Thomas Dudley Fosbroke (sometime Fosbrooke) FSA (27 May 17701 January 1842) was an English clergyman and

antiquary An antiquarian or antiquary () is an fan (person), aficionado or student of antiquities or things of the past. More specifically, the term is used for those who study history with particular attention to ancient artifact (archaeology), artifac ...

. He was curate of Horsley, Gloucestershire, until 1810 and then of

Walford Walford is a fictional borough of east London in the BBC soap opera ''EastEnders''. It is the primary setting for the soap. ''EastEnders'' is filmed at Borehamwood in Hertfordshire, towards the north-west of London. Much of the location work i ...

in Herefordshire. He wrote ''British Monachism'' (2 volumes, 1802), an examination of English monastic life, as well as the ''Encyclopaedia of Antiquities'' (1824) and its sequel, ''Foreign Topography'' (1828). He was an important historian of

Gloucester Gloucester ( ) is a cathedral city and the county town of Gloucestershire in the South West of England. Gloucester lies on the River Severn, between the Cotswolds to the east and the Forest of Dean to the west, east of Monmouth and east ...

, writing two volumes on the history of that city.

Early life and education

Fosbroke was born in London on 27 May 1770. He was educated at

John Roysse John Roysse (1500 or 1501–1571) was an English mercer and benefactor of Abingdon School in Abingdon, Oxfordshire. Personal life John Roysse was probably connected with the Roysse family of East Hagbourne but there are few records appertaining ...

's Free School in Abingdon, (now

Abingdon School Abingdon School is a day and boarding independent school for boys in Abingdon-on-Thames, Oxfordshire, England. The twentieth oldest independent British school, it celebrated its 750th anniversary in 2006. The school was described as "highly ...

), St Paul's School and

Pembroke College, Oxford Pembroke College, a constituent college of the University of Oxford, is located at Pembroke Square, Oxford. The college was founded in 1624 by King James I of England, using in part the endowment of merchant Thomas Tesdale, and was named after ...

, graduating MA in 1792.

Career

In 1792 he was ordained and became curate of

Horsley, Gloucestershire Horsley is a village and civil parish about one and a half miles south-west of the small Cotswold market town of Nailsworth. The origins of the name Horsley are much debated, although it is thought to be derived from the pre-7th-century Old Engli ...

, where he remained till 1810. He then removed to

in Herefordshire, and remained there the rest of his life, as curate until 1830, and afterwards as vicar. In 1799 he was elected a fellow of the Society of Antiquaries. His first important work, ''British Monachism'' (2 volumes, 1802), was a compilation, from manuscripts in the

British Museum The British Museum is a public museum dedicated to human history, art and culture located in the Bloomsbury area of London. Its permanent collection of eight million works is among the largest and most comprehensive in existence. It docum ...

and

Bodleian The Bodleian Library () is the main research library of the University of Oxford, and is one of the oldest libraries in Europe. It derives its name from its founder, Sir Thomas Bodley. With over 13 million printed items, it is the sec ...

libraries, of facts relating to English monastic life. The work for which he is best remembered, the ''Encyclopaedia of Antiquities'', appeared in 1824. A sequel to this, ''Foreign Topography'', was published in 1828.

Death

Fosbroke died on 1 January 1842.

Selected publications

*''British Monachism, or, Manners and Customs of the Monks and Nuns of England''. 1802. *''Abstracts of Records and Manuscripts Respecting the County of Gloucester''. 1807.
Vol. 1Vol. 2
*
An Original History of the City of Gloucester
'. John Nichols, London, 1819. *''Encyclopaedia of Antiquities''. 1825 (2nd edn. 1840).

References and sources

Attribution: *

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Fosbroke, Thomas Dudley 1770 births 1842 deaths Antiquarians from London People educated at Abingdon School People educated at St Paul's School, London Fellows of the Society of Antiquaries of London Alumni of Pembroke College, Oxford 18th-century English Anglican priests Anglican clergy from London Historians of Gloucestershire