Robert Plumptre (1723–1788) was an English churchman and academic, who served as

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Film and television *'' Præsident ...

Queens' College, Cambridge Queens' College is a Colleges of the University of Cambridge, constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Queens' is one of the 16 "old colleges" of the university, and was founded in 1448 by Margaret of Anjou. Its buildings span the R ...

from 1760 until his death in 1788.

Life

He was the youngest of ten children of John Plumptre of

Nottinghamshire Nottinghamshire (; abbreviated ''Notts.'') is a ceremonial county in the East Midlands of England. The county is bordered by South Yorkshire to the north-west, Lincolnshire to the east, Leicestershire to the south, and Derbyshire to the west. Th ...

and the grandson of

Henry Plumptre Henry Plumptre (died 26 November 1746) was an English physician. Biography Plumptre was the second son of Henry Plumptre of Nottingham, by his second wife, Joyce (d. 1708), daughter of Henry Sacheverell of Barton, and widow of John Milward of Sn ...

. He was educated by Dr. Henry Newcome at

Newcome's School Newcome's School was a fashionable boys' school in Hackney, then to the east of London, founded in the early 18th century. A number of prominent Whig families sent their sons there. The school closed in 1815, and the buildings were gutted in 18 ...

in Hackney, and matriculated as a pensioner of Queens' College, Cambridge, on 11 July 1741. He proceeded to earn a B.A. (1744), M.A. (1748), and a D.D. (1761) from Queens. On 21 March 1745, Plumptre was elected fellow of his college. In 1752 he was instituted to the rectory of

Wimpole Wimpole is a small village and civil parishes in England, civil parish in South Cambridgeshire, England, about southwest of Cambridge. Until 1999, the main settlement on the A603 was officially known and signed as ''New Wimpole and Orwell, Camb ...

Cambridgeshire Cambridgeshire (abbreviated Cambs.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the East of England and East Anglia. It is bordered by Lincolnshire to the north, Norfolk to the north-east, Suffolk to the east, Essex and Hertfor ...

, on the presentation of

Philip Yorke, 1st Earl of Hardwicke Philip Yorke, 1st Earl of Hardwicke, (1 December 16906 March 1764) was an England, English lawyer and politician who served as Lord High Chancellor of Great Britain. He was a close confidant of the Duke of Newcastle, Prime Minister between 1 ...

; at the same time he held the vicarage of Whaddon. In 1756, Lord Hardwicke made him

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 ...

Norwich Cathedral Norwich Cathedral, formally the Cathedral Church of the Holy and Undivided Trinity, is a Church of England cathedral in the city of Norwich, Norfolk, England. The cathedral is the seat of the bishop of Norwich and the mother church of the dioc ...

. He was elected president of Queens' College in 1760, and in 1769 he was given the senior professorship, Professor of Casuistry. He held these offices, together with his preferments, till his death. He was vice-chancellor from 1760-1761 and from 1777-1778. Plumptre was interested in the history of his college, and he left some manuscript collections for historical records. He supported the movement inaugurated by John Jebb in favour of annual examinations. He was a member of the syndicate appointed on 17 February 1774 to devise a scheme for carrying them out, which was rejected on 19 April of the same year. He is also stated to have favoured granting relief to the clergy, who petitioned against subscription to the '' Thirty-nine Articles'' in 1772. He published a pamphlet called ''Hints Respecting some of the University Officers'' in 1782, of which a second edition appeared in 1802. His Latin poetry appears among the congratulatory verses published by the university in 1761 for the 1762 marriage of

George III George III (George William Frederick; 4 June 173829 January 1820) was King of Great Britain and King of Ireland, Ireland from 25 October 1760 until his death in 1820. The Acts of Union 1800 unified Kingdom of Great Britain, Great Britain and ...

, on the birth of a Prince of Wales, and in 1763 on the restoration of peace. Plumptre died at

Norwich Norwich () is a cathedral city and district of the county of Norfolk, England, of which it is the county town. It lies by the River Wensum, about north-east of London, north of Ipswich and east of Peterborough. The population of the Norwich ...

on 29 October 1788. There is a tablet in his memory on the south side of the presbytery.

Family

In September 1756, he married Anne, the second daughter of his former schoolmaster, Dr. Henry Newcome. He had ten children with her, including the author

Anne Plumptre Anne Plumptre (22 February 1760 – 20 October 1818) was an English writer and translator sometimes collaborating with her sister Annabella Plumptre. She translated several German works into English. Life Anne was born in Norwich. She was the ...

and dramatist

James Plumptre James Plumptre (1771–1832) was an English clergyman and dramatist. Life James Plumptre was born at Cambridge on 2 October 1771, the third son of Robert Plumptre, President of Queens' College, Cambridge, by his wife, Anne Newcome.''ODNB'' The ...

. His daughter

Annabella Annabella, Anabella, or Anabela is a feminine given name. Notable people with the name include: *Annabella of Scotland (c. 1433–1509), daughter of King James I *Annabella (actress) (1907–1996), stage name of French actress Suzanne Georgette C ...

(or Bell) wrote the book ''Domestic Management; or, the Healthful Cookery-book: to which is prefixed, a treatise on diet'' (London: B. & R. Crosby, 1810), published several novels, and translated A. W. Iffland's play ''Die Jäger'' and other German works from German to English. (''The Foresters''. London: Vernor & Hood, 1799)

Notes

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Plumptre, Robert 1723 births 1788 deaths Presidents of Queens' College, Cambridge 18th-century English Anglican priests People educated at Newcome's School Vice-chancellors of the University of Cambridge Fellows of Queens' College, Cambridge People from Nottinghamshire Knightbridge Professors of Philosophy