Sir Richard Colt Hoare

Sir Richard Colt Hoare, 2nd Baronet (1758-1838), was born on 9 December 1758. He attended private schools, and at an early age began to work at the family banking-house. He obtained a position of financial independence with the help of an allowance received from his grandfather Henry Hoare, and established himself at Lincoln's Inn Fields, marrying in 1783. After the death of his wife in 1785, he embarked on tours of the continent. Hoare published works on his home county of Wiltshire, journals of his tours and a topographical catalogue of the British Isles. He was a Fellow of the Royal Society and of the Society of Antiquaries. He died at Stourhead on 19 May 1838.

From the guide to the Sir Richard Colt Hoare: Notes on Paintings, c. 1787, (Cambridge University Library, Department of Manuscripts and University Archives)