Author: Polwhele, Richard
Biography:
POLWHELE, Richard (1760-1838: ODNB)
He was born and died at Polwhele, near Truro, Cornwall, and was the son of Thomas and Mary (Thomas) Polwhele. At Truro Grammar School he was encouraged to write verse, particularly by John Wolcot (q.v.), and a volume of his poems was published in 1777 with the help of Edmund Rack (q.v.) of Bath. He entered Christ Church, Oxford, in 1778 but left without taking a degree. He was ordained to the first of several curacies in Devon and Cornwall in 1782, initially taking up a post at Lamorran, Cornwall; in 1794 he was appointed vicar at Manaccan, Cornwall, where he augmented his income by taking on other livings and curacies. He remained at Manaccan until 1821 when he moved to a more lucrative post at Newlyn East but the final ten years of his life were spent at Polwhele. He was twice married: in 1782 to Loveday Warren with whom he had three children and, after her death in February 1793, to Mary Tyrrell in November of the same year. In all, he had thirteen children who survived him. Polwhele was a very prolific and wide-ranging author with a particular interest in Devon and Cornwall, and he corresponded with numerous other writers, including Walter Scott (q.v.). He died at Truro after a long illness and was buried in the family vault at St. Clement’s, Truro. Among his numerous other works are histories of Devon and of Cornwall, autobiographical volumes, and collections of letters. He was also a contributor to the Anti-Jacobin Review and the Gentleman’s Magazine, which published a lengthy obituary of him. (ODNB 25 Aug. 2020; GM [1838])
Other Names:
- Mr. Polwhele
- R. Polwhele