Richard Payne Knight (1751-1824) was born on 11th February 1751 at Wormsley Grange, Herefordshire, to Thomas Knight (1687-1764), the rector of Ribbesford and Bewdley, and his wife Ursula (née Nash) who had formerly been his servant. Thomas has been described as the “cuckoo in the nest” amongst his siblings (Clarke and Penny, The Arrogant Connoisseur (1982), 2), being the only one of four sons who did not become a partner in the Stour ironworks, in which their father, Richard Knight, had established a controlling interest, and through which the family amassed a great fortune and acquired numerous estates. When his uncle, Richard Knight, died in 1765, Richard Payne Knight, who had taken his middle name from his g…
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Citation: Kinsley, Zoë. "Richard Payne Knight". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 17 March 2006 [https://staging.litencyc.com/php/speople.php?rec=true&UID=2540, accessed 24 November 2024.]
