Dictionary of National Biography, 1885-1900/Constable, Cuthbert
CONSTABLE, CUTHBERT, M.D. (d. 1746), antiquary, was son of Francis Tunstall, esq., of Wycliffe Hall and Scargill Castle, Yorkshire, by Cicely, daughter of John Constable, second viscount Dunbar. He was educated in the English college at Douay, which he entered in 1700, and afterwards he took the degree of M.D. in the university of Montpellier. In 1718 he inherited from his uncle, the last Viscount Dunbar, the estate of Burton Constable, near Hull, Yorkshire, and in consequence assumed the name of Constable. He has been styled the 'catholic Mæcenas of his age.' He was an accomplished scholar, and corresponded with the most eminent literary men of the kingdom, particularly with the antiquary Thomas Hearne. He rendered great assistance to Bishop Challoner in the compilation of the 'Memoirs of Missionary Priests,' and contributed to the cost of publishing Dodd's 'Church History.' At Burton Constable he formed an extensive library, enriched with valuable manuscripts. Among the latter was a biography by himself of Abraham Woodhead; his correspondence with Mr. Nicholson, formerly of University College, Oxford, in reference to Woodhead; and a volume of his correspondence with Hearne. Constable died 27 March 1746.
[Dr. Kirk's Biographical MSS. quoted in Gillow's Bibl. Dict. i. 548; Catholic Miscellany (1830), 136.]