Life

Born at Lechlade in Gloucestershire on 20 September 1689, he was educated at Coxwell

Coxwell

- Places :*Coxwell Avenue, a street in Toronto, Canada**Coxwell , a subway station in Toronto*Great Coxwell, a village in Oxfordshire, England**Great Coxwell Barn*Little Coxwell, a village in Oxfordshire, England...

, Berkshire

Berkshire

Berkshire is a historic county in the South of England. It is also often referred to as the Royal County of Berkshire because of the presence of the royal residence of Windsor Castle in the county; this usage, which dates to the 19th century at least, was recognised by the Queen in 1957, and...

, and at Magdalen School in Oxford

Oxford

The city of Oxford is the county town of Oxfordshire, England. The city, made prominent by its medieval university, has a population of just under 165,000, with 153,900 living within the district boundary. It lies about 50 miles north-west of London. The rivers Cherwell and Thames run through...

. On 7 July 1705 he was entered a commoner of Trinity College, Oxford

Trinity College, Oxford

The College of the Holy and Undivided Trinity in the University of Oxford, of the foundation of Sir Thomas Pope , or Trinity College for short, is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England. It stands on Broad Street, next door to Balliol College and Blackwells bookshop,...

. Having completed his course, he came to London to practise the civil law

Civil law

Civil law may refer to:* Civil law , a branch of continental law which is the general part of private law* Civil law , a branch of common law dealing with relations between individuals or organizations...

; but in 1710, on the death of his patron, Sir John Cook, dean of arches

Dean of Arches

The Dean of Arches is the judge who sits at the ecclesiastical court of the Archbishop of Canterbury in England. This appeal court is commonly called the Arches Court....

, he abandoned the legal profession and devoted himself to literary and antiquarian pursuits.

In 1747 he was appointed secretary to a society for the encouragement of an essay towards a complete English history. He died of a fever on 19 April 1747, and was buried in the chapel yard of the Royal Hospital of Bridewell. His daughter was supported by 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...

; she died in 1807.

Works

An elegy in a book entitled ‘Astræa Lacrimans,’ published anonymously in 1710, was probably written by Coxeter. In 1720 he contributed one or more of the indexes to John Hudson's edition of ‘Josephus;’ and in 1739 he published a new edition of the Life of Bishop Fisher often attributed to Richard Hall, its translator into Latin.

Coxeter was a collector of old English plays, and allowed the Shakespearean editor, Theobald, to make use of them. He also assisted Joseph Ames

Joseph Ames (author)

Joseph Ames was an English bibliographer and antiquary. He wrote an account of printing in England from 1471 to 1600, entitled Typographical Antiquities...

 in the preparation of Typographical Antiquities. In 1744 he circulated proposals for an annotated edition of the dramatic works of Thomas May

Thomas May

Thomas May was an English poet, dramatist and historian of the Renaissance era.- Early life and career until 1630 :...

, but the scheme was never carried out. He stated in the prospectus that, having determined to ‘revive the best of our old plays, faithfully collated with all the editions that could be found in a search of above thirty years,’ he ‘happened to communicate his scheme to one who now invades it,’—the reference being to Robert Dodsley

Robert Dodsley

Robert Dodsley was an English bookseller and miscellaneous writer.-Life:He was born near Mansfield, Nottinghamshire, where his father was master of the free school....

, whose Select Collection of Old Plays appeared in 1744. In the same prospectus he promised an edition (which was never published) of the works of Thomas Sackville, Lord Buckhurst.

Coxeter's manuscript collections were largely used in Theophilus Cibber

Theophilus Cibber

Theophilus Cibber was an English actor, playwright, author, and son of the actor-manager Colley Cibber.He began acting at an early age, and followed his father into theatrical management. In 1727, Alexander Pope satirized Theophilus Cibber in his Dunciad as a youth who "thrusts his person full...

's ‘Lives of the Poets’ and in Thomas Warton

Thomas Warton

Thomas Warton was an English literary historian, critic, and poet. From 1785 to 1790 he was the Poet Laureate of England...

's ‘History of English Poetry.’ His statements are to be received with caution, for he invented titles of imaginary books. In 1759 appeared, in four volumes, an edition of Philip Massinger

Philip Massinger

Philip Massinger was an English dramatist. His finely plotted plays, including A New Way to Pay Old Debts, The City Madam and The Roman Actor, are noted for their satire and realism, and their political and social themes.-Early life:The son of Arthur Massinger or Messenger, he was baptized at St....

's works, ‘collated by Mr. Coxeter;’ it was criticised by William Gifford

William Gifford

William Gifford was an English critic, editor and poet, famous as a satirist and controversialist.-Life:Gifford was born in Ashburton, Devonshire to Edward Gifford and Elizabeth Cain. His father, a glazier and house painter, had run away as a youth with vagabond Bampfylde Moore Carew, and he...

. Others–the Edinburgh Review

Edinburgh Review

The Edinburgh Review, founded in 1802, was one of the most influential British magazines of the 19th century. It ceased publication in 1929. The magazine took its Latin motto judex damnatur ubi nocens absolvitur from Publilius Syrus.In 1984, the Scottish cultural magazine New Edinburgh Review,...

in 1808, and contemporary scholars–have been more complimentary.