PERCY, THOMAS (1729-1811)

—Antiquary and poet, s. of a grocer at Bridgnorth, where he was b. , ed. at Oxf., entered the Church, and became in 1778 Dean of Car lisle, and in 1782 Bishop of Dromore. He pub. various antiquarian works, chiefly with reference to the North of England; but is best remembered for his great service to literature in collecting and ed. many ancient ballads, pub. in 1765 as Reliques of Ancient Poetry , which did much to bring back interest in the ancient native literature, and to usher in the revival of romanticism.