Author: Cambridge, Richard Owen
Biography:
CAMBRIDGE, Richard Owen (1717-1802: ODNB)
He was born at London on 14 Feb. 1717 to Nathaniel Cambridge (bapt. 1685), a London merchant who traded with Turkey, and his second wife Meriel Owen. They had married in Saint Bride’s church, Fleet Street, London, on 12 July 1715. Richard Cambridge (he adopted Owen as a middle name only after the death of his uncle in 1748) was baptised in St. Andrew Undershaft church, London, on 25 Apr. 1717. The Cambridge family was from Gloucestershire and Nathaniel retired there to Whitminster before his death in late 1725 or early 1726. Meriel Cambridge remarried and Richard Cambridge’s upbringing was overseen by his uncle, Richard Owen. The Eton College registers show that Richard was admitted there in 1732 and he matriculated at St. John’s college, Oxford, on 22 May 1735. He did not take a degree. He was admitted to Lincoln’s Inn on 10 Apr. 1784 but was not called to the bar. On 18 Jan. 1740 in Lytchett Matravers, Dorset, he married Mary Trenchard, the daughter of George Trenchard MP for Poole; they had six children although only two—George Owen Cambridge and Charlotte Cambridge—are mentioned in their father’s will. The family lived initially in Whitminster where Cambridge engaged in the pursuits of a country gentleman and also designed boats, including a catamaran. In 1751 he purchased a house in Twickenham, near London. (His will, dated from 15 Apr. 1797, shows that he also held numerous properties in London, Gloucestershire, and other locations.) His satire, The Scribleriad, was published in six parts in 1751. Although he published some other verse during his lifetime, much of it remained in manuscript. Cambridge also wrote prose and contributed to Edward Moore’s The World. He died at home on 17 Sept. 1802 and was buried in St. Mary’s churchyard, Twickenham. His wife died on 5 Sept. 1806 and was buried beside him. Their youngest son, George, became a prebendary of Ely cathedral; he inherited his father’s papers, books, and manuscripts and edited the collection listed in this database. Some of his verse, now in the BL, has never been published. (ODNB 8 Jan. 2024; ECA; Alumni Oxonienses; ancestry.co.uk 8 Jan. 2024; G. O. Cambridge, “Memoir,” The Works of Richard Owen Cambridge [1803]) SR