Frederick Augusta Barnard

Sir Frederick Augusta Barnard (1742 - 27 January 1830) was appointed Royal Librarian by his half-brother, George III in 1774, a position he filled until 1828. Barnard developed the library collection systematically, seeking guidance from noted intellectuals, such as the writer and lexicographer Dr Samuel Johnson. [ [http://www.bl.uk/collections/early/georgeiii.html British Library] ]

On George III's coronation in 1760, he found a Royal Library of little substance since the Old Royal Library had been moved from St James's Palace in 1708, and donated to the new British Museum by George II in 1757. The library that George III inherited consisted of a few collections scattered among the various royal residences.

Early in his reign he determined to start a new library worthy of a monarch, and reflecting his patronage, taste and power. As a first step, he acquired in 1763 the library of Joseph Smith (1682-1770), former British Consul at Venice. Smith's collection contained a large number of the classics that were important examples of early printing. Starting around this period King George delegated buyers to attend all major book sales taking place in London and the Continent. Single volumes, private collections and large numbers of books from Jesuit libraries that had closed down, all found their way back to London and the embryonic new library.

George III continued enlarging his library for some fifty years. He acquired the best books at the auctions of West, Ratcliffe and Askew, and continued buying up to the Roxburghe sale of 1812. Messrs Nicol, the booksellers, were his usual agents, though he retrieved from the Continent some priceless incunabula through Horn of Ratisbon, a notorious plunderer of the German convents. [ [http://www.jonathanahill.com/search.php?search_input=Barnard Jonathan Hill] ]

This collection, which came to be known as the King's Library, grew rich with numerous volumes on classical, English and Italian literature, European history and religion, and had fine examples of early printing. Prominent amongst these was a copy of the Gutenberg Bible, and William Caxton's first edition of Chaucer's Canterbury Tales. Less scholarly material was also to be found on the shelves, such as periodicals of the time. The library had grown to some 65 000 volumes and 19 000 pamphlets by the time of George III's death in 1820. Numerous manuscripts and bound volumes of maps and topographical views rounded off the collection.

A policy was eventually instituted of making the library's resources freely available to scholars, but initially George III regarded the collection as his personal property and only grudgingly allowed access to Joseph Priestly and the American revolutionary John Adams, though Samuel Johnson was always welcomed.

At first the collection was housed in the Old Palace at Kew, but presently moved to the Octagon Library which had been specially constructed at the Queen's House or Buckingham House, on the site of the present Buckingham Palace. Here it remained until George IV, after his father's death in 1820, decided to rebuild Buckingham House into a suitable palace for himself. The library, which held little of interest for George IV, had to go and was donated to the British public in 1823.

The fragmentation and dispersal of the collection he had helped assemble, deeply distressed Barnard and led to his resignation in 1828, after which he was knighted rather belatedly as a palliative. During his career he was elected a Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries in 1789 and of the Royal Society in 1790. He lived for most of his working life in a Grace and Favour apartment in St James's Palace and died there at the ripe age of 87. His death merited only a brief notice in the Gentleman’s Magazine, a niggardly tribute undeserved for a man of his eminence.

Catalogue

For a long time George III had wanted a catalogue of the collection published, but kept postponing this. It became evident after 1812 that he would not recover from his condition, and Queen Charlotte and the Prince Regent urged that the catalogue be finalised. Barnard compiled and published it as "Bibliothecae Regiae Catalogus" printed by W. Bulmer & W. Nicol of London between 1820 and 1829 in five folio volumes. Although it was never offered for sale to the public, copies were presented to the crowned heads of Europe and important libraries in the United Kingdom and elsewhere.

Family

Barnard married Catherine Byde, the daughter of John Byde, former Page of Honour in the household of Queen Caroline, consort of George II. Catherine died in 1837. Frederick’s legal father, John (†1773), had been Gentleman Usher Quarterly Waiter and Page of the Backstairs to Frederick, Prince of Wales and the Princess Augusta of Saxe-Gotha between 1738 and 1751 when the Prince died. Frederick's biological father was the Prince of Wales himself out of Mrs Elizabeth Barnard, Frederick's legal and biological mother. Frederick was named after the Prince of Wales and his wife, Princess Augusta. Frederick's introduction to royal service was as Page of the Backstairs to George III, his half-brother, on his accession in 1760. [ [http://anthonyjcamp.com/page6.htm "Royal Mistresses and Bastards"-Anthony J. Camp] ] [ [http://books.google.co.za/books?id=1lEKxCJ6swcC&pg=PA17&lpg=PA17&dq=%22Frederick+Augusta+Barnard%22&source=web&ots=B2oWPlUBUv&sig=nF4XLrfs2NamdaHRKQW84r0bysI&hl=en&sa=X&oi=book_result&resnum=8&ct=result "The Gentleman's Magazine" vol.1 (1834)] ]

Frederick's will of 2 July 1827 records his ownership of Twickenham House and names his wife as principal beneficiary. He also makes provision for his grandson to inherit. An amount is set aside for his funeral expenses from St Martin-in-the-Fields, from where it seems probable that he was buried at St Martin's Gardens, the Boneyard, Pratt Street, Camden. There was a son, and possibly a daughter of the marriage, but George, born in 1777 died in 1817 leaving a grandson, also George, who died in 1846. [ [http://www.twickenham-museum.org.uk/detail.asp?ContentID=333 Twickenham Museum] ]

References

Bibliography

*"Most Curious, Splendid and Useful: the King's Library of George III", by Graham Jefcoate.
*"The King's Library", by EM Paintin (London, 1989). 32p.
*"The Library of King George III", by John Brooke. Yale University Library Gazette, vol. 52, no.1 (July 1977), pp.33-45.
*"A History of the British Museum Library, 1753-1973", by PR Harris (London, 1998). 833p.