John Duncombe (writer)
John Duncombe (29 September 1729 – 19 January 1786) was an English clergyman and writer.
He studied at
Life
Duncombe was born in London on 29 September 1729, the only child of the author and playwright William Duncombe and his wife Elizabeth née Hughes. He was educated at two schools in Essex, before entering, on 1 July 1745, Corpus Christi College, Cambridge, 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. On the recommendation of Archbishop Thomas Herring, he was appointed to the curacy of Sundridge in Kent.[2]
Duncombe subsequently became assistant-preacher at
Duncombe died at Canterbury on 19 January 1786 and was buried there.[2]
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.[2]
Works
Among Duncombe's many poems, the best known were:
- An Evening's Contemplation in a College, a parody of Thomas Gray's Elegy in a Country Churchyard (1753)
- The Feminead (1754)
- Translations from Horace (1766–67).[2]
He wrote numerous occasional pieces, such as On a Lady sending the Author a Ribbon for his Watch.[2][3]
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).[2]
He edited:
- Letters from Italy of John Boyle, 5th Earl of Cork, 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[2]
He also published several sermons.[2]
References
- ^ "Duncombe, John (DNCM745J)". A Cambridge Alumni Database. University of Cambridge.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i Dictionary of National Biography. London: Smith, Elder & Co. 1885–1900. .
- ^ For a full list see Gentleman's Magazine, June 1786, pp. 451–2, and Biographia Britannica ed. Andrew Kippis, iv. 511.
- Cardwell, M. John (2008) [2004]. "Duncombe, John [pseud. Crito] (1729–1786)". doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/8237. (Subscription or UK public library membershiprequired.)
External links
- Attribution
This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: "Duncombe, John". Dictionary of National Biography. London: Smith, Elder & Co. 1885–1900.