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

. 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 wor ...

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, non-metropolitan district and the county town of Gloucestershire in the South West England, South West of England. Gloucester lies on the River Severn, between the Cotswolds to the east and the Forest of Dean ...

, 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's Free School in Abingdon, (now

Abingdon School Abingdon School is an independent day and boarding school in Abingdon-on-Thames, Oxfordshire, England. It is the List of the oldest schools in the United Kingdom, twentieth oldest Independent School (UK), independent British school. In May 202 ...

), and St Paul's School. He matriculated at

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

in 1785, graduating BA in 1789 and MA in 1792.

Career

In 1792 he was ordained and became curate of Horsley, Gloucestershire, 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 Museum, public museum dedicated to human history, art and culture located in the Bloomsbury area of London. Its permanent collection of eight million works is the largest in the world. It documents the story of human cu ...

and Bodleian 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 ed. 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