Life

Thomas Chilcot of Bath, Somerset was born in the West of England (probably Bath) in or about 1707. Records of his birth, like most other records from his life, are now lost. Thomas was educated at Bath Charity School

Charity school

A charity school, also called Blue Coat School, was significant in the History of education in England. They were erected and maintained in various parishes, by the voluntary contributions of the inhabitants, for teaching poor children to read, write, and other necessary parts of education...

, whose headmaster, Henry Dixon, had a strong interest in church music. On 6 July 1721 Thomas Chilcot (presumably aged 14) was apprenticed to Josiah Priest, the organist of Bath Abbey

Bath Abbey

The Abbey Church of Saint Peter and Saint Paul, Bath, commonly known as Bath Abbey, is an Anglican parish church and a former Benedictine monastery in Bath, Somerset, England...

 since 1714 - seemingly the only occasion on which the school allowed a pupil to be apprenticed to a musician. On Priest's death, just four years later, Chilcot was made Abbey organist on a probationary basis. At what should have been the conclusion of Chilcot's apprenticeship, in 1728, the appointment was made permanent. As City musician in fashionable Bath, Chilcot rapidly established a remarkable relationship with many noble families, attracting their patronage and subscriptions to his publications. He became a member and subsequently Grand Master of the Royal Cumberland Lodge of freemasons. He was also amongst the original members of the Royal Society of Musicians

Royal Society of Musicians

The Royal Society of Musicians of Great Britain is a charity in the United Kingdom that supports musicians. It is the oldest music-related charity in Great Britain, founded in 1738 as the "Fund for Decay'd Musicians" by a declaration of trust signed by 228 musicians, including Edward Purcell ,...

, founded in 1738/9. As well as his work at the Abbey, Chilcot organised and directed some ambitious choral concerts (at which he played his own concertos) and appears also to have run a small instrument hire business.

He married Elizabeth Mills of Bath in 1729 and had seven children, of whom four survived. Following Elizabeth's death, he married Anne Wrey, a member of a prominent West Country family (Wrey Baronets

Wrey Baronets

The Wrey Baronetcy, of Trebitch in the County of Cornwall, is a title in the Baronetage of England. It was created on 30 June 1628 for William Wrey, the member of an ancient Devon family. The third Baronet was a supporter of the Royalist cause and sat as Member of Parliament for Lostwithiel after...

), in 1749.

Chilcot died suddenly on 24 November 1766, after occupying a highly influential role in Bath for forty years. Almost no public notice was taken of his death and a complicated disagreement over Chilcot's estate meant that none of elaborate arrangements that the composer had made for his own funeral procession, monument and memorial trusts, were ever carried out.

Works

Chilcot's unpublished music, including at least four anthems, a Jubilate, an oratorio called "Elfrida" and what a posthumous auction catalogue describes as "his finest pieces of Music ... never Printed or Sold", has not survived.

His published music consists of:

Six Suites of Lessons for the Harpsicord or Spinet (London, Wm Smith, 1734). Modern edition by Le Pupitre (Paris, Heugel & cie, 1981).

Twelve English Songs with their symphonies. The words by Shakespeare and other Celebrated Poets. [ William Shakespeare

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"...

, Christopher Marlowe

Christopher Marlowe

Christopher Marlowe was an English dramatist, poet and translator of the Elizabethan era. As the foremost Elizabethan tragedian, next to William Shakespeare, he is known for his blank verse, his overreaching protagonists, and his mysterious death.A warrant was issued for Marlowe's arrest on 18 May...

, Anacreon

Anacreon

Anacreon was a Greek lyric poet, notable for his drinking songs and hymns. Later Greeks included him in the canonical list of nine lyric poets.- Life :...

, and Euripides

Euripides

Euripides was one of the three great tragedians of classical Athens, the other two being Aeschylus and Sophocles. Some ancient scholars attributed ninety-five plays to him but according to the Suda it was ninety-two at most...

 ] (London, John Johnson, [1744])

Six Concertos, for the Harpsichord (London, John Johnson, 1756) (dedicated to Lady Elizabeth Bathurst).

Six Concertos, for the Harpsichord (Bath, privately, 1765/66).