Sir Erasmus Henry Dryden, 5th Baronet (1669–1710) was an English Roman Catholic priest.

Biography

Erasmus Henry, born 2 May 1669, was the third son of

John Dryden '' John Dryden (; – ) was an English poet, literary critic, translator, and playwright who in 1668 was appointed England's first Poet Laureate. He is seen as dominating the literary life of Restoration England to such a point that the per ...

the poet, and his wife Elizabeth, daughter of

Thomas Howard, 1st Earl of Berkshire Thomas Howard, 1st Earl of Berkshire (8 October 1587 – 16 July 1669) was an English politician who sat in the House of Commons between 1605 and 1622. He was created Earl of Berkshire in 1626. Life Howard was born in Saffron Walden, Essex, ...

. He was a scholar at the Charterhouse, and "elected to the university" November 1685. He studied at Douay, entered the novitiate of the Dominicans 1692, was ordained priest in 1694. Dryden was at Rome in 1697, residing in the convent of the

English Dominicans English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

, and in that year was sent to the convent of Holy Cross, Bornheim, of which he was sub-prior until 1700. He then returned to England to labour on the mission in Northamptonshire. cites Gillow, ''English Catholics''. From 1708 he resided at

Canons Ashby Canons Ashby is a small village and civil parish in West Northamptonshire, England. The population of the village is included in the civil parish of Preston Capes. Its most notable building is Canons Ashby House, a National Trust property. Th ...

, which in that year had passed by will to his cousin Edward, eldest son of his father's younger brother, Erasmus. In 1710 he became baronet upon the death of another cousin,

Sir John Dryden, 4th Baronet ''Sir'' is a formal honorific address in English for men, derived from Sire in the High Middle Ages. Both are derived from the old French "Sieur" (Lord), brought to England by the French-speaking Normans, and which now exist in French only as p ...

, grandson of the Sir Erasmus Drayton 1st Baronet, of Canons-Ashby (1619). The 5th baronet was apparently imbecile at this time and died soon after. He was buried at Canons Ashby, 4 December 1710. and succeeded as Baronet by his uncle, Sir Erasmus Dryden, 6th Baronet.

Notes

References

* {{s-end 1669 births 1710 deaths 17th-century English Roman Catholic priests 18th-century English Roman Catholic priests People from West Northamptonshire District Baronets in the Baronetage of England Dryden baronets