Richard Kingston 1635-1710?

Richard KINGSTON 1635-1710?

Biographical Note

Born in Northamptonshire, son of a farmer. He claimed to be an MA of both Oxford and Cambridge, but there is no record of this, and according to ODNB he was apprenticed to a tailor. Minister at St James, Clerkenwell in the mid 1660s; vicar of Irthlingborough, Northamptonshire 1668, ofHenbury, Gloucestershire 1681-88. His educational and clerical credentials are questionable. In 1688 he moved to London and during the rest of his life he was much involved in political lobbying and writing, initially for the Jacobite cause and later for the government.

Books

The library of a man of this name was auctioned in London, 17.4.1707 (no catalogue survives). Alston makes the attribution to this Kingston; although he did not die until ca.1710, he was imprisoned in 1707 so there may be a probable cause there for the sale.

Characteristic Markings

None of Kingston's books have been identified.

Sources

• Alston, R. C., Inventory of sale catalogues ... 1676-1800, 2010.
• Archbold, W. A. J., and M. E. Clayton. '"Kingston, Richard [Doctor Kingston (b. c. 1635, d. 1710?), political writer."]' Oxford Dictionary of National Biography.