Life

He was born at Lambeth

Lambeth

Lambeth is a district of south London, England, and part of the London Borough of Lambeth. It is situated southeast of Charing Cross.-Toponymy:...

 on 1 July 1805, the son of Christopher Wordsworth

Christopher Wordsworth (Trinity)

Christopher Wordsworth , was an English divine and scholar.Born in Cockermouth, Cumberland, he was the youngest brother of the poet William Wordsworth, and was educated at Trinity College, Cambridge, where he became a fellow in 1798.Twelve years later he received the degree of DD...

 and nephew of William Wordsworth

William Wordsworth

William Wordsworth was a major English Romantic poet who, with Samuel Taylor Coleridge, helped to launch the Romantic Age in English literature with the 1798 joint publication Lyrical Ballads....

. He was educated at a school at Woodford, Essex, kept by Dr. Holt Okes (1816−20), and at Winchester College

Winchester College

Winchester College is an independent school for boys in the British public school tradition, situated in Winchester, Hampshire, the former capital of England. It has existed in its present location for over 600 years and claims the longest unbroken history of any school in England...

 (1820−4).

In October 1824 he entered Trinity College, Cambridge

Trinity College, Cambridge

Trinity College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Trinity has more members than any other college in Cambridge or Oxford, with around 700 undergraduates, 430 graduates, and over 170 Fellows...

. His university career was distinguished. In 1825 he obtained the Bell scholarship, in 1826 a scholarship at his own college, and was second for the Porson prize; in 1827 he obtained it. In 1828 he proceeded to the B.A. degree, but was disqualified for classical honours through distaste for mathematics. In 1830 he was elected fellow of his college.

He resided at Cambridge till 1833, occupying himself with literary pursuits. During this period he contributed to the first number of the ‘Philological Museum’ a review of James Scholefield

James Scholefield

James Scholefield , English classical scholar, was born at Henley-on-Thames.He was educated at Christ's Hospital and Trinity College, Cambridge, and was in 1825 appointed professor of Greek in the university...

's Æschylus. In 1833 he visited France, Switzerland, and Italy. At Florence he collated the Medicean manuscript of Æschylus, with a view to a new edition. Some use was made of his material by John Conington

John Conington

John Conington was an English classical scholar.He was born at Boston in Lincolnshire, and is said to have learned the alphabet at fourteen months, and to have been reading well at three and a half...

 in his edition of the Choephoroi. In 1834 he was appointed a classical lecturer in Trinity College, and undertook to edit Richard Bentley

Richard Bentley

Richard Bentley was an English classical scholar, critic, and theologian. He was Master of Trinity College, Cambridge....

's Correspondence (afterwards completed by his brother Christopher Wordsworth

Christopher Wordsworth

Christopher Wordsworth was an English bishop and man of letters.-Life:Wordsworth was born in London, the youngest son of the Rev. Dr. Christopher Wordsworth, Master of Trinity and a nephew of the poet William Wordsworth...

, bishop of Lincoln). He also made large collections for a classical dictionary. In 1837 he was ordained deacon, and priest shortly afterwards.

At about the same time his health began to fail; he resigned his lectureship, and looked for easier work. From this step he was dissuaded, and he remained at Cambridge till his death on 31 December 1839. He was buried in the antechapel of the college, where a monument to him was placed by subscription. The bust was executed by Henry Weekes

Henry Weekes

Henry Weekes, RA was an English sculptor, best known for his portraiture. He was among the most successful British sculptors of the mid-Victorian period....

, under Francis Leggatt Chantrey's supervision. Most of his collections came into the possession of his nephew John Wordsworth

John Wordsworth

The Right Reverend John Wordsworth was an English prelate. He was born at Harrow on the Hill, to the Reverend Christopher Wordsworth, nephew of the poet William Wordsworth...

, the bishop of Salisbury.