Robert Thyer (1709–1781) was an 18th-century British writer and

literary editor A literary editor is an editor in a newspaper, magazine or similar publication who deals with aspects concerning literature and books, especially reviews.

, best known as Chetham's Librarian. Robert Thyer Romney

Life

Son of Robert Thyer, a silk weaver of

Manchester Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The t ...

, by his wife Elizabeth Brabant, he was baptised on 20 February 1709 at

Manchester Collegiate Church Manchester Cathedral, formally the Cathedral and Collegiate Church of St Mary, St Denys and St George, in Manchester, England, is the mother church of the Anglican Diocese of Manchester, seat of the Bishop of Manchester and the ...

. Educated at

Manchester Grammar School The Manchester Grammar School (MGS) in Manchester, England, is the largest independent school (UK), independent day school for boys in the United Kingdom. Founded in 1515 as a Grammar school#free tuition, free grammar school next to Manchester C ...

, he won an

exhibition An exhibition, in the most general sense, is an organized presentation and display of a selection of items. In practice, exhibitions usually occur within a cultural or educational setting such as a museum, art gallery, park, library, exhibition ...

in 1727 to

Brasenose College, Oxford Brasenose College (BNC) is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom. It began as Brasenose Hall in the 13th century, before being founded as a college in 1509. The library and chapel were added in the mi ...

, where he graduated as a BA on 12 October 1730, and was later elected FSA Returning to

Lancashire Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated Lancs) is the name of a historic county, ceremonial county, and non-metropolitan county in North West England. The boundaries of these three areas differ significantly. The non-metropolitan county of Lancashi ...

, Thyer was appointed as librarian of Chetham's Library in February 1732, and continued in post until 3 October 1763. A close friend of

John Byrom John Byrom or John Byrom of Kersal or John Byrom of Manchester FRS (29 February 1692 – 26 September 1763) was an English poet, the inventor of a revolutionary system of shorthand and later a significant landowner. He is most remembered as t ...

, he was also on good terms with the Egertons of

Tatton Park Tatton Park is an historic estate in Cheshire, England, north of the town of Knutsford. It contains a mansion, Tatton Hall, a medieval manor house, Tatton Old Hall, Tatton Park Gardens, a farm and a deer park of . It is a popular visitor attr ...

, Cheshire (his wife's first husband, John Leigh (who died in 1738), was a

relation Relation or relations may refer to: General uses *International relations, the study of interconnection of politics, economics, and law on a global level *Interpersonal relationship, association or acquaintance between two or more people *Public ...

of the

Earls of Bridgewater Earl of Bridgewater was a title that has been created twice in the Peerage of England, once for the Daubeny family (1538) and once for the Egerton family (1617). From 1720 to 1803, the Earls of Bridgewater also held the title of Duke of Bridgewa ...

); Thyer was a

legatee A legatee, in the law of wills, is any individual or organization bequeathed any portion of a testator A testator () is a person who has written and executed a last will and testament that is in effect at the time of their death. It is any "person ...

under the will of

Samuel Egerton Samuel Egerton (28 December 1711 – 10 February 1780) was a British landowner and politician who sat in the House of Commons from 1754 to 1780. Life Samuel Egerton was born on 28 December 1711 at the family home, Tatton Park in Cheshire. Samu ...

, M.P. Thyer died on 27 October 1781 and was buried at

with his

ancestor An ancestor, also known as a forefather, fore-elder or a forebear, is a parent or (recursively) the parent of an antecedent (i.e., a grandparent, great-grandparent, great-great-grandparent and so forth). ''Ancestor'' is "any person from whom ...

Legacy

Some of Thyer's

manuscript A manuscript (abbreviated MS for singular and MSS for plural) was, traditionally, any document written by hand – or, once practical typewriters became available, typewritten – as opposed to mechanically printing, printed or repr ...

s went to the Chetham Library, and many of his

letter Letter, letters, or literature may refer to: Characters typeface * Letter (alphabet), a character representing one or more of the sounds used in speech; any of the symbols of an alphabet. * Letterform, the graphic form of a letter of the alphabe ...

s, as well as a specimen of his

verse Verse may refer to: Poetry * Verse, an occasional synonym for poetry * Verse, a metrical structure, a stanza * Blank verse, a type of poetry having regular meter but no rhyme * Free verse, a type of poetry written without the use of strict me ...

