Hugh Hare 1668-1707
Hugh HARE 1668-1707
Biographical Note
The Honourable Hugh Hare was heir to the 2nd Baron Coleraine, whom he pre-deceased. Resident in East Betchworth, Surrey until his death. Educated at the University of Cambridge (1684) and entered the Inner Temple (1686) but not called to the bar. He married Lydia, daughter of Matthew Compton of Edmonton, and together they had two sons (including Henry Hare) and three daughters. From 1698 to 1701 he was Whig MP for Bletchingley, Surrey, a notable Rotten Borough. He retired due to ill health, which dogged him until his death in 1707 at the age of 38. He was a published author - in 1692 a Religious, learned and loyal charge delivered to the jury at the Easter Quarter Sessions in Dorking on 5th April 1692, and a year later his translation of Agostino Mascardi, An Historical relation of the conspiracy of John Lewis, Count of Fieschi, against the City and Republic of Genova in the year 1547. (1693). He contributed to the translation of The Works of Lucian, prefaced with a Life by John Dryden, published in 1711.
Books
50+ of Hare's books were donated to the Cranston Library Reigate, the bulk of them in 1701 (the year of foundation) and some in 1706. Only a small number have a mark of ownership (a signature), but the likelihood from the spread of dates is that they came from a family library. A copy of Mascardi (1693) was owned by the library's founder, Revd. Andrew Cranston, and donated by him to the library. It is inscribed as a gift from the author.
Characteristic Markings
His signature, "Hare", appears in a small number of the books in The Cranston Library.
Sources
- History of Parliament Online
- Venn, J. and J. A., Alumni Cantabrigienses, Cambridge, 1922.
- Information from Hilary Ely, the Cranston Library.
With thanks to Hilary Ely.