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Author: Hughes, Benjamin

Biography:

HUGHES, Benjamin (c. 1742-1796: CCEd)

It is difficult to be certain about his dates because of his Welsh background. According to Alumni Oxonienses his father was John Jenkins Hughes, pleb., of “Mothvey, co Carmarthen”—but “Mothvey” may be an error. No marriage or baptismal records have been found to match. He was educated at Pembroke College, Oxford (matric aged 17 on 26 Mar. 1759; BA 1762) and was ordained deacon (1762) and priest (1763). Interestingly, his poem Simon Magus is scathing about the inappropriateness of a classical and university education for a Christian churchman. His first curacies were at Little Thurrock, Essex (1762), and at St. Peter’s, Wisbech, Cambridgeshire (by 1775), but in 1780 he returned to Wales as Vicar of  Newport, where he remained until his death in 1796. On 22 Jun. 1775 he married Eleanor Evan at St. Peter’s, Carmarthen; no birth records have been found for children. (CCEd 29 Dec. 2022; Alumni Oxonienses; findmypast.com 29 Dec. 2022)

 

Books written (3):

London: Sold by Richardson and Urquhart, 1773
London: Sold by Richardson and Urquhart, 1774
[London]: Printed for the author; sold by Richardson and Urquhart, 1775