Author: Fenton, Richard
Biography:
FENTON, Richard (1747-1821: ODNB)
Of Fenton’s books of verse, only An Ode Addressed to the Savoir Vivre Club was issued anonymously. It has been erroneously attributed to Elijah Fenton, including in HL, but the Savoir Vivre club was founded in 1772 and Elijah Fenton died in 1730. (The club had premises in Pall Mall, London, before moving to 26 St. James’s Street where, in 1782, it was taken over by Boodle’s club.) Fenton was the youngest child and only son of Richard Fenton (1710-86) and his wife Martha Wilkins (1702-75) and was born at Rhoson, St. David’s, Pembrokeshire in Wales. He was probably born in Jan. 1747 and was baptised in St. David’s cathedral on 20 Feb. 1747. Fenton was educated at the cathedral school and at Haverfordwest grammar school in Pembrokeshire. He may have studied at Magdalen College, Oxford, although there is no record of his matriculation and he did not take a degree. He moved to London to work for the office of customs but resigned in 1774 when he entered the Middle Temple on 24 Aug. He was called to the bar in Jan. 1783 and worked as a barrister on the Welsh circuits. In the early 1780s he married a Swiss woman, Eloise Susanna, the daughter of Baron and Baroness Pillet de Moudon; they had three sons. In London Fenton was friendly with other writers, actors, and artists, and he became a fellow of the Society of Antiquaries. He was fluent in Welsh (and other languages) and worked with William Owen Pughe (q.v.) in editing The Myvyrian Archaiology [sic] of Wales (1801). In 1796 he inherited property in Fishguard, Pembrokeshire, from his uncle, Samuel Fenton. He also inherited his mercantile fleet and was affluent enough to retire from the law and move to Fishguard where he built a mansion, Plas Glyn-y-mêl. His Historical Tour Through Pembrokeshire (1810) was illustrated by his friend Sir Richard Colt Hoare to whom the book is dedicated. Other books include A Tour in Quest of Genealogy (1811) and a novel, Memoirs of an Old Wig (1815). Fenton died at home in Nov. 1821 and was buried at Manorowen church in Fishguard. Extracts from his unpublished manuscripts were published in 1917 as Tours in Wales 1804-1813. (ODNB 29 Dec. 2024; DWB 29 Dec. 2024; ancestry.co.uk 29 Dec. 2024; findmypast.co.uk 29 Dec. 2024; R. Fenton, A Historical Tour Through Pembrokeshire [1810]) SR
Other Names:
- R. Fenton