Robert Nares

Robert Nares
Born	9 June 1753
Died	23 March 1829(aged 75)
Alma mater	Christ Church
Occupation	Writer,librarian,clergyman,editor,linguist,scholar of English,priest

Robert Nares(9 June 1753,York– 23 March 1829) was anEnglishclergyman, philologist and author.

Life

He was born at York in 1753, the son ofJames Nares(1715–1783), organist ofYork Minsterand educated atWestminster SchoolandChrist Church, Oxford.

From 1779 to 1783 he lived with the family ofSir Watkin Williams-Wynn, 4th Baronetas tutor to his sonsWatkinand Charles, staying in London and atWynnstay,Wrexham.In June 1782 he became vicar ofEaston Maudit,Northamptonshireand in 1785 vicar ofGreat Doddington,Northamptonshire. From 1786 to 1788 he wasUsherat Westminster School, again as tutor to the Williams-Wynn boys who had been sent there.

In 1787 he was appointed Chaplain to theDuke of Yorkand in 1788 he was Assistant preacher atLincoln's Inn.In 1795 he was appointed Assistant Librarian in the Department of Manuscript at theBritish Museum,and four years later was promoted to Keeper of Manuscripts. He became vicar ofDalbury,Derbyshirein 1796, rector ofSharnford,Canon ResidentiaryofLichfield CathedralandPrebendaryofSt Paul's Cathedralin 1798,Archdeacon of Staffordin 1801 and Vicar ofSt Mary's, Reading,from 1805 to 1818 and then of All Hallows,London Walluntil his death in 1829.

He was elected aFellow of the Royal Societyin 1803. He was married three times but had no children.

Works

In 1784 he published his first philological work,The Elements of Orthoepy.The work was highly commended by Boswell.There was a reissue of this book in 1792 with the revised titleGeneral Rules for the Pronunciation of the English Language.In 1793 he was founding editor of theBritish Criticwith the assistance of his lifelong friend, Rev.William Beloe.In 1822 he published his principal work,Nares' Glossary,which was described in 1859, by Halliwell and Wright, as indispensable to readers of Elizabethan Literature. In 1819, Nares publishedThe Veracity of the Evangelists Demonstrated: by a Comparative View of their Histories.His library was sold at auction by R. H. Evans in London on 25 November (and seven following days); a copy of the catalogue is held at Cambridge University Library (shelfmark Munby.c.137(4)).

References

• "Rev. Archdeacon Nares",The Gentleman's Magazine(April 1829) pp. 370–372
• "Nares, Robert".Dictionary of National Biography.London: Smith, Elder & Co. 1885–1900.

External links

• Robert Naresat Nares genealogy project