Sir Richard Hoare, 2nd Baronet

Sir Richard Colt Hoare, 2nd Baronet FRS (9 December 1758 – 19 May 1838)[1] was an English antiquarian, archaeologist, artist, and traveller of the 18th and 19th centuries, the first major figure in the detailed study of the history of his home county of Wiltshire.

[citation needed] In 1785 he inherited the large Stourhead estate in Wiltshire from his grandfather, Henry Hoare II,[3] which enabled him to pursue his interests including the archaeological studies for which he had already shown an inclination.

[2][7] He took numerous views during his travels in the form of sketches from which he later produced mainly sepia wash drawings, along with a smaller number of watercolours.

His mausoleum in the churchyard of St Peter's in Stourton, the estate village, is under a pinnacled Gothic canopy designed by John Pinch the Elder.

Colt Hoare excavated 379 barrows on Salisbury Plain as well as identifying many other sites in the area, publishing and classifying his findings.

His most important book, The Ancient History of Wiltshire, outlined his findings; this work was first published in five parts from 1810 to 1821 for binding in two volumes.