Robert Tatersal

Stephen Van-Hagen (University of Coventry)

The Literary Encyclopedia. Volume 1.2.1.05: English Writing and Culture from the Glorious Revolution to the French Revolution, 1689-1789.
Vol. editors: Paul Baines (University of Liverpool), Robert Clark (The Literary Encyclopedia), Daniel Cook (University of Dundee), Pat Rogers (University of South Florida), Nicholas Seager (University of Keele)

Dates

Born c. 1700
Died c. 1750
Activity 1733-1735

Places

Born in England
Active in England

Activities

Primary

Poet

Resources

Little is known about Tatersal beyond the facts surrounding the publication of The Bricklayer’s Miscellany or, Poems on Several Subjects in 1734, and its immediate reception; a bricklayer in Kingston-upon-Thames in Surrey, as William Christmas has noted, his poem “The Wish” suggests he was then a bachelor (Eighteenth-Century English Labouring-Class Poets, vol. I: 1700-40, 2003, p.275). Publication appears to have been made possible by the patronage of a Lord Richard Onslow. The collection’s title page includes the couplet: “Since Rustick Threshers entertain the Muse; / Why may not Bricklayers too their Subjects choose?” Tatersal’s dedication to his patron, like Collier’s preface, makes it further apparent that he is explicitly identifying himself with Stephen Duck, the “thresher poet” whose pirated poems created a sensation in 1730 that led to eventual patronage from Queen Caroline herself:

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1267 words

Citation: Van-Hagen, Stephen. "Robert Tatersal". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 03 March 2007 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/speople.php?rec=true&UID=11774, accessed 09 June 2026.]