Rawson Hart Boddam (1734 – 20 May 1812,

Bath Bath may refer to: * Bathing, immersion in a fluid ** Bathtub, a large open container for water, in which a person may wash their body ** Public bathing, a public place where people bathe * Thermae, ancient Roman public bathing facilities Plac ...

) was the former

Governor A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...

of the

Bombay Presidency The Bombay Presidency or Bombay Province, also called Bombay and Sind (1843–1936), was an administrative subdivision (province) of British India, with its capital in the city that came up over the seven islands of Bombay. The first mainl ...

during the rule of the

East India Company The East India Company (EIC) was an English, and later British, joint-stock company founded in 1600 and dissolved in 1874. It was formed to trade in the Indian Ocean region, initially with the East Indies (the Indian subcontinent and Southea ...

British India The provinces of India, earlier presidencies of British India and still earlier, presidency towns, were the administrative divisions of British governance on the Indian subcontinent. Collectively, they have been called British India. In one ...

from 1784 to 1788. Boddam entered East India Company service in 1752.T. P. A., 'To the Editor of the European Magazine' ranscription of Boddam's epitaph in Bath Abbey ''

The European Magazine, and London Review ''The European Magazine'' (sometimes referred to as ''European Magazine'') was a monthly magazine published in London. Eighty-nine semi-annual volumes were published from 1782 until 1826. It was launched as the ''European Magazine, and London Rev ...

'', April 1816, p. 296 In 1760 he married Mary Sclater, sister of the Eliza Draper for whom Laurence Sterne wrote his ''

Journal to Eliza ''Journal to Eliza'' is a work by British author Laurence Sterne. It was published posthumously in 1904. Sterne wrote it in the summer of 1767 as he neared the end of his life. At that time he was also writing ''A Sentimental Journey through Fra ...

'', though Mary died soon after the birth of a son

Charles Charles is a masculine given name predominantly found in English language, English and French language, French speaking countries. It is from the French form ''Charles'' of the Proto-Germanic, Proto-Germanic name (in runic alphabet) or ''*k ...

(1762-1811) and is buried in

St. Thomas Cathedral, Mumbai St. Thomas Cathedral, Mumbai, is the 300-year old cathedral church of the Diocese of Mumbai of the Church of North India. It is named in honour of Saint Thomas the Apostle, who is believed to have first brought Christianity to India. The cathed ...

"Here lies the body of Mary Boddam, wife of Rawson Hart Boddam, who departed this life the 9th day of July Anno Domini 1762, aged 18 years." Inscription quoted in Wright & Sclater, p. 29; see also, on Charles Boddam, p. 185-6. Rawson Hart Boddam was the first Governor of Bombay to be paid entirely by salary, at an annual rate of nearly £10,000. By a second wife, Eliza Maria Tudor, he had nine children, and settled at Capel House, Bull's Cross, near Enfield on his return to England.Wright & Sclater, p. 185 He died 'aged 78 years' in May 1812. In the 1920s a portrait was in the possession of Mrs. Hungerford Meyer Boddam, of Capel House,

Guildford Guildford () is a town in west Surrey, around southwest of central London. As of the 2011 census, the town has a population of about 77,000 and is the seat of the wider Borough of Guildford, which had around inhabitants in . The name "Guildf ...

. As a legacy, in 2004 he had a

train station A train station, railway station, railroad station or depot is a railway facility where trains stop to load or unload passengers, freight or both. It generally consists of at least one platform, one track and a station building providing suc ...

named after him.

References

External links

* * 1734 births 1812 deaths Governors of Bombay {{UK-diplomat-stub