William Freind 1715-1766

William FREIND 1715-1766

Biographical Note

Son of Robert Freind, headmaster of Westminster School. BA Christ Church, Oxford 1735, MA 1738, DD 1748; rector of Witney, Oxfordshire 1739, prebendary of Westminster 1744, when he also became a royal chaplain. He became a canon of Christ Church in 1756 and Dean of Canterbury in 1760. He was noted as a connoisseur and something of a collector, with appreciable wealth inherited from his uncle the physician John Freind. He published a sermon and a few verses.

Books

Freind used an engraved armorial bookplate, made when he was a student at Christ Church (Franks 11362). His library was auctioned in London, beginning 28 April 1767; the catalogue lists 1639 lots in one continuous sequence, divided up into octavo, quarto and folio sections, with mixed languages and subjects, over the 8 days of the sale. His prints were separately auctioned in the same year. He bequeathed a bust of his father to the library of Christ Church.

Sources

• Alston, R. C., Inventory of sale catalogues ... 1676-1800, St Philip, 2010.
• A catalogue of the valuable library of the Revd. Doctor William Freind, London, 1767, ESTC t150864.
• Gambier Howe, E. R. J. Franks bequest: catalogue of British and American book plates bequeathed to the ... British Museum. London, 1903-4.
• Sharp, Richard. "Freind, William (bap. 1715, d. 1766), dean of Canterbury." Oxford Dictionary of National Biography.