Bloomfield , Robert , 1766-1823 , poet

Robert Bloomfield was born in Honington, Suffolk, in 1766. As a boy he worked on his uncle's farm. He then trained as a cobbler under his older brother, spending much of his spare time reading and later also writing poetry. His first major (and most famous) poem, The Farmer's Boy, was begun in 1796 and eventually published in 1800, becoming both a popular and a critical success. Despite being granted a pension by the Duke of Grafton, Bloomfield continued to make shoes and Aeolian harps alongside his literary work for some years and he and his family were never financially secure.