John Genest (1764–1839) was an English clergyman and theatre historian.

Life

He was the son of John Genest of Dunker's Hill,

Devon Devon ( , historically known as Devonshire , ) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South West England. The most populous settlement in Devon is the city of Plymouth, followed by Devon's county town, the city of Exeter. Devo ...

. He was educated at

Westminster School (God Gives the Increase) , established = Earliest records date from the 14th century, refounded in 1560 , type = Public school Independent day and boarding school , religion = Church of England , head_label = Hea ...

, entered 9 May 1780 as a pensioner at

Trinity College, Cambridge Trinity College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Founded in 1546 by King Henry VIII, Trinity is one of the largest Cambridge colleges, with the largest financial endowment of any college at either Cambridge or Oxford. ...

, and graduated B.A. 1784 and M.A. 1787. He took holy orders, and was for many years curate of a

Lincolnshire Lincolnshire (abbreviated Lincs.) is a Counties of England, county in the East Midlands of England, with a long coastline on the North Sea to the east. It borders Norfolk to the south-east, Cambridgeshire to the south, Rutland to the south-we ...

village. Subsequently, he became private chaplain to the

Duke of Ancaster Earl of Lindsey is a title in the Peerage of England. It was created in 1626 for the 14th Baron Willoughby de Eresby (see Baron Willoughby de Eresby for earlier history of the family). He was First Lord of the Admiralty from 1635 to 1636 an ...

. Compelled by ill-health to retire, he went to Bath, Somerset for the benefit of the waters. Here he appears to have remained until his death, which took place, after nine years of illness, at his residence in Henry Street, 15 December 1839. He was buried in St. James's Church.

Works

During his times in Bath he wrote ''Some Account of the English Stage from the Restoration in 1660 to 1830'', Bath, 10 vols. 1832. It is accurate and well-researched.

References

Notes

;Attribution {{DEFAULTSORT:Genest, John 1764 births 1839 deaths 18th-century English Anglican priests 19th-century English Anglican priests Historians of theatre