemnize the same in the Parish Church of Kensington aforesaid,

and further made Oath, that the usual Place of Abode of the said Marianne Arnold hath been in the said Parish of Kensington aforesaid for upwards of four Weeks last part.

(signed) William Ayrton

Sworn before me; ........................."

(Raymond adds: Possibly related to Samuel Arnold (composer), or Thomas Arnold, the famous headmaster of Rugby.)
END "The 1837.com website has just made available 1841 census transcriptions for the entire country. By entering AYRTON in the person search, it is not only possible to obtain the transcription but it is also possible to inspect the original document.
These show that a WILLIAM AYRTON born c1781 -musician and his wife Ellen c1791 school mistress were living within the cathedral precints of Chester. However I think that the term musician was not appropiate, as he was running a school with about 20
pupils, and I think that this may have been the Cathedral Choral College, but the census does not show this.It was a likely occupation considering the families ecclesiastical connections.The ref. is HO 107-Piece 130-Folio 3-Page 24
Also living within Chester Cathedral precinct was an ALFRED AYRTON born c1816 occupation -' Proctor', possibly son of above and brother to WSA; ref 107-129-2/4-2" From The Athenaeum, 18 July 1903, p81
The works of Charles and Mary Lamb, edited by E V Lucas in 9 vols: Vol I

"And the little dissertation on 'London Fogs' found by Mr Lucas in a MS volume lent to him by Mr Edward Ayrton, and now, apparently, printed for the first time. The volume which is bound unifomly with a copy of the works of 1818, and lettered 'The Works of Charles Lamb, vol: iii' was made by the grandfather of the present owner, William Ayrton, the well known musical critic and impressario, and Lamb on seeing it, observed that it was the highest compliment he had ever received as an author."