Roberts, William Hayward

(d. 1791)

   Said to be of Gloucestershire origin, he was educated at Eton, graduated B.A. from King's College, Cambridge, in 1757, and created doctor of divintiy at Cambridge in 1773. He was rector of two parishes: Everdon, Northamptonshire, and Farnham Royal, Buckinghamshire, before being appointed provost of Eton College in 1781 (where he died). He was also one of the chaplains to King George III. He had been twice married and at Eton he was said to have engaged in high and riotous living. His known poetry publications: A Poetical Essay on the Existence, the Attributes, and the Providence of God, 1771. A Poetical Epistle to Christopher Anstey, Esq., on the English Poets, chiefly those who have written in Blank Verse, 1773. Poems, 1774. Judah Restored, a poem in six books and in blank verse, 1774. Some of his poems: "Arimant and Tamira, An Eastern Tale," "The Poor Man's Prayer, Addressed to the Earl of Chatham," "To G.A.S., Esq. on His Leaving Eton School," "To Jacob Bryant, Esq.," "To the Jews," "To the Rev. Dr. Barnard, Provost of Eton College."

   Sources: Dictionary of National Biography. Electronic Edition 1.1. Oxford University Press, 1997. English Poetry: Author Search. Chadwyck-Healey Ltd., 1995 (http://www.lib.utexas.edu:8080/search/epoetry/author.html). Stanford University Libraries and Academic Information Resources (http://library.stanford.edu).