Cuthbert Constable ( – 27 March 1746), born Cuthbert Tunstall, was an English physician and

antiquary An antiquarian or antiquary () is an 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 artefacts, archaeological and historic sit ...

, "the Catholic

Maecenas Gaius Cilnius Maecenas ( 13 April 68 BC – 8 BC) was a friend and political advisor to Octavian (who later reigned as emperor Augustus). He was also an important patron for the new generation of Augustan poets, including both Horace and Virgil. ...

of his age".

Life

He was the son of Francis Tunstall of

Wycliffe Hall Wycliffe Hall () is a permanent private hall of the University of Oxford affiliated with the Church of England, specialising in philosophy, theology, and religion. It is named after the Bible translator and reformer John Wycliffe, who was mast ...

Yorkshire Yorkshire ( ) is an area of Northern England which was History of Yorkshire, historically a county. Despite no longer being used for administration, Yorkshire retains a strong regional identity. The county was named after its county town, the ...

, England, and Cicely, daughter of John Constable, second

Viscount Dunbar Viscount of Dunbar was a title in the Peerage of Scotland created on 14 November 1620, along with the title Lord Constable, for Henry Constable, 1st Viscount of Dunbar, Sir Henry Constable. The titles have been dormant since the death of the 4t ...

. When in 1718 he succeeded, on the death of his uncle, the last Viscount Dunbar, to the estates of

Burton Constable Burton Constable is a village and civil parish in the East Riding of Yorkshire, England. It lies approximately north-east of Hull city centre and south-east of the village of Skirlaugh. The civil parish is formed by the village of Burton C ...

, he legally changed his surname from ''Tunstall'' to ''Constable''. He was educated at

Douai Douai ( , , ; ; ; formerly spelled Douay or Doway in English) is a city in the Nord (French department), Nord département in northern France. It is a Subprefectures in France, sub-prefecture of the department. Located on the river Scarpe (rive ...

and subsequently studied medicine at

Montpellier Montpellier (; ) is a city in southern France near the Mediterranean Sea. One of the largest urban centres in the region of Occitania (administrative region), Occitania, Montpellier is the prefecture of the Departments of France, department of ...

, where he took the doctor of

medicine Medicine is the science and Praxis (process), practice of caring for patients, managing the Medical diagnosis, diagnosis, prognosis, Preventive medicine, prevention, therapy, treatment, Palliative care, palliation of their injury or disease, ...

degree. He formed a large collection of books and manuscripts at Burton Constable, and in other ways was a constant patron of Catholic literature, assisting Bishop Richard Challoner by lending him documents for the ''Memoirs of Missionary Priests'', and

Charles Dodd Hugh Tootell (1671/72 – 27 February 1743) was an English Catholic historian. He is commonly known under his pseudonym Charles Dodd. Life Tootell was born in Lancashire. He was tutored by his uncle, Christopher Tootle, before studying wi ...

, by contributing to the expenses of the ''History of the Church of England''. He also maintained friendly relations with non-Catholic scholars; and among the Burton Constable papers are two volumes of his correspondence with Francis Nicholson (1650–1731), a Catholic convert, formerly of

University College, Oxford University College, formally The Master and Fellows of the College of the Great Hall of the University commonly called University College in the University of Oxford and colloquially referred to as "Univ", is a Colleges of the University of Oxf ...

, and the well-known antiquary, Thomas Hearne. His correspondence with the former was chiefly concerned with particulars for the biography of Abraham Woodhead, for whom he had a great veneration.

Writings

His only publication is a life of Woodhead prefixed to his edition of ''The Third Part of the Brief Account of Church Government'', written by that author (London, 1736). Gillow states that even this was largely taken from Nicholson, but is valuable for the complete Woodhead bibliography.Gillow, Joseph, ''Bibl. Dict. Eng. Cath.'', I, 549 The other works enumerated by Gillow are not by Constable, but were manuscripts in his collection. The collection itself was sold by auction in 1889, some of the manuscripts being purchased by Lord Herries and added to his collection at Everingham. Constable was twice married, first to Amy, daughter of

Hugh Clifford, 2nd Baron Clifford of Chudleigh Hugh Clifford, 2nd Baron Clifford of Chudleigh (21 December 1663 – 12 October 1730) was an English aristocrat. Early life Clifford was baptized on 21 December 1663 in Ugbrooke. Though the seventh child and second son, he was the eldest living ...

, by whom he had three children, William, Cicely, and Winifred, and secondly to Elizabeth Heneage, by whom he had one son, Marmaduke, who inherited the estate of Wycliffe and resumed the family name of Tunstall.

References

------ *Theodor Harmsen
‘Constable, Cuthbert (c.1680–1747)’
''

Oxford Dictionary of National Biography The ''Dictionary of National Biography'' (''DNB'') is a standard work of reference on notable figures from History of the British Isles, British history, published since 1885. The updated ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'' (''ODNB'') ...

'', Oxford University Press, 2004, accessed 1 August 2008 * {{DEFAULTSORT:Constable, Cuthbert 1680s births 1746 deaths 18th-century English antiquarians English Roman Catholics