Drury, Henry Joseph Thomas (1778 -1841)

Henry Joseph Thomas Drury, was the son of Joseph Drury, Headmaster of Harrow School, and Louisa, daughter of Benjamin Heath. Educated at Harrow, Eton and King's College, Cambridge, he was admitted to King's 29 November 1796, and took his B.A. in 1801, and his M.A. in 1804. He was a Fellow of Kings from 1799 1808. Drury was first Under Master and then Master of the Lower School at Harrow, and had a great reputation as a classical scholar though he published only a volume of selections for the use of the school. Ordained a deacon at Ely 9 March 1811, he was Rector of Fingest in Buckinghamshire from 1820 1841. An original member of the Roxburghe Club, and the Menalcus of Dibdin's Bibliographical Decameron he formed a most valuable library of Greek and Latin classics which was dispersed in 4729 lots by R.H. Evans in a sale lasting 23 days between 21 February and 23 March 1827, and a second by Christie & Manson 17-19 May 1841. He married Caroline, daughter of A. W. Taylor, of Boreham Wood. They had one son, Henry, who was also a classicist.