Nephew of Samuel Taylor Coleridge. He began his education under another uncle, George Coleridge, leading to a close friendship with John May, who was one of George Coleridge’s former pupils. After John Taylor Coleridge’s triumphant career at Oxford University, May paid for his tour of Europe in 1814 and loaned him £1,000 to set up as a barrister in 1819. His career took a long time to prosper and he undertook a great deal of journalism, including briefly editing the Quarterly Review in 1825–1826. John Taylor Coleridge finally became a judge in the Court of King’s Bench 1835–1858. Throughout his life he was a prolific writer, including a Life of Keble (1869), based on a life-long friendship with the leading High Churchmen of his day. Southey knew him well and they engaged in a substantial correspondence.