Richard Farmer
Encyclopedia
Dr Richard Farmer was a Shakespearean
scholar and Master of Emmanuel College, Cambridge
. He is known for his Essay on the Learning of Shakespeare (1767), in which he maintained that Shakespeare's knowledge of the classics was through translations, the errors of which he reproduced.
, where he graduated B.A. in 1757, and was a ‘senior optime.’ He successfully contested with Wanley Sawbridge for the silver cup given at Emmanuel College to the best graduate of that year. In 1760 he commenced M.A., and succeeded the Rev. Mr. Bickham as classical tutor of his college. For many years, while tutor, he served the curacy of Swavesey
.
On 19 May 1763 Farmer was elected a Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries. In 1765 he was junior proctor of the university. He had already formed an extensive library and had acquired a reputation as a scholar and antiquary. When Samuel Johnson
visited Cambridge in 1765 he had a ‘joyous meeting’ with Farmer at Emmanuel. The two scholars afterwards maintained a correspondence on literary topics; on one occasion Johnson requested Farmer to help George Steevens
on translations which Shakespeare might have seen, and on another he himself asked for information from the university registers on Cambridge graduates in the Lives of the Poets.
In 1767 he took the degree of B.D., and on 8 July 1769 Richard Terrick
, bishop of London, appointed him one of the preachers at the Chapel Royal, Whitehall. When in London he usually resided at the house of Dr. Anthony Askew
, the eminent physician, in Queen Square, Bloomsbury. In 1775, on the death of Dr. Richardson, he was chosen master of Emmanuel College, Henry Hubbard, the senior fellow, having declined the post. He now took the degree of D.D., and was very soon succeeded in the tutorship by Dr. William Bennet
, later bishop of Cloyne
.
He served the office of vice-chancellor of the university in 1775–6, and again in 1787–8. During his first term of office the university voted an address to the king, in support of the American policy of the government. One member of the Caput refused to give up the key of the place containing the university seal, and Farmer is said to have forced open the door with a sledge-hammer—an exploit which some biographers allege to have been the cause of all his subsequent preferments. On the death of Dr. Barnardiston, master of Corpus Christi College, he was (27 June 1778) unanimously elected principal librarian of the university. In April 1780 he was collated by Bishop Richard Hurd to the prebend of Alrewas in Lichfield Cathedral
. In March 1782 he was installed a canon in the ninth prebend of the church of Canterbury. After enjoying this prebend for several years he resigned it on being preferred by William Pitt to a canonry residentiary and the prebend of Consumpta-per-Mare at St Paul's Cathedral
, on 19 March 1788.
The last years of his life were divided between Emmanuel College and the residentiary house in Amen Corner
. He was a member of clubs: the Eumélean Club at Blenheim Tavern, Bond Street, of which Dr. John Ash
was president, the Unincreasable Club, Queen's Head, Holborn, of which Isaac Reed
was president, and the Literary Club, founded by Dr. Johnson and Sir Joshua Reynolds. Farmer twice declined a bishopric that was offered to him by Pitt as a reward for his Tory principles. In 1796 he was admitted ad eundem at Oxford.
He died, after a long and painful illness, at the lodge of Emmanuel College, on 8 September 1797, and was buried in the chapel. A monument was erected to his memory in the cloisters, inscribed with a Latin epitaph composed by Samuel Parr
. A portrait of him was engraved by J. Jones from a painting by Romney.
remarked on his easy way at Emmanuel as a successful Master; but as a scholar he was not productive. When a young man he wrote some Directions for Studying the English History, which were printed in the European Magazine for 1791 and in William Seward
's Biographiana.
On 15 May 1766 Farmer issued from the university press proposals for printing the history of Leicester, written by Thomas Staveley; but eventually abandoned this plan. Staveley's collections, together with those of the Rev. Samuel Carte, several original manuscripts, and some engraved plates, he presented to John Nichols
, who made use of them in his work Leicestershire.
In 1767 he brought out the first edition of his only published work, an Essay on the Learning of Shakspeare (Cambridge), addressed to his friend and schoolfellow, Joseph Cradock of Gumley. A second expanded edition came out in the same year. A third edition was printed at London in 1789. A fourth edition appeared at London in 1821. The essay is also in George Steevens
's edition of Shakespeare 1793, in Reed's edition 1803, in Harris's edition 1812, and in Boswell's ‘Variorum,’ 1821. Farmer proposed that Shakespeare's knowledge of classical history was obtained at second hand through translations.
His library, rich in scarce tracts and old English literature, was sold in London in 1798. The catalogue extends to 379 pages, and the separate books number 8,155; it sold for £2,210. A scurrilous pamphlet, entitled ‘The Battle between Dr. Farmer and Peter Musgrave, the Cambridge Taylor, in Hudibrastic verse,’ appeared at London in 1792.
