Thomas Kerrich (4 February 1748 – 10 May 1828) was an English clergyman, principal Cambridge University librarian (Protobibliothecarius), antiquary, draughtsman and gifted amateur artist. He created one of the first catalogue raisonnés (for the works of the artist Marten van Heemskerck).

Life

Thomas Kerrich was born at Dersingham in Norfolk, England, where his father, Samuel, was the vicar. After graduating B.A. from Magdalene College, Cambridge, in 1771,^[1] he went on the Grand Tour where he encountered Thomas Coke. Kerrich was a Fellow of Magdalene, and a Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries from 1797.^[1]

He collected ancient Roman coins and published papers on architecture, sepulchres and coffins.

In 1816, he bought and restored the Leper Chapel in Cambridge. He gave the chapel to the university, which in turn gave it the Cambridge Preservation Society in 1951. Many art galleries have works by Kerrich in their collections.

Kerrich died in Cambridge on 10 May 1828.

Personal life

Kerrich married Sophia Hayles (1762–1835), fourth daughter of the physician Richard Hayles, on 13 September 1798.

The couple had one son and two daughters. The younger daughter, Frances Margaretta Kerrich, was married on 9 December 1828 to Rev. Charles Henry Hartshorne (1802–1865). The son was the Rev. Richard Edward Kerrich (1801–1872).

Publications

• Kerrich, Thomas (1812). "Some Observations on the Gothic Buildings abroad, particularly those in Italy; and on Gothic Architecture in general". Archaeologia. 16: 292–235. doi:10.1017/S0261340900019433.
• Kerrich, Thomas (1817). "Observations upon some sepulchral monuments in Italy and France". Archaeologia. 18: 186–196. doi:10.1017/S0261340900026126.
• Kerrich, Thomas (1821). "Observations on the use of the mysterious figure, called Vesica Piscis, in the Architecture of the Middle Ages, and in Gothic Architecture". Archaeologia. 19: 353–368. doi:10.1017/S0261340900023067.

References

Further reading

• Tudor-Craig, Pamela (2015) . "Kerrich, Thomas (1748–1828)". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (online ed.). Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/15471. (Subscription or UK public library membership required.)

External links

• Description of Barnwell Leper Chapel, including a watercolour by Richard Relhan
• The Annual Biography and Obituary for the year 1829, Vol. 13, Longman, Rees, Orme, Brown and Green, London, 1829, pp. 278–300.