Robert Masters (1713–1798) was an English clergyman and academic, known as the historian of Corpus Christi College, Cambridge.

Life

Born at Hetherset,

Norfolk Norfolk () is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in East Anglia in England. It borders Lincolnshire to the north-west, Cambridgeshire to the west and south-west, and Suffolk to the south. Its northern and eastern boundaries are the No ...

, he was descended from William Master of

Cirencester Cirencester (, ; see below for more variations) is a market town in Gloucestershire, England, west of London. Cirencester lies on the River Churn, a tributary of the River Thames, and is the largest town in the Cotswolds. It is the home of ...

. He was admitted to Corpus Christi College in 1731; graduated B.A. in 1734, M.A. in 1738, B.D. in 1746; and was fellow and tutor of the college from 1738 to 1750. On 14 May 1752, he was elected

Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries A fellow is a concept whose exact meaning depends on context. In learned or professional societies, it refers to a privileged member who is specially elected in recognition of their work and achievements. Within the context of higher education ...

. He continued to reside in college till he was presented by that society to the rectory of

Landbeach Landbeach is a small fen-edge English village about three miles (5 km) north of Cambridge. The parish covers an area of . History The fen edge north of Cambridge was well populated in Roman times, and the village's situation on a Roman roa ...

Cambridgeshire Cambridgeshire (abbreviated Cambs.) is a county in the East of England, bordering Lincolnshire to the north, Norfolk to the north-east, Suffolk to the east, Essex and Hertfordshire to the south, and Bedfordshire and Northamptonshire to the ...

, in 1756.

Matthias Mawson Matthias Mawson (August 1683 – 23 November 1770) was an English clergyman and academic who served as Master of Corpus Christi College, Cambridge and subsequently as Bishop of Llandaff, Bishop of Chichester, and Bishop of Ely. Life He was ...

, bishop of Ely, collated him to the vicarage of Linton, which he resigned for that of

Waterbeach Waterbeach is an expanding village north of Cambridge on the edge of The Fens, in the South Cambridgeshire district of Cambridgeshire, England. It was designated a "new town" in 2018. History Early periods Waterbeach is on the Car Dyke, a Ro ...

in 1759. This latter benefice he with the bishop's permission resigned in 1784 to his son William, for whom he built a house. Masters was in the commission of the peace for Cambridgeshire, and acted as deputy to William Compton, LL.D., chancellor of the diocese of Ely, who resided abroad. In 1797, he resigned the living of Landbeach in favour of Thomas Cooke Burroughes, senior fellow of

Caius College Gonville and Caius College, often referred to simply as Caius ( ), is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1348, it is the fourth-oldest of the University of Cambridge's 31 colleges and one of t ...

, who, immediately upon his presentation, married Mary, Masters's second daughter. Masters continued to reside in the parsonage with his son-in-law and daughter until his death on 5 July 1798. He was buried at Landbeach, where a monument was erected to his memory.

Works

His major work is: ''The History of the College of Corpus Christi and the Blessed Virgin Mary (commonly called Bene't) in the University of Cambridge, from its foundation to the present time''. It was published in two parts by

Cambridge University Press Cambridge University Press is the university press of the University of Cambridge. Granted letters patent by King Henry VIII in 1534, it is the oldest university press in the world. It is also the King's Printer. Cambridge University Pre ...

: the first part appeared in 1753, followed in 1755 by the second part, containing the lives of members of the college and an appendix of documents. An expanded edition by Dr. John Lamb appeared at Cambridge in 1831. Masters's other works are: * ''A List of the Names, Counties, Times of Admission, Degrees, &c., of all that are known to have been Members of Corpus Christi College in Cambridge'' (1749), and subsequently appended to the history of the college. * "Some Remarks on Mr. Walpole's ''Historic Doubts on the Life and Reign of King Richard III''", in '' Archaeologia'', vol. 2 (1771), p. 198; also printed separately (London, 1772). * ''Memoirs of the Life and Writings of Thomas Baker, B.D., of St. John's College in Cambridge, from the papers of Dr.

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 ...

, with a Catalogue of his MS. Collections'' (Cambridge, 1784). * "Account of some Stone Coffins and Skeletons found on making some alterations and repairs in

Cambridge Castle Cambridge Castle, locally also known as Castle Mound, is located in Cambridge, Cambridgeshire, England. Originally built after the Norman conquest to control the strategically important route to the north of England, it played a role in the conf ...

", in '' Archaeologia'', vol. 8 (1785), p. 63. * "Account of an Antient Painting on Glass", representing the pedigree of the Stewart family, in ''Archæologia'', vol. 8 (1787), pp. 321–5. * ''Catalogue of the Pictures in the Public Library and Colleges in the University of Cambridge''

790 __NOTOC__ Year 790 ( DCCXC) was a common year starting on Friday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. The denomination 790 for this year has been used since the early medieval period, when the Anno Domini calendar era ...

* ''A Short Account of the Parish of

, in the Diocese of Ely, by a late Vicar'' (1795), with a sketch of

Denny Abbey Denny Abbey is a former abbey near Waterbeach, about north of Cambridge in Cambridgeshire, England. It is now the Farmland Museum and Denny Abbey. The monastery was inhabited by a succession of three different religious orders. The site is a ...

; for private circulation. * "Collectanea de

", included in Rev.

William Keatinge Clay William Keatinge Clay (1797–1867) was an English cleric and antiquary. Biography Clay was born in 1797, and, having been ordained deacon in 1823 by John Fisher, Bishop of Salisbury, became curate of Greenwich. He was ordained priest in the fo ...

's ''History of Landbeach'' (1861), printed for the

Cambridge Antiquarian Society The Cambridge Antiquarian Society is a society dedicated to study and preservation of the archaeology, history, and architecture of Cambridgeshire, England. The society was founded in 1840. Its collections are housed in the Haddon Library on Downi ...

Family

About 1757, Masters married a granddaughter of one of his predecessors at Landbeach, and daughter of John Cory, rector of

Impington Impington is a settlement and civil parish about 3 miles north of Cambridge city centre, in the South Cambridgeshire district, in the county of Cambridgeshire, England. It forms part of the Cambridge built-up area. In 2011 the parish had a populat ...

and Waterbeach. She died on 29 August 1764, leaving a son William, who died rector of Waterbeach in 1794, and two daughters: Anne, married to the Rev. Andrew Sprole; and Mary, wife of the Rev. T. C. Burroughes.

References

;Attribution {{DEFAULTSORT:Masters, Robert 1713 births 1798 deaths 18th-century English Anglican priests English antiquarians Fellows of the Society of Antiquaries of London Fellows of Corpus Christi College, Cambridge People from Hethersett People from Waterbeach