issued on 10 June 1825, and renewed on 14 Sept. 1830. Lemon was appointed secretary. By his exertions the documents belonging to the reign of Henry VIII were arranged for publication.
The state papers were ultimately removed from Scotland Yard and Great George Street to a more suitable house built for them in St. James's Park, in which Lemon had private apartments assigned to him. He died on 29 July 1835, and was buried in Kennington churchyard. By his wife Sarah (1772–1826) he had a son, Robert Lemon [q. v.], and a daughter.
In 1798 he helped to compile the valuable appendix to the ‘Report on Internal Defence,’ which chiefly relates to the preparations made against the threatened invasion of 1588. He was associated with his father in preparing the ‘Calendars of the Charter Rolls and Inquisitions ad Quod Damnum, and of the Inquisitions Post Mortem.’ Elected F.S.A. in May 1824, he contributed to the ‘Archæologia’ (xxi. 148–57) the warrant of indemnity to lord treasurer Middlesex for the jewels sent to Charles, prince of Wales, in Spain.
Among those who benefited by Lemon's knowledge was Sir Walter Scott (cf. postscript appended in November 1829 to the cabinet edition of Rob Roy). Lemon illustrated his copy of Scott's novels with transcripts of historical documents.
[Gent. Mag. 1835, pt. ii. pp. 326–8; Greville Memoirs, 1st part (4th edit.), iii. 44.]
LEMON, ROBERT (1800–1867), archivist, born in 1800, was the son of Robert [q. v.] and Sarah Lemon. He was employed under his father in the state paper office, and compiled the indexes to the ‘Valor Ecclesiasticus temp. Hen. VIII’ (Report of Record Comm. 1836, Append. p. 770). He discovered in 1826 an original portrait of Milton (Gent. Mag. 1826, pt. ii. p. 61). In November 1835 he was appointed senior clerk (ib. 1835, pt. ii. p. 545). To Lemon the suggestion of forming and publishing the ‘Calendars of State Papers’ is due, and he first interpreted a cypher which previously rendered large masses of those papers unintelligible. The first two volumes of the ‘Domestic Series,’ 1547–90, were published under his editorship in 1856 and 1865. He died at Brompton, Middlesex, on 3 Jan. 1867 (ib. 4th ser. iii. 261). He was married, and had a large family.
Lemon was elected F.S.A. on 3 March 1836. His single contribution to the ‘Archæologia’ (vol. xxxvii.) consists of a commentary appended to a letter addressed to John Stanhope in 1588, giving particulars of great interest in reference to the Spanish Armada. He also contributed to the ‘Proceedings.’ In 1846 he rearranged the society's library, and compiled catalogues of their valuable collections of broadsides and proclamations. His ‘Catalogue’ of the broadsides, with an introduction by John Bruce, F.S.A., was published by the society in 1866.
[Proc. Soc. Antiq. 2nd ser. iii. 481–2; Athenæum, 24 Jan. 1857, pp. 107–8; Gent. Mag. April 1857, pt. i. p. 446.]
LEMPRIÈRE, JOHN, D.D. (1765?–1824), classical scholar, born in Jersey (Plees, Jersey, p. 79) about 1765, was the son of Charles Lemprière of Jersey. He was educated at Winchester College and at Pembroke College, Oxford, where he graduated B.A. 14 Jan. 1790, M.A. 10 Oct. 1792, B.D. 9 July 1801, D.D. 14 Jan. 1803 (Cat. Oxf. Grad.) In 1788 he was assistant-master at Reading grammar school (Gent. Mag. 1791, pt. ii. p. 740, and manuscript note in British Museum copy), and in 1789 was connected with the church of St. Helier, Jersey (cp. ib. 1789, pt. ii. pp. 834, 1031, 1066, reviewing a sermon preached there by Lemprière). While at Reading he published his ‘Bibliotheca Classica; or, a Classical Dictionary containing a full Account of all the Proper Names mentioned in Antient Authors’ (Reading, 1788, 8vo). This work, which long remained a popular English authority on mythology and history, has the merit of being readable. Some references to ancient authorities are given, but the articles are often superficial and written from points of view now obsolete. Lemprière acknowledged in the preface his indebtedness to Sabatier's ‘Siècles payens.’ A second edition appeared in 1797 (London, 8vo), ‘greatly enlarged,’ and with tables of coins, weights, &c. The ninth edition appeared in 1815, and among other editions may be mentioned those of 1818, 1828, 1832, 1833 (New York), 1838, 1843, 1888. Several abridgments were published, the first by Lemprière himself in 1808.
In 1791 Lemprière was master of the grammar school at Bolton, Lancashire. From about 1792 till 1808 (or 1809) he was a successful master at the grammar school at Abingdon, and was vicar of Abingdon from 1800 till 1811. While at Abingdon he published the first volume of an English translation of ‘Herodotus,’ with notes, but did not complete the work. He also published a ‘Universal Biography … of Eminent Persons in all Ages and Countries,’ London, 1808, 4to; 1812, 8vo (Notes and Queries, 1st ser. x. 246); 1825, 8vo New York. The articles are brief, and no authorities are cited. In 1809 he became master of the
