Author: Brice, Andrew
Biography:
BRICE, Andrew (1692-1773: ODNB)
His The Mobiad was written in 1737 but not published until 1770. He was born in Exeter, Devon, on 21 Aug. 1692; his father was Andrew Brice, a shoemaker, but the name of his mother is not known. He intended to become a dissenting minister but he was instead apprenticed to a printer when he was 17. He served briefly in the army to break his indentures. On 26 May 1713 he married Sarah Leach (d 1730); their son Andrew was baptised in the Presbyterian meeting house on 7 Sept. 1717 and they had other children including a daughter, Sarah, who later went into partnership with her father. Brice’s printing house was established in 1714 and from 1717 he published a newspaper which, at the outset, was called The Postmaster. Brice was unafraid of supporting controversial causes but his campaign to improve prison conditions in Exeter led to an expensive lawsuit from one of the prison governors and Brice was confined to his house, afraid of being arrested for debt. His Freedom: A Poem (1730) helped to cover his costs. He briefly established a press at Truro, Cornwall; its existence is known from at least one imprint, a book of verse by Nicholas James published in 1742. Brice returned to Exeter where in 1747 he married Hannah Seagar (d 1763). He was a committed member of the freemasons—he served a term as master of St. John’s Lodge—and a supporter of the theatre in Exeter. His major work was The Grand Gazeteer; or, Topographic Dictionary; it was published in monthly parts before being issued in volume form in 1759. In 1769 he went into partnership with Barnabas Thorn but Brice was no longer active in the business; he retired with a weekly payment of 2 guineas and moved from his house in Northgate Street to Northernhay, Exeter. He died on 7 Nov. 1773 and his remains were on view in the Apollo room of the New Inn; the charge of admission went towards the cost of his funeral. He was buried in St. Bartholomew’s churchyard, Exeter, on 14 Nov. (ODNB 7 July 2023; Thomas Nadauld Brushfield, The Life and Bibliography of Andrew Brice [1888]; West Country Poets; R. Polwhele, The Language, Literature, and Literary Characters of Cornwall [1806]) SR