Richard Cobbold

Richard Cobbold (1797-1877). Courtesy Wikimedia Commons.

Richard Cobbold
Born	1797 Ipswich
Died	January 5, 1877(1877-Template:MONTHNUMBER-05)
Language	English
Nationality	British
Alma mater	Caius College, Cambridge
Period	1827-1858
Genres	Novels

Rev. Richard Cobbold (1797-1877) was an English poet and novelist.

Life

Cobbold was born in 1797 in Ipswich, Suffolk, the 20th of 21 children of John Cobbold (1746–1835). His mother, Cobbold's 2nd wife, was poet Elizabeth (Knipe) Cobbold (1764-1824). His maternal grandmother, whose maiden name was Waller, was descended from poet Edmund Waller. The Cobbolds were a large and affluent family who had made their money from the brewing industry. Their name lives on in Ipswich in the firm of Tolly Cobbold.

Cobold was educated at Caius College, Cambridge,earning a B.A. in 1820 and an M.A. in 1823.

After briefly serving as curate in Ipswich he became rector of Wortham (which he held for half a century) and rural dean of Hartismere. Here he developed into a typical country parson, would ride across country at times with the hounds, and was a keen sportsman with rod and gun. For several years he acted as chaplain to the union, only asking as stipend that the children with their master and mistress should attend the Sunday services at his church.

In 1822 he married the only daughter of Jeptha Waller, by whom he had 3 sons. A son, Edward Augustus (born 1825), became vicar of the neighboring parish of Yaxley; and another Thomas Spencer, became a leading parasitologist.

Richard Cobbold was of unwearied activity both in mind and body, never without a pen, pencil, or paint-brush in his hand, and a great reader. To large conversational powers he added a quick apprehension, a remarkable memory, lively humour, and wide and generous sympathies. He was devoted to the church of England, always ready to impress its doctrines on others by example and exhortation.

He died on 5 January 1877, in his 80th year.

Writing

Cobbold is best known as the author of the History of Margaret Catchpole, a novel based on the romantic adventures of a girl living in the neighbourhood of Ipswich, in whom Cobbold's father had taken a kindly interest. For the copyright of this book he is said to have received £1,000. but Cobbold did not make much money by his other literary ventures, which were mostly undertaken for charitable purposes. Thus his account of Mary Ann Wellington brought in no less than £600, much of it in small gifts, for the subject of the book, who was afterwards placed in an almshouse by Cobbold's exertions.

His works range from 1827 to 1858. Besides several religious pieces, sermons, and addresses, they are chiefly: 'Zenon the Martyr,' 3 vols. 1827. 'Mary Ann Wellington, the Soldier's Daughter, Wife, and Widow,' 1846. 'The History of Margaret Catchpole, a Suffolk Girl,' 1845. 'The Young Man's Home,' 1848. 'J.H. Steggall: A real history of a Suffolk man,' 1851. 'Courtland,' a novel, 1852. 'Preston Tower, or the Early Days of Cardinal Wolsey,' 1850. He also wrote, in 1827, 'Valentine Verses,' which he illustrated with spirited pen-and-ink etchings.

Recognition

During his time at Wortham, Cobbold recorded the daily lives of his various parishioners, both in words and pictures. His 4 volumes eventually found a home at the Suffolk Record Office, and have become an invaluable source of information about everyday life in the countryside at that time. In 1977 a book entitled The Biography of a Victorian Village was published, in which Ronald Fletcher presents Richard Cobbold's account of 1860's Wortham.

In popular culture

The History Of Margaret Catchpole: A Suffolk girl became the 1887 play An English Lass by Alfred Dampier and C.H. Krieger, which formed the basis for the 1912 film The Romantic Story of Margaret Catchpole.

Publications

Poetry

• Original, Serious, and Religious Poetry. Ipswich, UK: R. Deck, 1827.

Valentine verses; or, Lines of truth, love, and virtue (illustrated). Ipswich, UK: E. Shalder, 1827.

• The Spirit of the Litany of the Church of England. Eye, UK: W. Ungless, 1833.
• The Bottle; or, Cruikshank illustrated: A poem. London: Diss, 1848.

Novels

• The History Of Margaret Catchpole: A Suffolk girl. (3 volumes), London: Henry Coburn, 1845; (1 volume), London & New York: Henry Frowde, for Oxford University Press, 1907.
• Mary Anne Wellington: The soldier's daughter, wife and widow (3 volumes), London: Henry Colburn, 1846. Volume I, Volume II, Volume III
• Zenon The Martyr: A record of the piety, patience, and persecution of the early Christian nobles. (3 volumes), London: Henry Colburn, 1847. Volume I, Volume II
• The Young Man's Home; or, The penitent returned: A narrative of the present day. (3 volumes), London: Sunders and Ottley, 1848.
• Freston Tower: The early days of Cardinal Wolsey. (3 volumes), London: Henry Colburn, 1850 Volume I, Volume II, Volume III
  • also published as Freston Tower: A tale of the times of Cardinal Wolsey. (3 volumes), London: Simkin, Marshall, 1856.
• JH Stegall, a Real History of a Suffolk Man (1851)
• Courtland: A novel. (3 volumes), London: T.C. Newby, 1852.
• Geoffrey Gambado: or a simple remedy for hypochondriacism and melancholy (illustrated by Henry Bunbury). London: privately published, 1865.

Non-fiction

• A Sermon Preached ... to ... St Mary Tower Church, Ipswich. Ipswich, UK: Edward Shalders, 1829.
• The Character of Woman: A lecture. London: privately published, printed by Francis Cupiss, 1848.
• A Voice from the Mount; or, Pastoral letters. London: C. Wright, 1848.
• A Sermon Preached at St. Clement's East Cheap. London: H. Baynes, 1849.
• The Comforter; or, Short addresses from the Book of Job. London: W.E. Painter, 1850.
• The Union Child's Belief: Being a series of letters upon the creed. London: 1855.
• John H. Steggall: A real history of a Suffolk man. London: London: Simkin, Marshall, 1857.
• The Biography Of A Victorian Village: Richard Cobbold's account of Wortham, Suffolk, 1860 (edited by Ronald Fletcher). London: Batsford, 1977.

Collected editions

• A Father's Legacy to his Children: The Proverbs of Solomon in prose and verse. London: W.E. Painter, 1850.
• Canticles of Life: Meditations on scriptural texts in prose and verse. London: C. & J. Mosley, 1858.

Except where noted, bibliographical information courtesy WorldCat.

See also

• List of British poets

References

•  Watkins, Morgan George (1887) "Cobbold, Richard" in Stephen, Leslie Dictionary of National Biography 11 London: Smith, Elder, pp. 146-147 . Wikisource, Web, Mar. 16, 2020.

Fonds

• Archival material relating to Richard Cobbold listed at the UK National Register of Archives

External links

Poems

• "Christmas Day, 1826"
• "The Midnight Tale"

Books

• Works by Richard Cobbold at Project Gutenberg
• Richard Cobbold: The Character of Woman, London 1848, PDF
• Richard Cobbold at Amazon.com

About

• Rev. Richard Cobbold(1797-1877 at English Poetry, 1579-1830

This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain, the Dictionary of National Biography (edited by Leslie Stephen). London: Smith, Elder, 1885-1900. Original article is at: Cobbold, Richard