Dictionary of National Biography, 1885-1900/Beckford, Peter
BECKFORD, PETER (1740–1811), eminent sportsman and master of foxhounds, was the son of Julines Beckford, of Stapleton. Dorset, and grandson of Peter Beckford, governor and commander-in-chief of Jamaica, He was thus cousin to William Beckford, the celebrated lord mayor of London. His pre-eminence among foxhunters is due to the fact that he was the first English writer to describe minutely and accurately the whole system of the sport of hunting. This he did in a work entitled 'Thoughts upon Hare and Fox Hunting; also an account of the most celebrated Dog Kennels in the Kingdom,' Sarum, sm. 4to, 1781, 1796, 1820. 'Never,' says a writer (Sir Egerton Brydges?) in the 'Retrospective Review' (xiii. 231), 'had fox or hare the honour of being chased to death by so accomplished a hunter; never was huntsman's dinner graced by such urbanity and wit. He would bag a fox in Greek, find a hare in Latin, inspect his kennels in Italian, and direct the economy of his stables in exquisite French.' In 1781 Beckford published 'Essays on Hunting; containing a philosophical inquiry into the nature and properties of Scent; on different kinds of Hounds, Hares, &c., with an introduction describing the method of Hare-hunting among the Greeks,' London, 8vo.
In 1773 he married Louisa, daughter of Lord Rivers, and by a special patent, granted in 1802, his son William Horace succeeded to the barony, and became the third Lord Rivers. Peter Beckford sat in parliament, as representative of Morpeth, in 1768.
In 1787, just before the outbreak of the French revolution, he travelled in Italy, and wrote an entertaining account of his journey, which was published some years later under the title of 'Familiar Letters from Italy to a Friend in England,' 2 vols. 8vo, Salisbury, 1805. Here he described visits to Voltaire, Rousseau, and other celebrities. In Turin, he writes, he had met Sterne in 1765, and had 'passed hours with that eccentric genius that might have been more profitably employed, but never more agreeably.' He seasons nearly every letter with anecdotes, both grave and gay, and makes remarks, political and philosophical, that must have astounded the country squire of later days. That he was an extensive reader of classical and modern literature is proved by the tenor of both his published works. He died on 18 Feb. 1811, and was buried in Stapleton church, where the following doggerel was inscribed above his grave:–
- We die and are forgotten; 'tis Heaven's decree:
- Thus the fate of others will be the fate of me. [Hutchins's Dorset, iii.; Retrospective Review, iii. 231; Watt's Biblioth. Brit. 91w.; Apperley on the Horse; Beatson's Parl. Register, ii. 172.]
Dictionary of National Biography, Errata (1904), p.20
N.B.— f.e. stands for from end and l.l. for last line
| Page | Col. | Line | |
| 79 | ii | 6 | Beckford, Peter: for cousin read nephew |