Bloomfield, Walter

Robert Bloomfield (1766-1823), poet, was born at Hornington, Suffolk, on 3 December 1766. While employed as a shoemaker in London, he published the poem The farmer's boy (1800), which received great acclaim and launched his career as a poet. Bloomfield was employed as an under-sealer in the Seal Office, 1802-1803, but faced growing financial difficulties in his later years. He died in poverty in Shefford, Bedfordshire, on 19 August 1823. A collected edition of his poems was published in 1824.

Walter Bloomfield's background is not known.

From the guide to the Walter Bloomfield: Memoir of Robert Bloomfield, 1891, (Cambridge University Library, Department of Manuscripts and University Archives)