Richard Topham (1671–1730) was an English landowner and politician, Member of Parliament for from 1698 to 1713. He is known also as a collector.

Life

He was son of John Topham, acting as

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of the House of Commons from 1678 until his death in 1692 (for Sir William Bishop) and his wife Joan Stoughton. He was educated at Eton College, and matriculated at Trinity College, Oxford in 1689. On his father's death, he was unable to nominate the successor. Turning away from a possible legal career, he managed land holdings in New Windsor. Topham was elected to the House of Commons for New Windsor in 1698, and was identified as a Country Party supporter. His parliamentary interests were mainly constituency concerns, and private bills. In 1707, he persuaded

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, the Keeper of Records in the Tower of London, who was ill and died that year, to pass to him the post. He retired from politics in 1713. As Keeper of the Records, Topham attracted early criticism for his lack of relevant experience. He deflected it by giving deputy status to George Holmes; and by administrative innovation.

Collector

Topham was a bibliophile and collector in his own right. His library, dominated by Latin and Greek classics, amounted to some 1300 books. His so-called "paper museum", of drawings, watercolours and prints, reached 3000 items. Among those were 53 drawings by Pompeo Batoni. The evidence is not convincing that Topham made a Grand Tour. He used agents to build up his collection, in particular John Talman. He owned a large house in Peascod Street, Windsor. There he had a collection of classical statuary.

Family

Topham did not marry. His mother Joan, who died in 1721, lived with him in Peascod Street. Sidney Beauclerk lived with them, for a period, from around age 15 (c. 1718), when he went to Eton. Topham's sister Annabella married Thomas Reeve, who died in 1737. Via Reeve, Topham's heir was Beauclerk.

Legacy

The Topham Collection of prints and drawings went to Eton College. It is now understood that Robert Adam's ideas on neo-classical interior decoration, evolved in the 1760s, were influenced directly by graphical work of

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in this collection. Charles Cameron is also believed to have made use of the works, without acknowledgement.Frank Salmon, ''The Topham Collection: Eton'', The Burlington Magazine Vol. 155, No. 1328, Sculpture (November 2013), pp. 788–789. Published by: Burlington Magazine Publications Ltd.

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Topham, Richard 1671 births 1730 deaths Members of the Parliament of Great Britain for English constituencies Collectors from London English MPs 1698–1700 English MPs 1701 English MPs 1701–1702 English MPs 1702–1705 English MPs 1705–1707 British MPs 1707–1708 British MPs 1708–1710 British MPs 1710–1713 17th-century English politicians 18th-century English politicians