Nicholas Toms Carrington (also Noel Thomas) (1777–1830) was an English schoolmaster and poet.

Life

The son of a retail grocer at Plymouth, Carrington was born there. Shortly his parents moved to Plymouth Dock, and for some time he was employed as a clerk in the Plymouth dockyard. Then he became a seaman on board a man-of-war, and was present at the

Battle of Cape St Vincent (1797) The Battle of Cape St. Vincent was a fleet action fought on 14 February 1797 between the British and Spanish navies off Cape St. Vincent as part of the War of the First Coalition. In one of the opening battles of the recently declared war be ...

. After his term of service Carrington settled at

Maidstone Maidstone is the largest Town status in the United Kingdom, town in Kent, England, of which it is the county town. Maidstone is historically important and lies east-south-east of London. The River Medway runs through the centre of the town, l ...

, Kent, where for five years he taught a public school. In 1809, with support from friends, he established a private academy at Plymouth Dock, which he then ran until six months before his death, 2 September 1830.

Works

At an early period of his life Carrington, who was a member of The Plymouth Institution (now

The Plymouth Athenaeum Plymouth Athenaeum, located in Plymouth, England, is a society dedicated to the promotion of learning in the fields of science, technology, literature and art. The Athenaeum building, located at Derry's Cross in Plymouth City Centre, includes a ...

), began to contribute verse to London and provincial papers. His poems are mainly descriptive of the scenery and traditions of

Devon Devon ( ; historically also known as Devonshire , ) is a ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by the Bristol Channel to the north, Somerset and Dorset to the east, the English Channel to the south, and Cornwall to the west ...

. In 1820 he published ''The Banks of the Tamar'', and in 1826 ''Dartmoor''. His collected poems, with a memoir, appeared in two volumes in 1831.

Family

The journalist Frederick George Carrington was his third son.

Notes

Attribution {{DEFAULTSORT:Carrington, Noel Toms 1777 births 1830 deaths Schoolteachers from Devon People from Plymouth, Devon English male poets