# Sir John Gotch — The Wonderful Visit character guide

> Sir John Gotch in The Wonderful Visit by H. G. Wells.

**Role:** supporting

**Also known as:** Gotch, Sir John

**First appearance:** 0043-xlii-sir-john-gotch-acts

## Snapshot

A small, wrinkled magistrate in tight brown gaiters who rides with a whip and treats a cut barbed wire as the opening move of a Socialist insurrection.

## Who they are

Sir John arrives at the Vicarage already briefed by Lady Hammergallow, convinced the Angel has been preaching Socialism to every yokel in the parish and cutting his wire as a demonstration. He is not a monster, just a man who sees property, class, and pheasant eggs as one continuous order under threat. He matters because he converts village unease into an ultimatum: the Angel leaves the parish, or proceedings begin.

## Relationships

### [The Angel](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_wonderful_visit_se/characters/the_angel)

_rivalry_

Sir John Gotch is a practical, worldly landowner who dismisses the Angel as a nuisance and a threat to social order.

### [The Vicar](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_wonderful_visit_se/characters/the_vicar)

_rivalry_

Sir John Gotch and the Vicar clash over authority and the proper handling of the Angel, with Gotch favoring harsh measures.

### [Horrocks](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_wonderful_visit_se/characters/horrocks)

_professional_

Horrocks serves Sir John Gotch as a groundskeeper, and is caught between his master's orders and the Vicar's requests.

### [Horrocks](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_wonderful_visit_se/characters/horrocks)

_professional_

Horrocks serves Sir John Gotch as a groundskeeper, and is caught between his master's orders and the Vicar's requests.

### [The Angel](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_wonderful_visit_se/characters/the_angel)

_rivalry_

Sir John Gotch is a practical, worldly landowner who dismisses the Angel as a nuisance and a threat to social order.

### [The Vicar](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_wonderful_visit_se/characters/the_vicar)

_rivalry_

Sir John Gotch and the Vicar clash over authority and the proper handling of the Angel, with Gotch favoring harsh measures.

### [The Angel](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_wonderful_visit_se/characters/the_angel)

_rivalry_

Sir John Gotch is a practical, worldly landowner who dismisses the Angel as a nuisance and a threat to social order.

## In the story

### [XXX: Further Adventures of the Angel in the Village (Continued)](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_wonderful_visit_se/chapters/xxx-further-adventures-of-the-angel-in-the-village-continued)

Mentioned by the Tramp in a story about exploiting a kitchen-maid.

### [XXXVIII: The Trouble of the Barbed Wire](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_wonderful_visit_se/chapters/xxxviii-the-trouble-of-the-barbed-wire)

Mentioned as the furious landowner whose barbed wire was destroyed; he is determined to take out a summons against the perpetrator.

### [XXXIX: The Trouble of the Barbed Wire (Continued)](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_wonderful_visit_se/chapters/xxxix-the-trouble-of-the-barbed-wire-continued)

Mentioned as a disagreeable moral influence whom the Vicar must consult about the barbed wire trouble.

### [XLII: Sir John Gotch Acts](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_wonderful_visit_se/chapters/xlii-sir-john-gotch-acts)

Confronts the Vicar, demands the Angel leave the parish within a week due to wire-cutting and socialist preaching.

### [XLVIII: The Last Day of the Visit (Continued)](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_wonderful_visit_se/chapters/xlviii-the-last-day-of-the-visit-continued)

Confronts the Angel in the woods, is brutally beaten and left motionless on the ground.

### [XLIX: The Last Day of the Visit (Continued)](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_wonderful_visit_se/chapters/xlix-the-last-day-of-the-visit-continued)

Recovers from being struck by the Angel's whip, feels the weals on his face, and considers setting traps in his preserve.

### [L: The Last Day of the Visit (Continued)](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_wonderful_visit_se/chapters/l-the-last-day-of-the-visit-continued)

Believed dead by the Angel after their confrontation; his fate is uncertain at this point.

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_wonderful_visit_se/characters/sir_john_gotch
- Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_wonderful_visit_se
- All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_wonderful_visit_se/characters