John Gregory

John Gregory (14 July 1831 – 20 May 1922) was a shoemaker, poet, peace activist and trade unionist, sometimes referred to as 'the poet-shoemaker of Bristol' or the 'poet cobbler'. He has been called "a pioneering figure in the development of an independent working-class movement in Bristol".

Life John Gregory was born in Bideford, Devon on 14 July 1831. who he married after courtship of five weeks. One of their sons was Sir Richard Gregory, 1st Baronet, science writer and editor of Nature. The couple lived to celebrate their diamond wedding anniversary in 1916. The Times described it as being "made up of graceful and sincere poetry", and curious for the fact that "Mr. Gregory is a shoemaker" and "about 75 years old". In 1911, in his 81st year, he published A Dream of Love in Eden. A local newspaper described Gregory as "a thinker and a philosopher", whose poetry had "a true ring... showing that he feels what he writes".