Montagu Bacon (1688–1749) was an English scholar and critic.

Life

Bacon was the second of the three sons of Nicholas Bacon, son and heir of Nicholas Bacon, of

Shrubland Hall Shrubland Hall, Coddenham, Suffolk, is a historic English country house with planned gardens in Suffolk, England, built in the 1770s. The Hall was used as a health clinic in the second half of the 20th century and briefly reopened as a hotel ...

Barham, Suffolk Barham is a village and civil parish in the Mid Suffolk district of Suffolk, England. The village is on the River Gipping. Surrounded by Great Blakenham, Baylham Baylham is a village and civil parish in the Mid Suffolk district of Suffolk, ...

. Paternally he was descended from Sir Nicholas Baker; and maternally from the

Earl of Sandwich Earl of Sandwich is a noble title in the Peerage of England, held since its creation by the House of Montagu. It is nominally associated with Sandwich, Kent. It was created in 1660 for the prominent naval commander Admiral Sir Edward Montagu. ...

. His mother was the Lady Catherine Montagu, youngest daughter of

Edward Montagu, 1st Earl of Sandwich Edward Montagu, 1st Earl of Sandwich, Order of the Garter, KG Privy Council of England, PC Fellow of the Royal Society, FRS Justice of the Peace, JP (27 July 162528 May 1672) was an English military officer, politician and diplomat, who fought f ...

. Bacon was born at

Coddenham Coddenham is a village and civil parish in the Mid Suffolk district of Suffolk in eastern England. Located to the north of the A14 road, 8 miles north of Ipswich, the parish also includes the hamlet of Coddenham Green. In 2005 its population was ...

, and 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 ...

. He entered the

Middle Temple The Honourable Society of the Middle Temple, commonly known simply as Middle Temple, is one of the four Inns of Court exclusively entitled to call their members to the English Bar as barristers, the others being the Inner Temple, Gray's Inn an ...

in 1704. He was admitted a fellow-commoner of

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

, in 1704–5, but seems not to have taken a degree until 1734, when he proceeded

Master of Arts A Master of Arts ( la, Magister Artium or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA, M.A., AM, or A.M.) is the holder of a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is usually contrasted with that of Master of Science. Tho ...

. Before then he had resided in

Leicestershire Leicestershire ( ; postal abbreviation Leics.) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the East Midlands, England. The county borders Nottinghamshire to the north, Lincolnshire to the north-east, Rutland to the east, Northamptonshire t ...

. In 1743 Bacon was presented by the

University of Cambridge , mottoeng = Literal: From here, light and sacred draughts. Non literal: From this place, we gain enlightenment and precious knowledge. , established = , other_name = The Chancellor, Masters and Schola ...

, in whose gift it then was, in consequence of the disability of the proper patron,

Edward Howard, 9th Duke of Norfolk Edward Howard, 9th Duke of Norfolk (5 June 1686 – 20 September 1777), of Worksop Manor in Nottinghamshire and of Norfolk House in London, was a British peer, politician and hereditary Earl Marshal. Origins He was the third of the five sons o ...

, to the rectory of

Newbold Verdon Newbold Verdon is a village and civil parish in the county of Leicestershire, England. The parish includes Newbold Heath to the north and Brascote to the south. Originally an agricultural centre Newbold Verdon grew in size during the 1850s with ...

. He then suffered a breakdown, but was permitted to retain the rectory till his death, which happened at

Chelsea Chelsea or Chelsey may refer to: Places Australia * Chelsea, Victoria Canada * Chelsea, Nova Scotia * Chelsea, Quebec United Kingdom * Chelsea, London, an area of London, bounded to the south by the River Thames ** Chelsea (UK Parliament consti ...

, 7 April 1749. He was buried at Coddenham on the 19th of the same month. A "note" by

Thomas Martyn Thomas Martyn (23 September 1735 – 3 June 1825) was an English botanist and Professor of Botany at Cambridge University. He is sometimes confused with the conchologist and entomologist of the same name. Life Thomas Martyn was the son of th ...

, botany professor at Cambridge, records the circumstance that Montagu Bacon's last lodgings were in Manor Street, Chelsea, "before which he had been in Duffield's madhouse at

Little Chelsea Little Chelsea was a hamlet, located on either side of Fulham Road, half a mile Southwest of Chelsea, London. The earliest references to the settlement date from the early 17th century, and the name continued to be used until the hamlet was surrou ...

, where he was attended by his artyn'sfather. . . . Mr. Bacon always appeared as a layman. ... I never apprehended that he was in orders".

Works

Bacon told

Zachary Grey Zachary Grey (6 May 1688 – 1766) was an English priest, controversialist, and conservative spokesman for the Church of England. He was also an editor, commentator on William Shakespeare, and critic of dissenter historians. Life Grey was the ...

that "not many English or foreign poets had escaped him". His own literary work was in a volume published after his death, ''Critical, Historical, and Explanatory Notes upon Hudibras, by way of Supplement to the two Editions published in the years 1744 and 1745, by Zachary Grey, LL.D. To which is prefixed a Dissertation upon Burlesque Poetry by the late learned and ingenious Montagu Bacon, Esq. And an Appendix, in which is a Translation of Part of the first Canto into Latin Doggrel'', London, 1752.

References

;Attribution

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Bacon, Montagu 1688 births 1749 deaths English literary critics Members of the Middle Temple People from Barham, Suffolk