, were printed in Byrom's ''Remains.''

Works

Thyer annotated and published in 1759 ''The Genuine Remains in Verse and Prose'' of Samuel Butler, 2 vols., and contemplated a new annotated edition of ''

Hudibras ''Hudibras'' is a vigorous satirical poem, written in a mock-heroic style by Samuel Butler (1613–1680), and published in three parts in 1663, 1664 and 1678. The action is set in the last years of the Interregnum, around 1658–60, immediately b ...

''. He was working with papers left by Butler to William Longueville, patron and literary executor, and now in the

British Library The British Library is the national library of the United Kingdom and is one of the largest libraries in the world. It is estimated to contain between 170 and 200 million items from many countries. As a legal deposit library, the British ...

(Add. MS. 32625).

Dr Samuel Johnson Samuel Johnson (18 September 1709 – 13 December 1784), often called Dr Johnson, was an English writer who made lasting contributions as a poet, playwright, essayist, moralist, critic, biographer, editor and lexicographer. The ''Oxford D ...

was complimentary, while Bishop William Warburton and others criticised Thyer. A new edition of the ''Remains'' came out in 1827. Thyer was also one of the scholars who supplied notes to

Thomas Newton Thomas Newton (1 January 1704 – 14 February 1782) was an English cleric, biblical scholar and author. He served as the Bishop of Bristol from 1761 to 1782. Biography Newton was educated at Trinity College, Cambridge and was subsequently elect ...

for his edition of

John Milton John Milton (9 December 1608 – 8 November 1674) was an English poet and intellectual. His 1667 epic poem '' Paradise Lost'', written in blank verse and including over ten chapters, was written in a time of immense religious flux and political ...

's ''

Paradise Lost ''Paradise Lost'' is an epic poem in blank verse by the 17th-century English poet John Milton (1608–1674). The first version, published in 1667, consists of ten books with over ten thousand lines of verse (poetry), verse. A second edition fo ...

''.

Family

Thyer married, on 9 December 1741, Silence, daughter of John Wagstaffe of

Hasland Hasland is a suburb in the Borough of Chesterfield in the town of Chesterfield, Derbyshire, England. Hasland is located south of Spital, east of Birdholme and north of Grassmoor. Hasland is a ward of the Borough of Chesterfield. The ward popu ...

Hall,

Derbyshire Derbyshire ( ) is a ceremonial county in the East Midlands, England. It includes much of the Peak District National Park, the southern end of the Pennine range of hills and part of the National Forest. It borders Greater Manchester to the nor ...

, and widow of John Leigh of

Middle Hulton Middle Hulton was a township of the civil and ecclesiastical parish of Deane in the Salford hundred of Lancashire, England. It was located south-west of Bolton. History The ancient district of Hulton contained three townships, Over Hulton, Mid ...

near Deane, Lancashire, great-great-grandfather of

Lydia Becker Lydia Ernestine Becker (24 February 1827 – 18 July 1890) was a leader in the early British suffrage movement, as well as an amateur scientist with interests in biology and astronomy. She established Manchester as a centre for the suffrage mov ...

and uncle of Sir Egerton Leigh, 1st Baronet as too of Dr Egerton Leigh of West Hall, High Legh in Cheshire.Burke's Landed Gentry (1952 edn), Leigh ''of West Hall, High Legh''
/ref> Thyer's children all predeceased him.

Notes

Attribution {{DEFAULTSORT:Thyer, Robert 1709 births 1781 deaths Writers from Manchester People educated at Manchester Grammar School Alumni of Brasenose College, Oxford English librarians English book editors Fellows of the Society of Antiquaries of London Burials in Greater Manchester