Richard Porson - Loss of Fellowship

Loss of Fellowship

In 1792 his fellowship ceased to be tenable by a layman; and Porson decided not to take holy orders. The Master, Thomas Postlethwaite, who had the nomination to one of the two permanent lay fellowships, used his privilege to nominate John Heys, his nephew. So Porson was without means of support. A subscription was, however, got up among his friends to provide an annuity; Cracherode, Cleaver Banks, Burney and Samuel Parr took the lead, and enough was collected to produce about £100 a year. He accepted it on the condition that he should receive the interest during his lifetime, and that the principal should be returned to the donors at his death. When this occurred, part of the sum was used to found the Porson Prize in 1816 at Cambridge, and remainder was devoted to the foundation of the Porson Scholarship, first awarded in 1855.

He continued chiefly to reside in London, having chambers in Essex Court, Temple—occasionally visiting his friends, such as Joseph Goodall at Eton College and Samuel Parr at Hatton, Warwickshire. It was at Goodall's house that the Letters to Travis were written. At Hatton, in the evenings, he would collect the young men of the house about him, and pour forth from memory torrents of literature. In 1792 the Regius Greek Professorship at Cambridge became vacant due to the resignation of William Cooke. Porson was elected without opposition, and he held the chair until his death. The duties then consisted in taking a part in the examinations for the university scholarships and classical medals. It was said he wished to give lectures; but lecturing was not in fashion in those days.