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1715-1781
Poet. Born at Beaudesert near Henley-in-Arden, Warwickshire where his father was Rector. He was educated at Solihull School and University College, Oxford, becoming friends with both William Somerville and William Shenstone, the latter having a lasting influence on his life and work. On leaving university he became a curate at Snitterfield, Warwickshire. He went on to hold two other livings in the county, at Harbury and Chesterton. After the death of his first wife he returned to Snitterfield to live at the vicarage from 1754. His poetry gained him recognition and patronage, but he continued to spend most of his time at Snitterfield and ornamented the vicarage grounds, influenced, no doubt, by the enthusiasm for landscaping of his friend Shenstone. At his own request he was buried in the a vault in the church.
Richard Jago is remembered for his poem Edge-hill, or, the rural prospect delineated and moralised (1767). This is a long and rambling work in four books describing the famous Battle of Edge Hill during the English Civil War in 1642 which took place on a ridge in south Warwickshire. It has some clever descriptions set at different times of the day and contains many references to the local scenery. He recalled his Solihull schooldays in Book III.
The following e-texts may be read online on this site:-
There is a chapter devoted to Richard Jago by R.M. Ingersley in Warwickshire poets (1914), edited by Charles Henry Poole. This is available in the West Midlands Creative Literature Collection.
Page created 9 January 2000 and last updated
28 October 2002
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