Richard Burn (1709 – 12 November 1785) was an English legal writer.

Education and career

Burn was born in Winton,

Kirkby Stephen Kirkby Stephen () is a market town and civil parish in Cumbria, North West England. Historically part of Westmorland, it lies on the A685, surrounded by sparsely populated hill country, about from the nearest larger towns: Kendal and Penri ...

Westmorland Westmorland (, formerly also spelt ''Westmoreland'';R. Wilkinson The British Isles, Sheet The British IslesVision of Britain/ref> is a historic county in North West England spanning the southern Lake District and the northern Dales. It had an ...

. He matriculated at

The Queen's College, Oxford The Queen's College is a constituent college of the University of Oxford, England. The college was founded in 1341 by Robert de Eglesfield in honour of Philippa of Hainault. It is distinguished by its predominantly neoclassical architecture, ...

in 1729. He was not awarded his B.A. until 1735, three years after he left the university to accept a position as schoolmaster at

in Westmorland. Burn then entered the

Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the established Christian church in England and the mother church of the international Anglican Communion. It traces its history to the Christian church recorded as existing in the Roman province of Britai ...

, and in 1736 became

vicar A vicar (; Latin: '' vicarius'') is a representative, deputy or substitute; anyone acting "in the person of" or agent for a superior (compare "vicarious" in the sense of "at second hand"). Linguistically, ''vicar'' is cognate with the English pre ...

of Orton in Westmorland. He was a justice of the peace for the counties of Westmorland and Cumberland, and devoted himself to the study of law. In 1762, after Burn had attained notoriety as a legal scholar, the

University of Oxford , mottoeng = The Lord is my light , established = , endowment = £6.1 billion (including colleges) (2019) , budget = £2.145 billion (2019–20) , chancellor ...

awarded him an honorary

LL.D Legum Doctor (Latin: “teacher of the laws”) (LL.D.) or, in English, Doctor of Laws, is a doctorate-level academic degree in law or an honorary degree, depending on the jurisdiction. The double “L” in the abbreviation refers to the earl ...

. He was appointed chancellor of the

diocese of Carlisle The Diocese of Carlisle was created in 11 April 1132 by Henry I out of part of the Diocese of Durham, although many people of Cumbric descent in the area looked to Glasgow for spiritual leadership. The first bishop was Æthelwold, who was the k ...

in 1765, an office which he held until his death. He died, aged 86, in

Orton Orton may refer to: Places England * Orton, Eden, Cumbria, a village and civil parish * Orton, Carlisle, Cumbria, a parish * Orton, Northamptonshire, a village and civil parish *Orton, Peterborough, Cambridgeshire * Orton, Staffordshire, a hamlet ...

Writings

Burn's ''Justice of the Peace and Parish Officer'', first published in 1755, was for many years the standard authority on the law relating to justices of the peace. It has passed through some 30 editions, half of which appeared after Burn's death. His ''Ecclesiastical Law'' (1760), a work of much research, was the foundation upon which were built many modern commentaries on ecclesiastical law. Burn's other publications include: ''Digest of the Militia Laws'' (1760), ''History of the Poor Laws: with observations'' (1764), and ''A New Law Dictionary'' (2 vols., 1792). The last-named work, published after the author's death by his son, was an update of

William Blackstone Sir William Blackstone (10 July 1723 – 14 February 1780) was an English jurist, judge and Tory politician of the eighteenth century. He is most noted for writing the ''Commentaries on the Laws of England''. Born into a middle-class family ...

's '' Commentaries on the Laws of England''. Burn was a noted antiquarian. He collaborated with Joseph Nicolson to compile ''The History and Antiquities of the Counties of Westmorland and Cumberland'', published in 1777. The two-volume work relates information concerning the families, customs, architecture, and political and religious history of the two counties, and continues to be of great interest to family and local historians.

Personal life

Burn married first in 1736 Eleanor Nelson (died 1739) and second in 1740 Anne Kitchen. He and his wife Anne had one son,

John John is a common English name and surname: * John (given name) * John (surname) John may also refer to: New Testament Works * Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John * First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John * Secon ...

, born in 1744.

Notes

References

* * *B. C. Jones, "Introduction," in Joseph Nicolson and Richard Burn, ''The History and Antiquities of the Counties of Westmorland and Cumberland'' (West Yorkshire, England: EP Publishing, 1976), xiv-xxiii. *

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Burn, Richard English legal writers English antiquarians 1709 births 1785 deaths People from Kirkby Stephen Legal historians