William Shakespeare
William Shakespeare was an English poet and playwright, widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's national poet and the "Bard of Avon"...
scholar and Master of Emmanuel College, Cambridge
Emmanuel College, Cambridge
Emmanuel College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge.The college was founded in 1584 by Sir Walter Mildmay on the site of a Dominican friary...
. He is known for his Essay on the Learning of Shakespeare (1767), in which he maintained that Shakespeare's knowledge of the classics was through translations, the errors of which he reproduced.
Life
He was born at Leicester on 28 August 1735, the second son of Richard Farmer, a maltster, by his wife Hannah, daughter of John Knibb. He was educated under the Rev. Gerrard Andrewes, in the free grammar school at Leicester, and about 1753 entered as a pensioner at Emmanuel College, CambridgeEmmanuel College, Cambridge
Emmanuel College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge.The college was founded in 1584 by Sir Walter Mildmay on the site of a Dominican friary...
, where he graduated B.A. in 1757, and was a ‘senior optime.’ He successfully contested with Wanley Sawbridge for the silver cup given at Emmanuel College to the best graduate of that year. In 1760 he commenced M.A., and succeeded the Rev. Mr. Bickham as classical tutor of his college. For many years, while tutor, he served the curacy of Swavesey
Swavesey
Swavesey is a village lying on the Greenwich Meridian in Cambridgeshire, England, with an approximate population of 2,480. The village is situated 9 miles to the north west of Cambridge and 3 miles south east of St...
.
On 19 May 1763 Farmer was elected a Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries. In 1765 he was junior proctor of the university. He had already formed an extensive library and had acquired a reputation as a scholar and antiquary. When Samuel Johnson
Samuel Johnson
Samuel Johnson , often referred to as Dr. Johnson, was an English author who made lasting contributions to English literature as a poet, essayist, moralist, literary critic, biographer, editor and lexicographer...
visited Cambridge in 1765 he had a ‘joyous meeting’ with Farmer at Emmanuel. The two scholars afterwards maintained a correspondence on literary topics; on one occasion Johnson requested Farmer to help George Steevens
George Steevens
George Steevens was an English Shakespearean commentator.He was born at Poplar, the son of a captain and later director of the East India Company. He was educated at Eton College and at King's College, Cambridge, where he remained from 1753 to 1756...
on translations which Shakespeare might have seen, and on another he himself asked for information from the university registers on Cambridge graduates in the Lives of the Poets.
In 1767 he took the degree of B.D., and on 8 July 1769 Richard Terrick
Richard Terrick
Richard Terrick was a Church of England clergyman and bishop of London from 1764 to 1777.Terrick graduated with a BA from Clare College, Cambridge in 1729 and an MA in 1733. He was preacher at the Rolls Chapel from 1736 to 1757, and vicar of Twickenham from 1749...
, bishop of London, appointed him one of the preachers at the Chapel Royal, Whitehall. When in London he usually resided at the house of Dr. Anthony Askew
Anthony Askew
Anthony Askew was an English physician and book collector.-Life and work:Askew was born in Kendal, Westmorland, the son of Dr. Adam Askew, a well-known physician of Newcastle. His early education was at Sedbergh School and The Royal Free Grammar School in Newcastle upon Tyne, where by all accounts...
, the eminent physician, in Queen Square, Bloomsbury. In 1775, on the death of Dr. Richardson, he was chosen master of Emmanuel College, Henry Hubbard, the senior fellow, having declined the post. He now took the degree of D.D., and was very soon succeeded in the tutorship by Dr. William Bennet
William Bennet
William Bennet may refer to:*William Bennet , MP for Ripon *William Bennet , Bishop of Cloyne and antiquary*William Stiles Bennet , US politician...
, later bishop of Cloyne
Bishop of Cloyne
The Bishop of Cloyne is an episcopal title which takes its name after the small town of Cloyne in County Cork, Ireland. In the Roman Catholic Church it is a separate title, but in the Church of Ireland it has been united with other bishoprics....
.
He served the office of vice-chancellor of the university in 1775–6, and again in 1787–8. During his first term of office the university voted an address to the king, in support of the American policy of the government. One member of the Caput refused to give up the key of the place containing the university seal, and Farmer is said to have forced open the door with a sledge-hammer—an exploit which some biographers allege to have been the cause of all his subsequent preferments. On the death of Dr. Barnardiston, master of Corpus Christi College, he was (27 June 1778) unanimously elected principal librarian of the university. In April 1780 he was collated by Bishop Richard Hurd to the prebend of Alrewas in Lichfield Cathedral
Lichfield Cathedral
Lichfield Cathedral is situated in Lichfield, Staffordshire, England. It is the only medieval English cathedral with three spires. The Diocese of Lichfield covers all of Staffordshire, much of Shropshire and part of the Black Country and West Midlands...
