Life

He was son of the Rev. Thomas Echard or Eachard of Barsham

Barsham

Barsham may refer to:*Barsham in Norfolk, England*Barsham in Suffolk, England...

, Suffolk

Suffolk

Suffolk is a non-metropolitan county of historic origin in East Anglia, England. It has borders with Norfolk to the north, Cambridgeshire to the west and Essex to the south. The North Sea lies to the east...

, by his wife, the daughter of Samuel and Dorothy Groome, and was born at Barsham. On 26 May 1687, at the age of seventeen, he was admitted a sizar

Sizar

At Trinity College, Dublin and the University of Cambridge, a sizar is a student who receives some form of assistance such as meals, lower fees or lodging during his or her period of study, in some cases in return for doing a defined job....

 of Christ's College, Cambridge

Christ's College, Cambridge

Christ's College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge.With a reputation for high academic standards, Christ's College averaged top place in the Tompkins Table from 1980-2000 . In 2011, Christ's was placed sixth.-College history:...

, where he graduated B.A. in 1692 and M.A. in 1695. Echard, having been ordained by John Moore

John Moore (Bishop of Ely)

John Moore was an English cleric, scholar, and book collector. He was bishop of Norwich and bishop of Ely ....

, bishop of Norwich

Bishop of Norwich

The Bishop of Norwich is the Ordinary of the Church of England Diocese of Norwich in the Province of Canterbury.The diocese covers most of the County of Norfolk and part of Suffolk. The see is in the City of Norwich where the seat is located at the Cathedral Church of the Holy and Undivided...

, was presented to the livings of Welton

Welton, Lincolnshire

Welton is a village and civil parish seven miles north of the city of Lincoln in the county of Lincolnshire, England, and the district of West Lindsey...

 and Elkington, Lincolnshire

Elkington, Lincolnshire

Elkington is a civil parish in the district of East Lindsey in the county of Lincolnshire, England.It comprises the village of South Elkington, and the hamlets of North Elkington, Boswell,and Thorpe...

, and was appointed chaplain to the Bishop of Lincoln

Bishop of Lincoln

The Bishop of Lincoln is the Ordinary of the Church of England Diocese of Lincoln in the Province of Canterbury.The present diocese covers the county of Lincolnshire and the unitary authority areas of North Lincolnshire and North East Lincolnshire. The Bishop's seat is located in the Cathedral...

.

For more than twenty years Echard resided in Lincolnshire, chiefly at Louth

Louth, Lincolnshire

Louth is a market town and civil parish within the East Lindsey district of Lincolnshire, England.-Geography:Known as the "capital of the Lincolnshire Wolds", it is situated where the ancient trackway Barton Street crosses the River Lud, and has a total resident population of 15,930.The Greenwich...

, and wrote a number of works. On 24 April 1697 he was installed prebendary of Louth in the cathedral of Lincoln, and on 12 August 1712 archdeacon of Stow. In or about 1722 Echard was presented by George I to the livings of Rendlesham and Sudborne in Suffolk. There he lived in bad health for nearly eight years. He died at Lincoln, while on his way to Scarborough for the benefit of the waters, on 16 August 1730, and was buried in the chancel of St. Mary Magdalen's Church on the 29th of the same month.

Works

He translated Terence

Terence

Publius Terentius Afer , better known in English as Terence, was a playwright of the Roman Republic, of North African descent. His comedies were performed for the first time around 170–160 BC. Terentius Lucanus, a Roman senator, brought Terence to Rome as a slave, educated him and later on,...

, part of Plautus

Plautus

Titus Maccius Plautus , commonly known as "Plautus", was a Roman playwright of the Old Latin period. His comedies are the earliest surviving intact works in Latin literature. He wrote Palliata comoedia, the genre devised by the innovator of Latin literature, Livius Andronicus...

, D'Orleans' History of the Revolutions in England, and made numerous compilations on history, geography, and the classics. His chief work, however, is his The history of England: from the first entrance of Julius Caesar and the Romans to the end of the reign of King James the first containing the space of 1678 years. (1707–1720). It covers the period from the Roman occupation to
his own times, and continued to be the standard work on the subject until
it was superseded by translations of Rapin de Thoyras's French Histoire d'Angleterre ("History of England").

Family

Echard married twice, first Jane, daughter of the Rev. Potter of Yorkshire, and secondly Justin, daughter of Robert Wooley of Well, Lincolnshire

Well, Lincolnshire

Well is a small estate village and civil parish about south of the town of Alford, in the East Lindsey district of Lincolnshire, England. It is situated on the foot of the east entry to the Lincolnshire Wolds...

. There were no children by either marriage.