Francis Peck (1692–1743) was an English priest of the Church of England and antiquary, best known for his ''Desiderata Curiosa'' (1732–1735).

Life

He was born in

Stamford, Lincolnshire Stamford is a town and civil parish in the South Kesteven District of Lincolnshire, England. The population at the 2011 census was 19,701 and estimated at 20,645 in 2019. The town has 17th- and 18th-century stone buildings, older timber-framed ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

, the son of Robert, merchant, and baptised 4 May 1692. He was educated at Stamford School and at Charterhouse School, before continuing on to St John's College, Cambridge. He was ordained as priest, 27 May 1716. After a curacy at

King's Cliffe King's Cliffe (variously spelt Kings Cliffe, King's Cliff, Kings Cliff, Kingscliffe) is a village and civil parish on Willow Brook, a tributary of the River Nene, about northeast of Corby in North Northamptonshire. The parish adjoins the count ...

, Northamptonshire, he served as Rector of

Goadby Marwood Goadby Marwood is a village and former civil parish, now in the parish of Eaton, in the Melton district, in the north of the English county of Leicestershire. It is about north of Melton Mowbray and a few miles from the Vale of Belvoir. In 19 ...

, Leicestershire, from 1723 until his death. He became a prebend of Lincoln in 1738. He wrote several books on history. In 1727 he published a history of Stamford called ''Academia Tertia Anglicana'' (Latin for 'the third English university' - a reference to the 14th-century Oxford schism in the town). He was elected to the Society of Antiquarians in 1732 and corresponded with many of the leading antiquaries and

historian A historian is a person who studies and writes about the past and is regarded as an authority on it. Historians are concerned with the continuous, methodical narrative and research of past events as relating to the human race; as well as the st ...

s of the age; including Thomas Hearne,

Browne Willis Browne Willis (16 September 1682 – 5 February 1760) was an antiquary, author, numismatist and politician who sat in the House of Commons from 1705 to 1708. Early life Willis was born at Blandford St Mary, Dorset, the eldest son of Thomas Will ...

Roger Roger is a given name, usually masculine, and a surname. The given name is derived from the Old French personal names ' and '. These names are of Germanic origin, derived from the elements ', ''χrōþi'' ("fame", "renown", "honour") and ', ' ( ...

and

Samuel Gale Samuel Gale (17 December 1682 – 10 January 1754) was an English antiquary, and a founder of the Society of Antiquaries of London. Early life Samiel Gale was born in the parish of St Faith's, London, on 17 December 1682, the youngest son of Th ...

, and William Stukeley.

''Desiderata Curiosa''

His major publication is the ''Desiderata Curiosa'', a two-volume

miscellany A miscellany is a collection of various pieces of writing by different authors. Meaning a mixture, medley, or assortment, a miscellany can include pieces on many subjects and in a variety of different forms. In contrast to anthologies, whose a ...

(published 1732–1735). There is an

engraved Engraving is the practice of incising a design onto a hard, usually flat surface by cutting grooves into it with a burin. The result may be a decorated object in itself, as when silver, gold, steel, or glass are engraved, or may provide an in ...

frontispiece portrait of Peck (by R. Collins, from life) in volume I, and nine other plates, as well as integral engravings in the text; Stukeley presented the plate of Henry Wykys, vicar of

All Saints' Church, Stamford All Saints' Church, Stamford is a parish church in the Church of England, situated in Stamford, Lincolnshire, England. It is a Grade I listed building. The church is on the north side of Red Lion Square which was part of the route of the A1 unt ...

. The work contains a major biography of Sir William Cecil, Lord Burghley,

Queen Elizabeth I Elizabeth I (7 September 153324 March 1603) was Queen of England and Ireland from 17 November 1558 until her death in 1603. Elizabeth was the last of the five House of Tudor monarchs and is sometimes referred to as the "Virgin Queen". El ...

Lord High Treasurer The post of Lord High Treasurer or Lord Treasurer was an English government position and has been a British government position since the Acts of Union of 1707. A holder of the post would be the third-highest-ranked Great Officer of State in ...

and chief advisor for much of her reign. Peck, Francis, ''Desiderata Curiosa''. ''"Volume the First. Containing, I. The complete Statesman, exemplified in the Life and Action of Sir William Cecil, Lord Burghley, Lord High Treasurer of England in Queen Elizabeth’s Time; largely setting forth both his public and private Conduct. With many Notes from his own MS. Diary, and other Authors ogether with 29 other tracts named on the title-pages andmany other Memoirs, Letters, Wills, and Epitaphs; amounting in all to above 150 curious Articles; all now published from original MSS. communicated by eminent Persons … Adorned with Cuts. London: Printed 1732"'' ''Volume the Second'', printed 1735, contains a further 150 "curious Articles". Some copies of the first edition have a cancel

title page The title page of a book, thesis or other written work is the page at or near the front which displays its title, subtitle, author, publisher, and edition, often artistically decorated. (A half title, by contrast, displays only the title of a w ...

for Volume I (as called for in the "Directions to the Binder" in Volume II). The cancelland is sometimes retained as the "general title-page".

References

External links

*
Description of First edition of ''Desiderata Curiosa''
(from Bibliopoly - Rare and Antiquarian Books (accessed 4 October 2005)) {{DEFAULTSORT:Peck, Francis 1692 births 1743 deaths 18th-century antiquarians People educated at Charterhouse School English antiquarians Fellows of the Society of Antiquaries of London People educated at Stamford School People from Stamford, Lincolnshire Alumni of St John's College, Cambridge