John Duncombe (29 September 1729 – 19 January 1786) was an
English clergyman and writer.
He studied at
Corpus Christi College, Cambridge
Corpus Christi College (full name: "The College of Corpus Christi and the Blessed Virgin Mary", often shortened to "Corpus") is a Colleges of the University of Cambridge, constituent college of the University of Cambridge. From the late 14th c ...
, where he became a fellow. He contributed to the ''
Gentleman's Magazine
''The Gentleman's Magazine'' was a monthly magazine founded in London, England, by Edward Cave in January 1731. It ran uninterrupted for almost 200 years, until 1907, ceasing publication altogether in 1922. It was the first to use the term '' ...
'' under the pseudonym Crito, was a well-known poet, and wrote in 1754 a celebration of British women poets, ''
The Feminead''. He was married to the poet
Susanna Duncombe (née Highmore).
Life
Duncombe was born in London on 29 September 1729, the only child of the author and playwright
William Duncombe and his wife Elizabeth Hughes. He was educated at two schools in
Essex
Essex ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the East of England, and one of the home counties. It is bordered by Cambridgeshire and Suffolk to the north, the North Sea to the east, Kent across the Thames Estuary to the ...
, before entering, on 1 July 1745,
Corpus Christi College, Cambridge
Corpus Christi College (full name: "The College of Corpus Christi and the Blessed Virgin Mary", often shortened to "Corpus") is a Colleges of the University of Cambridge, constituent college of the University of Cambridge. From the late 14th c ...
, where he proceeded B.A. in 1748 and M.A. in 1752. He was later elected a fellow of his college, and in 1753 was ordained at
Kew Chapel by
John Thomas, the
bishop of Peterborough
The Bishop of Peterborough is the ordinary of the Church of England Diocese of Peterborough in the Province of Canterbury.
The diocese covers the counties of Northamptonshire (including the Soke of Peterborough) and Rutland. The see is in ...
. On the recommendation of Archbishop
Thomas Herring
Thomas Herring (baptised 10 October 169323 March 1757) was Archbishop of Canterbury from 1747 to 1757.
Early life and education
He was the son of John Herring, rector of Walsoken in Norfolk, who had previously been vicar of Foxton, near Camb ...
, he was appointed to the curacy of
Sundridge in
Kent
Kent is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Essex across the Thames Estuary to the north, the Strait of Dover to the south-east, East Sussex to the south-west, Surrey to the west, and Gr ...
.
Duncombe subsequently became assistant-preacher at
St Anne's Church, Soho
St Anne's Church serves in the Church of England the Soho section of London. It was consecrated on 21 March 1686 by Bishop Henry Compton as the parish church of the new civil and ecclesiastical parish of St Anne Within the Liberty of Westminst ...
. He was in succession chaplain to
Samuel Squire
Samuel Squire (1714 – 7 May 1766) was a Bishop of the Church of England and a historian.
Early life
Squire was the son of a druggist in Warminster, Wiltshire, and was first educated at Lord Weymouth's Grammar School. He matriculated at S ...
,
bishop of St David's
The Bishop of St Davids is the ordinary of the Church in Wales Diocese of St Davids.
The succession of bishops stretches back to Saint David who in the 6th century established his seat in what is today the city of St Davids in ...
, and to
John Boyle, 5th Earl of Cork
John Boyle, 5th Earl of Cork and 5th Earl of Orrery, FRS (13 January 1707 – 16 November 1762) was an Anglo-Irish writer and a friend of Jonathan Swift, Alexander Pope and Samuel Johnson.
Boyle was the only son of Charles Boyle, 4th Earl of Orr ...
. In 1757 Archbishop Herring, a friend, presented him to the united livings of St Andrew and St Mary Bredan, in
Canterbury
Canterbury (, ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and UNESCO World Heritage Site, in the county of Kent, England; it was a county borough until 1974. It lies on the River Stour, Kent, River Stour. The city has a mild oceanic climat ...
. He was later made one of the
Six Preachers in the cathedral; and in 1773 obtained from Archbishop
Frederick Cornwallis
Frederick Cornwallis (5 March 1713 – 19 March 1783) was a British clergy member who served as Archbishop of Canterbury after a career in the Church of England. He was born the seventh son of an aristocratic family.
Early life and education
C ...
the living of
Herne, near Canterbury. The archbishop also appointed him master of
St John's Hospital, Canterbury, and gave him a chaplaincy, which enabled him to hold his two livings.
[
Duncombe died at Canterbury on 19 January 1786 and was buried there.][
]
Personal life
In 1761 Duncombe married Susanna Highmore, a childhood friend, and a poet and artist in her own right. She and an only daughter survived him.[
]
Works
Among Duncombe's many poems, the best known were:
* ''An Evening's Contemplation in a College'', a parody of Thomas Gray
Thomas Gray (26 December 1716 – 30 July 1771) was an English poet, letter-writer, and classics, classical scholar at Cambridge University, being a fellow first of Peterhouse then of Pembroke College, Cambridge, Pembroke College. He is widely ...
's '' Elegy in a Country Churchyard'' (1753)
* '' The Feminead'' (1754)
* ''Translations from Horace'' (1766–67).[
He wrote numerous occasional pieces, such as ''On a Lady sending the Author a Ribbon for his Watch''.][For a full list see ''Gentleman's Magazine'', June 1786, pp. 451–2, and '']Biographia Britannica
''Biographia Britannica'' was a multi-volume biographical compendium, "the most ambitious attempt in the latter half of the eighteenth century to document the lives of notable British men and women". The first edition, edited by William Oldys
...
'' ed. Andrew Kippis
Andrew Kippis (28 March 17258 October 1795) was an English nonconformist clergyman and biographer.
Life
The son of Robert Kippis, a silk-hosier, he was born at Nottingham. Having gone to Carre's Grammar School in Sleaford, Lincolnshire he pas ...
, iv. 511.
As an antiquarian, he wrote:
* ''Historical Description of Canterbury Cathedral'', 1772
* A translation and abridgment of John Battely's ''Antiquities of Richborough and Reculver'' 1774
* ''History and Antiquities of Reculver and Herne'', and of the ''Three Archiepiscopal Hospitals at and near Canterbury'', contributed to John Nichols's ''Bibliotheca Topographica Britannica'', vols 1 and 4 (1780).[
He edited:
* ''Letters from Italy'' of ]John Boyle, 5th Earl of Cork
John Boyle, 5th Earl of Cork and 5th Earl of Orrery, FRS (13 January 1707 – 16 November 1762) was an Anglo-Irish writer and a friend of Jonathan Swift, Alexander Pope and Samuel Johnson.
Boyle was the only son of Charles Boyle, 4th Earl of Orr ...
, 1773–74
* ''Letters by several Eminent Persons deceased, including the Correspondence of J. Hughes, Esq.'', 1773
* ''Letters from the late Archbishop Herring to William Duncombe, Esq., deceased'', 1777
* ''Select Works of the Emperor Julian'', 1784[
He also published several sermons.][
]
References
*
External links
John Duncombe
at th
Eighteenth-Century Poetry Archive (ECPA)
;Attribution
{{DEFAULTSORT:Duncombe, John
1729 births
1786 deaths
English biographers
18th-century English Anglican priests
Alumni of Corpus Christi College, Cambridge
Fellows of Corpus Christi College, Cambridge
English male poets
English male non-fiction writers
British male biographers
18th-century Anglican theologians