Richard Shepherd (theologian)
Encyclopedia
Richard Shepherd was an English churchman, Archdeacon of Bedford in 1783, known also for his verse.
, and matriculated from Corpus Christi College, Oxford
, on 1 December 1749, at the age of seventeen. He graduated B.A. 1753, M.A. 1757, B.D. 1765, and D.D. 1788, and was elected probationary fellow of his college in 1760.
His first intention was to follow a military life, but he took orders in the Church of England. After residing for many years at Oxford, he became chaplain to Thomas Thurlow
, by whose nomination he was installed on 26 July 1783 in the archdeaconry of Bedford. He had been elected Fellow of the Royal Society on 10 May 1781. In 1788 he was Bampton lecturer at Oxford, publishing his lectures as ‘Ground and Credibility of the Christian Religion,’ 1788. ‘Additional Discourses’ thereto were published by him in 1792, and three were republished by his son in 1848, with the title ‘Salvation is of the Jews.’
By the gift of Lord-chancellor Edward Thurlow, 1st Baron Thurlow
he was instituted in 1792 to the rectory of Wetherden
and Helmingham
in Suffolk
, and held these preferments until his death at Wetherden, on 3 January 1809, in his seventy-eighth year.
Life
He was son of Henry Shepherd (d. 1764), vicar of Mareham-le-Fen, LincolnshireLincolnshire
Lincolnshire is a county in the east of England. It borders Norfolk to the south east, Cambridgeshire to the south, Rutland to the south west, Leicestershire and Nottinghamshire to the west, South Yorkshire to the north west, and the East Riding of Yorkshire to the north. It also borders...
, and matriculated from Corpus Christi College, Oxford
Corpus Christi College, Oxford
Corpus Christi College is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom...
, on 1 December 1749, at the age of seventeen. He graduated B.A. 1753, M.A. 1757, B.D. 1765, and D.D. 1788, and was elected probationary fellow of his college in 1760.
His first intention was to follow a military life, but he took orders in the Church of England. After residing for many years at Oxford, he became chaplain to Thomas Thurlow
Thomas Thurlow
Thomas Thurlow was a renowned English sculptor who created memorials in churches in the Saxmundham, Suffolk area, including a bust of the poet George Crabbe in Aldeburgh Church. His father, John Thurlow , was a builder and stonemason who built 'The White House' in the High Street...
, by whose nomination he was installed on 26 July 1783 in the archdeaconry of Bedford. He had been elected Fellow of the Royal Society on 10 May 1781. In 1788 he was Bampton lecturer at Oxford, publishing his lectures as ‘Ground and Credibility of the Christian Religion,’ 1788. ‘Additional Discourses’ thereto were published by him in 1792, and three were republished by his son in 1848, with the title ‘Salvation is of the Jews.’
By the gift of Lord-chancellor Edward Thurlow, 1st Baron Thurlow
Edward Thurlow, 1st Baron Thurlow
Edward Thurlow, 1st Baron Thurlow PC, KC was a British lawyer and Tory politician. He served as Lord Chancellor of Great Britain for fourteen years and under four Prime Ministers.- Early life:...
he was instituted in 1792 to the rectory of Wetherden
Wetherden
Wetherden is a village in the county of Suffolk, England.Recorded in the Domesday book as 'Watdena' or 'Wederdena'The village has an estimated population of 540....
and Helmingham
Helmingham
Helmingham is a village in Suffolk, England, 12 miles east of Stowmarket, and 12 miles north of Ipswich. It has a population of 170. It retains the same name by which it was recorded in Domesday....
in Suffolk
Suffolk
Suffolk is a non-metropolitan county of historic origin in East Anglia, England. It has borders with Norfolk to the north, Cambridgeshire to the west and Essex to the south. The North Sea lies to the east...
, and held these preferments until his death at Wetherden, on 3 January 1809, in his seventy-eighth year.
Works
The numerous works of Shepherd included, in addition to sermons and charges:- ‘Ode to Love’ (anon.), 1756; this was afterwards reissued under the title of ‘The Philologist.’
- ‘Review of a Free Enquiry [by Soame JenynsSoame JenynsSoame Jenyns was an English writer.- Biography :He was the son of Sir Roger Jenyns and his second wife Elizabeth Soame, the daughter of Sir Peter Soame. He was born in London, and was educated at St Johns College, Cambridge. In 1742 he was chosen M.P...
] into the Nature and Origin of Evil’ (anon.), 1759; 2nd ed. 1768. - ‘Odes, Descriptive and Allegorical’ (anon.), 1761.
- ‘The Nuptials, a didactic Poem in three books’ (anon.), 1761.
- ‘Hector, a dramatic Poem’ (anon.), 1770. 6. ‘Bianca, a Tragedy,’ 1772 (most of the above were reprinted in ‘Miscellanies,’ 2 vols. 1776).
- ‘Reflections on Materialism, addressed to Priestley; by Philalethes Rusticans,’ 1779.
- ‘Examination of the Socinian Exposition of the Prefatory Verses of St. John's Gospel,’ 1781.
- ‘Essay on Education, in a Letter to William Jones,’ 1782.
- ‘Polyænus's Stratagems of War,’ translated from the original Greek, 1793; this had been in his desk for more than thirty years, when Lord Cornwallis advised its publication.
- ‘Notes on the Gospel and Epistles of St. John,’ 1796; new ed. 1841, edited by his son.
- ‘The new Boethius; or of the Consolation of Christianity,’ 1806.
- ‘Religious Union perfective, and the support of Civil Union’ (anon.), 1807.
- ‘No False Alarm, or a Sequel to Religious Union,’ 1808.