Penrose, Thomas

(1742-1779)

   The son of Thomas Penrose, rector at Newbury, Berkshire, he started at Oxford University but, seeking adventure, he was part of a private expedition which set sail in 1762 to attack Buenos Ayres, under the command of Captain Macnamara. On the way they attacked the settlement of Nova Colonia de Sacramento in the River Plate, which had been seized by the Spanish. In the battle, Macnamara's ship was lost with many lives. The Ambuscade, in which Penrose served as a lieutenant of marines, escaped, and ultimately arrived at the Portuguese settlement of Rio Janeiro. Although wounded, he recovered and on returning to England, he settled at Oxford and graduated B.A. from Hertford College in 1766. He took holy orders and became curate to his father at Newbury, then around 1777 he was appointed the rector of Beckington-cum-Standerwick, near Frome in Somerset. He died at Bristol shortly afterward and was buried at Clifton, Bristol, where a monument was erected in his memory. Some of his poems: "Address to the Genius of Britain," "Bagatelle," "Donnington Castle," "Early Grey Hairs," "The Hermit's Vision," "To My Dearest Wife, on Our Wedding Day, 1768."

   Sources: Dictionary of National Biography. Electronic Edition 1.1. Oxford University Press, 1997. Ships of the 18th Cent. Royal Navy (http://www.cronab.demon.co.uk/18a.HTM). The Columbia Granger's Index to Poetry. 11th ed. The Columbia Granger's World of Poetry, Columbia University Press, 2005 (http://www.columbiagrangers.org). The New Oxford Book of Eighteenth Century Verse. Roger Lonsdale, ed. Oxford University Press, 1984. The Works of the British Poets, Vol. 33 (Blair, Glynn, Boyce, Shaw, Lovibond, and Penrose). J. Sharpe, 1808.