Bevil Higgons (1670–1735) was an English historian and poet.

Life

Higgons was born at

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, the third son of Sir Thomas Higgons, by his second wife, Bridget, who was herself the daughter of

Sir Bevil Grenville Sir Bevil Grenville (23 March 1596 – 5 July 1643) was an English landowner and soldier who sat as a Member of Parliament for various constituencies between 1620 and 1642, although during those years there were few parliamentary sessions. ...

, and widow of Sir Simon Leach of Cadleigh, Devon. In Lent term 1686, when aged 16, Higgons matriculated as a commoner at

St John's College, Oxford St John's College is a Colleges of the University of Oxford, constituent college of the University of Oxford. Founded as a men's college in 1555, it has been coeducational since 1979.Communication from Michael Riordan, college archivist Its foun ...

, but shortly migrated to

Trinity Hall, Cambridge Trinity Hall (formally The College or Hall of the Holy Trinity in the University of Cambridge, colloquially "Tit Hall" ) is a Colleges of the University of Cambridge, constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Founded in 1350, it is th ...

. On leaving university Higgons entered the

Middle Temple The Honourable Society of the Middle Temple, commonly known simply as Middle Temple, is one of the four Inns of Court entitled to Call to the bar, call their members to the English Bar as barristers, the others being the Inner Temple (with whi ...

. His family were

Jacobites A Jacobite is a follower of someone named Jacob or James, from the Latin ''Jācōbus''. Jacobite or Jacobitism may refer to: Religion * Arminianism, the theology of Jacobus Arminius * Jacobites, followers of Saint Jacob Baradaeus (died 578). Ch ...

, and his uncle Denis Grenville had accompanied James II to France. Higgons spent some years in exile along with his brother

Thomas Higgons Sir Thomas Higgons (c 1624 – 24 November 1691) was an English diplomat and politician who sat in the House of Commons at various times between 1659 and 1687. Life Higgons was the son of Rev. Thomas Higgons, DD, rector of Westbury, Shropshire, ...

. After he was allowed to return to England, he and his two brothers were suspected in 1695 of knowledge of the

conspiracy A conspiracy, also known as a plot, ploy, or scheme, is a secret plan or agreement between people (called conspirers or conspirators) for an unlawful or harmful purpose, such as murder, treason, or corruption, especially with a political motivat ...

against the life of William III; Bevil was said to have dissuaded his brother Thomas from joining it. A proclamation for the arrest of George Higgons and his two brothers was issued by William on 23 February 1696. Their detention did not last long. The rest of Higgons's life was spent as a writer. He died on 1 March 1735. He was buried in Old St. Pancras Churchyard on 6 March 1735.The Environs of London: Pancras 1795 The grave is lost and his name is not listed on the

Burdett-Coutts Memorial The Burdett-Coutts Memorial Sundial is a structure built in the churchyard of Old St Pancras, London, in 1877–79, at the behest of Baroness Burdett-Coutts. The former churchyard included the burial ground for St Giles-in-the-Fields, where m ...

to important graves lost therein.

Works

The main works of Higgons were historical, the major one being ''A Short View of the English History; with Reflections on the Reigns of the Kings, their Characters and Manners, their Succession to the Throne; and all other remarkable incidents, to the Revolution, 1688'' (1723). Another edition was issued at the Hague in 1727, an edition with additions appeared in London in 1734, and a third edition in 1748, each of the last two having a dedication to the Duchess of Buckingham and Normanby. A translation into French was also published at the Hague in 1729. A related ''Historical and Critical Remarks on Bishop Burnet's History of his own Time'' was published by Higgons in 1725, and reached a second edition in 1727. Both were reissued in 1736, as his ''Historical Works''. ''History of the Life and Reign of Mary Queen of Scots and Dowager of France'' (Dublin, 1753) claimed to be by Higgons. Higgons wrote verses for the 1688 Cambridge University collection ''Illustrissimi principis ducis Cornubiæ genethliacon'', addressed to

Mary of Modena Mary of Modena (; ) was List of English royal consorts, Queen of England, List of Scottish royal consorts, Scotland and Ireland as the second wife of James VII and II. A devout Catholic, Roman Catholic, Mary married the widower James, who was t ...

, on the birth of her son

James Francis Edward Stuart James Francis Edward Stuart (10 June 16881 January 1766), nicknamed the Old Pretender by Whigs (British political party), Whigs or the King over the Water by Jacobitism, Jacobites, was the House of Stuart claimant to the thrones of Ki ...

. In ''Examen Poeticum, being the Third Part of Dryden's Miscellany'', 1693, were poems by Higgons, and he prefixed lines to

William Congreve William Congreve (24 January 1670 – 19 January 1729) was an English playwright, satirist, poet, and Whig politician. He spent most of his career between London and Dublin, and was noted for his highly polished style of writing, being regard ...

's ''Old Bachelor''. He wrote a Jacobite tragedy '' The Generous Conqueror, or the Timely Discovery'' (1702) which opened well but was found partisan, according to

Charles Gildon Charles Gildon (c. 1665 – 1 January 1724), was an English hack writer and translator. He produced biographies, essays, plays, poetry, fictional letters, fables, short stories, and criticism. He is remembered best as a target of Alexander Pope ...

. The prologue was by his relation George Granville, Lord Lansdowne and Higgons in turn composed the epilogue for Granville's ''Heroick Love'', and the prologue for his ''Jew of Venice'' He is said to have contributed to a collection by

Elijah Fenton Elijah Fenton (20 May 1683 – 16 July 1730) was an English poet, biographer and translator. Life Born in Shelton (now Stoke-on-Trent), and educated at Jesus College, Cambridge, for a time he acted as secretary to the Charles Boyle, 4th Earl of ...

of ''Poems on Several Occasions'' (1717), and his panegyric in verse of the ''Glorious Peace of Utrecht'' came out in 1731. Most of his pieces were reprinted in the collection of John Nichols.

Notes

;Attribution {{DEFAULTSORT:Higgons, Bevil 1670 births 1735 deaths English Jacobites 18th-century English historians English male poets Alumni of Trinity Hall, Cambridge