| Description | John Josias Conybeare was the son of the rector of Billingsgate and grandson of the bishop of Bristol. He attended Westminster School as a King’s scholar, was awarded a BA in 1801 and an MA in 1804. Prebendary of York in 1803, he became professor of Anglo-Saxon, 1808-1812 and of poetry, 1812-1821. He was vicar of Batheaston, Somerset from 1812 to 1823 where he built a national school in the churchyard and altered the vicarage to make a laboratory, a “grimly utilitarian addition”. His publications included papers on science and West Country coalfields. The DNB described him as one of the most learned men of his day. He died aged 45, leaving a widow. The Rev William Daniel Conybeare, John’s brother, became dean of Llandaff. |