science

John Frere

John Frere is a science topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand John Frere rather than just read about it. In short: John Frere (10 August 1740 – 12 July 1807) was an English antiquary and a pioneering discoverer of Old Stone Age or Lower Palaeolithic tools in association with large extinct animals at Hoxne, Suffolk in 1797. Life Frere was born in Roydon Hall, Norfolk, the son of Sheppard Frere and Susanna Hatley.

Key takeaways

John Frere belongs to science; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect John Frere to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of John Frere from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

Life

Frere was born in Roydon Hall, Norfolk, the son of Sheppard Frere and Susanna Hatley. Ellenor Fenn was his sister. In 1766, Frere received his MA from Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge, where he was Second Wrangler and was elected to a fellowship. He subsequently held several political offices and was appointed High Sheriff of Suffolk for 1776–77. He was elected a member of parliament for Norwich from 1799 to 1802.

Antiquary An interest in the past, instigated by observing worked stone tools in a clay mining pit, led him to become a Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries of London and the Royal Society and to conduct excavations at a site just south of Hoxne, 8 km east, and across the River Waveney, from his home in Roydon, near Diss. Frere wrote a letter to the Society of Antiquaries about flint tools and large bones of extinct animals found at a depth of approximately twelve feet (four meters) in a hole dug by local brickworkers. He described the worked stones as "...weapons of war, fabricated and used by a people who had not the use of metals... The situation in which these weapons were found may tempt us to refer them to a very remote period indeed, even beyond that of the present world...." In addition, Frere carefully described the stratigraphy of the find, with the tools lying below an apparent ancient sea floor, yet not in a position to which they could have been washed down. Although Frere's letter was officially read at the Society on 22 June 1797, and published by it in 1800, his interpretation was so radical by the standards of the day as to be overlooked for six decades, until noticed by John Evans. Frere's is considered one of the most important middle Pleistocene sites in Europe, because of what he observed in his letter: juxtaposition of artefacts, animal remains and stratigraphic evidence. Its significance is double: for paleoanthropology, showing Homo presence in Britain approximately 400,000 years ago, and, for geology, dating stages of the European Great Interglacial period (known in Britain as the Hoxnian).

Family Frere married Jane Hookham, daughter of John Hookham, on 12 June 1768. They had seven sons and two daughters:

John Hookham Frere (1769–1846), diplomat and poet Edward Frere (1770–1844), manager of Clydach Ironworks, father of Sir Henry Bartle Frere . Jane Frere (1773–1829), married Sir John Orde in 1793 George Frere (1774–1854) William Frere (1775–1836), lawyer, Master of Downing College, Cambridge Bartholomew Frere (1776–1851), diplomat Susanna Frere (1778–1839) James Hatley Frere (1779–1866), writer on biblical prophecy, ancestor of Mary Leakey Temple Frere (1781–1859), clergyman, Speaker's Chaplain and Canon of Westminster

Ancestry

Notes and references

Robert Beatson, A Chronological Register of Both Houses of Parliament (London: Longman, Hurst, Res & Orme, 1807) Stephen, Leslie, ed. (1889). "Frere, John (1740-1807)" . Dictionary of National Biography. Vol. 20. London: Smith, Elder & Co. Leigh Rayment's Historical List of MPs

External links Media related to John Frere at Wikimedia Commons Works by or about John Frere at Wikisource Information on Frere and his relatives Stone tools excavated by Frere

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with John Frere

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what John Frere claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In science, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to John Frere before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about John Frere ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of John Frere

In research: John Frere appears in science research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses John Frere in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: John Frere is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics 1740 births, 1807 deaths, Alumni of Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for John Frere outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study John Frere in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what John Frere means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain John Frere out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is John Frere in simple terms?

John Frere (10 August 1740 – 12 July 1807) was an English antiquary and a pioneering discoverer of Old Stone Age or Lower Palaeolithic tools in association with large extinct animals at Hoxne, Suffolk in 1797. Life Frere was born in Roydon Hall, Norfolk, the son of Sheppard Frere and Susanna Hatley.

Why does John Frere matter?

Because it connects several science ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study John Frere?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on John Frere.