Robert Nares (9 June 1753,

York York is a cathedral city in North Yorkshire, England, with Roman Britain, Roman origins, sited at the confluence of the rivers River Ouse, Yorkshire, Ouse and River Foss, Foss. It has many historic buildings and other structures, such as a Yor ...

– 23 March 1829) was an English clergyman, philologist and author.

Life

He was born at York in 1753, the son of James Nares (1715–1783), organist of

York Minster York Minster, formally the Cathedral and Metropolitical Church of Saint Peter in York, is an Anglicanism, Anglican cathedral in the city of York, North Yorkshire, England. The minster is the seat of the archbishop of York, the second-highest of ...

and educated at

Westminster School Westminster School is a Public school (United Kingdom), public school in Westminster, London, England, in the precincts of Westminster Abbey. It descends from a charity school founded by Westminster Benedictines before the Norman Conquest, as do ...

and

Christ Church, Oxford Christ Church (, the temple or house, ''wikt:aedes, ædes'', of Christ, and thus sometimes known as "The House") is a Colleges of the University of Oxford, constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. Founded in 1546 by Henry V ...

. From 1779 to 1783 he lived with the family of Sir Watkin Williams-Wynn, 4th Baronet as tutor to his sons Watkin and Charles, staying in London and at Wynnstay,

Wrexham Wrexham ( ; ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, city in the North East Wales, north-east of Wales. It lies between the Cambrian Mountains, Welsh mountains and the lower River Dee, Wales, Dee Valley, near the England–Wales border, borde ...

. In June 1782 he became vicar of Easton Maudit,

Northamptonshire Northamptonshire ( ; abbreviated Northants.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the East Midlands of England. It is bordered by Leicestershire, Rutland and Lincolnshire to the north, Cambridgeshire to the east, Bedfordshi ...

and in 1785 vicar of

Great Doddington Great Doddington is a village and civil parish in Northamptonshire, England, close to Wellingborough and just off the A45. At the time of the 2001 census, the parish's population was 1,061 increasing to 1,123 at the 2011 census. The name ''D ...

, Northamptonshire. From 1786 to 1788 he was Usher at Westminster School, again as tutor to the Williams-Wynn boys who had been sent there. In 1787 he was appointed Chaplain to the

Duke of York Duke of York is a title of nobility in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. Since the 15th century, it has, when granted, usually been given to the second son of List of English monarchs, English (later List of British monarchs, British) monarchs ...

and in 1788 he was Assistant preacher at

Lincoln's Inn The Honourable Society of Lincoln's Inn, commonly known as Lincoln's Inn, is one of the four Inns of Court (professional associations for Barrister, barristers and judges) in London. To be called to the bar in order to practise as a barrister ...

. In 1795 he was appointed Assistant Librarian in the Department of Manuscript at the

British Museum The British Museum is a Museum, public museum dedicated to human history, art and culture located in the Bloomsbury area of London. Its permanent collection of eight million works is the largest in the world. It documents the story of human cu ...

, and four years later was promoted to Keeper of Manuscripts. He became vicar of Dalbury,

Derbyshire Derbyshire ( ) is a ceremonial county in the East Midlands of England. It borders Greater Manchester, West Yorkshire, and South Yorkshire to the north, Nottinghamshire to the east, Leicestershire to the south-east, Staffordshire to the south a ...

in 1796, rector of Sharnford, Canon Residentiary of Lichfield Cathedral and

Prebendary A prebendary is a member of the Catholic Church, Catholic or Anglicanism , Anglican clergy, a form of canon (priest) , canon with a role in the administration of a cathedral or collegiate church. When attending services, prebendaries sit in part ...

St Paul's Cathedral St Paul's Cathedral, formally the Cathedral Church of St Paul the Apostle, is an Anglican cathedral in London, England, the seat of the Bishop of London. The cathedral serves as the mother church of the Diocese of London in the Church of Engl ...

in 1798, Archdeacon of Stafford in 1801 and Vicar of St Mary's, Reading, from 1805 to 1818 and then of All Hallows,

London Wall The London Wall is a defensive wall first built by the Ancient Rome, Romans around the strategically important port town of Londinium in AD 200, as well as the name of a #modern, modern street in the City of London, England. Roman London was ...

until his death in 1829. He was elected a

Fellow of the Royal Society Fellowship of the Royal Society (FRS, ForMemRS and HonFRS) is an award granted by the Fellows of the Royal Society of London to individuals who have made a "substantial contribution to the improvement of natural science, natural knowledge, incl ...

in 1803. He was married three times but had no children.

Works

In 1784 he published his first philological work, ''The Elements of Orthoepy''. The work was highly commended by Boswell. There was a reissue of this book in 1792 with the revised title ''General Rules for the Pronunciation of the English Language''. In 1793 he was founding editor of the ''

British Critic The ''British Critic: A New Review'' was a quarterly publication, established in 1793 as a conservative and high-church review journal riding the tide of British reaction against the French Revolution. The headquarters was in London. The journa ...

'' with the assistance of his lifelong friend, Rev. William Beloe. In 1822 he published his principal work, ''Nares' Glossary'', which was described in 1859, by Halliwell and Wright, as indispensable to readers of Elizabethan Literature. In 1819, Nares published ''The Veracity of the Evangelists Demonstrated: by a Comparative View of their Histories''. His library was sold at auction by R. H. Evans in London on 25 November (and seven following days); a copy of the catalogue is held at Cambridge University Library (shelfmark Munby.c.137(4)).

References

* "Rev. Archdeacon Nares", ''

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 ''m ...

'' (April 1829) pp. 370–372 *

External links

Robert Nares
at Nares genealogy project {{DEFAULTSORT:Nares, Robert 1753 births 1829 deaths 18th-century English Anglican priests 19th-century English Anglican priests Archdeacons of Stafford Fellows of the Society of Antiquaries of London Fellows of the Royal Society Alumni of Christ Church, Oxford English librarians