. In March 1782 he was installed a canon in the ninth prebend of the church of Canterbury. After enjoying this prebend for several years he resigned it on being preferred by William Pitt to a canonry residentiary and the prebend of Consumpta-per-Mare at St Paul's Cathedral
St Paul's Cathedral
St Paul's Cathedral, London, is a Church of England cathedral and seat of the Bishop of London. Its dedication to Paul the Apostle dates back to the original church on this site, founded in AD 604. St Paul's sits at the top of Ludgate Hill, the highest point in the City of London, and is the mother...
, on 19 March 1788.
The last years of his life were divided between Emmanuel College and the residentiary house in Amen Corner
Amen Corner
Amen Corner may refer to:*Amen Corner , 1960s British pop group*Amen Corner , 1983 musical*Amen Corner , novel by Rick Shefchik*The Amen Corner, 1954 play by James Baldwin...
. He was a member of clubs: the Eumélean Club at Blenheim Tavern, Bond Street, of which Dr. John Ash
John Ash
John Ash may refer to:* John Ash , British physician.* John Ash , lexicographer and minister* John Ash , Member of the Legislative Assembly for Comox riding in British Columbia, Canada...
was president, the Unincreasable Club, Queen's Head, Holborn, of which Isaac Reed
Isaac Reed
Isaac Reed was an English Shakespearean editor.-Life:The son of a baker, he was born in London. He was articled to a solicitor, and eventually set up as a conveyancer at Staple Inn, where he had a large practice.-Works:...
was president, and the Literary Club, founded by Dr. Johnson and Sir Joshua Reynolds. Farmer twice declined a bishopric that was offered to him by Pitt as a reward for his Tory principles. In 1796 he was admitted ad eundem at Oxford.
He died, after a long and painful illness, at the lodge of Emmanuel College, on 8 September 1797, and was buried in the chapel. A monument was erected to his memory in the cloisters, inscribed with a Latin epitaph composed by Samuel Parr
Samuel Parr
Samuel Parr , was an English schoolmaster, writer, minister and Doctor of Law. He was known in his time for political writing, and as "the Whig Johnson", though his reputation has lasted less well that Samuel Johnson's, and the resemblances were at a superficial level, Parr being no prose stylist,...
. A portrait of him was engraved by J. Jones from a painting by Romney.
Works
His friend Isaac ReedIsaac Reed
Isaac Reed was an English Shakespearean editor.-Life:The son of a baker, he was born in London. He was articled to a solicitor, and eventually set up as a conveyancer at Staple Inn, where he had a large practice.-Works:...
remarked on his easy way at Emmanuel as a successful Master; but as a scholar he was not productive. When a young man he wrote some Directions for Studying the English History, which were printed in the European Magazine for 1791 and in William Seward
William Seward (anecdotist)
William Seward was an English man of letters, known for his collections of anecdotes.-Life:Seward was the only son of William Seward, a partner in the major London brewery Calvert & Seward. He was born in London in January 1747...
's Biographiana.
On 15 May 1766 Farmer issued from the university press proposals for printing the history of Leicester, written by Thomas Staveley; but eventually abandoned this plan. Staveley's collections, together with those of the Rev. Samuel Carte, several original manuscripts, and some engraved plates, he presented to John Nichols
John Nichols (printer)
John Nichols was an English printer, author and antiquary.-Early life and apprenticeship:He was born in Islington, London to Edward Nichols and Anne Wilmot. On 22 June 1766 he married Anne Cradock daughter of William Cradock...
, who made use of them in his work Leicestershire.
In 1767 he brought out the first edition of his only published work, an Essay on the Learning of Shakspeare (Cambridge), addressed to his friend and schoolfellow, Joseph Cradock of Gumley. A second expanded edition came out in the same year. A third edition was printed at London in 1789. A fourth edition appeared at London in 1821. The essay is also in George Steevens
George Steevens
George Steevens was an English Shakespearean commentator.He was born at Poplar, the son of a captain and later director of the East India Company. He was educated at Eton College and at King's College, Cambridge, where he remained from 1753 to 1756...
's edition of Shakespeare 1793, in Reed's edition 1803, in Harris's edition 1812, and in Boswell's ‘Variorum,’ 1821. Farmer proposed that Shakespeare's knowledge of classical history was obtained at second hand through translations.
His library, rich in scarce tracts and old English literature, was sold in London in 1798. The catalogue extends to 379 pages, and the separate books number 8,155; it sold for £2,210. A scurrilous pamphlet, entitled ‘The Battle between Dr. Farmer and Peter Musgrave, the Cambridge Taylor, in Hudibrastic verse,’ appeared at London in 1792.