Robert Lambe (1711–1795) was an English Anglican priest and writer.

Life

Lambe was born in

Durham Durham most commonly refers to: *Durham, England, a cathedral city in north east England **County Durham, a ceremonial county which includes Durham *Durham, North Carolina, a city in North Carolina, United States Durham may also refer to: Places ...

, the son of John Lambe, a

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. After attending

Durham School Durham School is a Private schools in the United Kingdom, fee-charging boarding and day school in the English Public school (UK), public school tradition located in Durham, England, Durham, North East England. Since 2021 it has been part of th ...

, he was admitted a

sizar At Trinity College Dublin and the University of Cambridge, a sizar is an Undergraduate education, undergraduate who receives some form of assistance such as meals, lower fees or lodging during his or her period of study, in some cases in retur ...

St John's College, Cambridge St John's College, formally the College of St John the Evangelist in the University of Cambridge, is a Colleges of the University of Cambridge, constituent college of the University of Cambridge, founded by the House of Tudor, Tudor matriarch L ...

in April 1728, and graduated B. A. in 1734. Taking holy orders, he was successively a minor canon of

Durham Cathedral Durham Cathedral, formally the , is a Church of England cathedral in the city of Durham, England. The cathedral is the seat of the bishop of Durham and is the Mother Church#Cathedral, mother church of the diocese of Durham. It also contains the ...

, perpetual curate of

South Shields South Shields () is a coastal town in South Tyneside, Tyne and Wear, England; it is on the south bank of the mouth of the River Tyne. The town was once known in Roman Britain, Roman times as ''Arbeia'' and as ''Caer Urfa'' by the Early Middle Ag ...

, and from 1747 vicar of

Norham Norham ( ) is a village and civil parish in Northumberland, England, south-west of Berwick on the south side of the River Tweed where it is the border with Scotland. History Its ancient name was Ubbanford. Ecgred of Lindisfarne (d.845) replac ...

in Northumberland, where he remained for the rest of his life. He was of eccentric disposition; James Raine gave the following account of his courtship. Suddenly determining to marry Philadelphia Nelson, the daughter of a Durham carrier, whom he had seen only once, and that many years before, he sent a proposal to her by letter, inviting her to meet him on Berwick pier, and bidding her carry a tea-caddy under her arm for purposes of identification. On the appointed day, owing to his habitual absent-mindedness, he failed to meet her, but the marriage took place on 11 April 1755. He died in Edinburgh in 1795, and was buried in

Eyemouth Eyemouth is a town and civil parishes in Scotland, civil parish in Berwickshire, in the Scottish Borders area of Scotland. It is east of the main north–south A1 road (Great Britain), A1 road and north of Berwick-upon-Tweed. The town's name ...

churchyard. His wife had died in 1772. A daughter, Philadelphia, married Alexander Robertson of Prenderguest in Berwickshire; two sons died young.

Works

Lambe wrote ''The History of Chess'' (1764; another edition, 1765). His chief work, however, was ''An Exact and Circumstantial History of the Battle of Flodden, in verse, written about the time of Queen Elizabeth'' (1774, 1809). This is said to be published from a manuscript in the possession of John Askew of Pallingsburn, Northumberland; the notes, especially those on etymology, are numerous and very curious. Lambe was also the author of the ballad "

The Laidly Worm of Spindleston Heugh ''The Laidly Worm of Spindleston Heugh'', also known as ''The Laidly Worm of Bamborough'', is a Northumbrian ballad about a princess who is changed into a dragon (the "laidly worm" of the title). Synopsis In the Northumbria, Kingdom of Northumb ...

", which

William Hutchinson William, Willie, Willy, Billy or Bill Hutchinson may refer to: Politics and law * Asa Hutchinson (born 1950), full name William Asa Hutchinson, 46th governor of Arkansas * William Hutchinson (Rhode Island judge) (1586–1641), merchant, judge, ...

thought ancient, and inserted in his history of Northumberland. Thomas Percy, in the preface to his ''

Reliques of Ancient English Poetry The ''Reliques of Ancient English Poetry'' (sometimes known as ''Reliques of Ancient Poetry'' or simply Percy's ''Reliques'') is a collection of ballads and popular songs collected by Bishop Thomas Percy and published in 1765. Sources The basis ...

'', mentions Lambe as one who had been of service to him.

References

Attribution * {{DEFAULTSORT:Lambe, Robert 1711 births 1795 deaths Writers from Durham, England 18th-century English Anglican priests 18th-century English writers Alumni of St John's College, Cambridge