{{Short description|English antiquarian and topographer (1780–1839)}} {{Use dmy dates|date=May 2026}} {{Infobox person | name = John Chambers | birth_date = March 1780 | birth_place = London, England | death_date = 28 July 1839 | death_place = Norwich, England | occupation = Antiquarian, biographer and topographer | known_for = Local histories of Malvern, Worcester and Norfolk | spouse = Mary Le Neve Foster | children = 3 }} '''John Chambers''' (March 1780 – 28 July 1839) was an English antiquarian, biographer and topographer. He wrote local histories of Malvern, Worcester and Norfolk, and biographical and antiquarian articles in periodicals including ''The Gentleman's Magazine''.<ref name="DNB">{{cite DNB |wstitle=Chambers, John (1780-1839) |volume=10}}</ref>
Chambers' published books combined guidebook material, antiquarian description and biographical notices.<ref name="malvern-yale">{{cite web |title=A General History of Malvern |url=https://collections.britishart.yale.edu/catalog/alma:995792533408651 |website=Yale Center for British Art Collections Search |publisher=Yale Center for British Art |access-date=22 May 2026}}</ref><ref name="norfolk-gbooks">{{cite web |title=A General History of the County of Norfolk, Intended to Convey All the Information of a Norfolk Tour |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=5JnfswEACAAJ |website=Google Books |access-date=22 May 2026}}</ref>
==Life== Chambers was born in London in March 1780. He began working in an architect's office, but gave up the profession after inheriting a fortune from his father.<ref name="DNB" /> In 1806 he became a member of the Society of Arts, chairing its committee of polite arts from 1809 to 1811.<ref name="DNB" />
On 29 September 1814, Chambers married Mary, the daughter of Peter Le Neve Foster of Wymondham, Norfolk.<ref name="DNB" /> In 1815, the year after his marriage, he moved from London to Worcester, where he lived for nearly eight years. He then moved to Wymondham, and after about two years settled in Norwich so that his sons could attend school there.<ref name="DNB" />
Chambers died at Dean's Square, Norwich, on 28 July 1839.<ref name="DNB" />
==Writing== Chambers' writing was mainly local, antiquarian and biographical. His first topographical book, ''A General History of Malvern'', was published at Worcester in 1817, with a second edition in 1820.<ref name="DNB" /> The 1817 edition was illustrated with five plates, including a folding view, and was described on its title page as a guide with chemical, mineralogical and statistical information about Malvern.<ref name="malvern-yale" /> He followed it with ''A General History of Worcester'' in 1819 and ''Biographical Illustrations of Worcestershire'' in 1820.<ref name="DNB" /><ref name="worcester-gbooks">{{cite web |title=A General History of Worcester |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=dGNfFRwgtkgC |website=Google Books |access-date=22 May 2026}}</ref><ref name="worcestershire-ia">{{cite web |title=Biographical Illustrations of Worcestershire |url=https://archive.org/details/biographicalillu00cham |website=Internet Archive |access-date=22 May 2026}}</ref>
''Biographical Illustrations of Worcestershire'' was a biographical dictionary of Worcestershire people, including natives and residents described as notable for piety or talent, and included a list of living authors associated with the county.<ref name="worcestershire-ia" /> In 1829, Chambers published ''A General History of the County of Norfolk'', a two-volume work issued anonymously at Norwich. According to the ''Dictionary of National Biography'', the Norfolk history was written with the assistance of local residents.<ref name="DNB" /> Its title described the work as a Norfolk tour with antiquarian, statistical, pictorial, architectural and biographical information.<ref name="norfolk-gbooks" /> Chambers also wrote a life of Inigo Jones for ''Arnold's Magazine of the Fine Arts'' and contributed to ''The Gentleman's Magazine'' and other periodicals.<ref name="DNB" />
==Selected works== * {{cite book |last=Chambers |first=John |title=A General History of Malvern, Embellished with Plates, Intended to Comprise all the Advantages of a Guide, with the More Important Details of Chemical, Mineralogical and Statistical Information |publisher=William Walcott |location=Worcester |date=1817 |url=https://collections.britishart.yale.edu/catalog/alma:995792533408651 |oclc=557955927}} * {{cite book |last=Chambers |first=John |title=A General History of Worcester |publisher=William Walcott |location=Worcester |date=1819 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=dGNfFRwgtkgC |oclc=316198800}} * {{cite book |last=Chambers |first=John |title=Biographical Illustrations of Worcestershire; Including Lives of Persons, Natives or Residents, Eminent either for Piety or Talent; to which is Added a List of Living Authors of the County |publisher=William Walcott |location=Worcester |date=1820 |url=https://archive.org/details/biographicalillu00cham |oclc=54130309}} * {{cite book |last=Chambers |first=John |title=A General History of the County of Norfolk, Intended to Convey all the Information of a Norfolk Tour |publisher=John Stacy |location=Norwich |date=1829 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=5JnfswEACAAJ |oclc=1887034}}
==Family== Chambers and his wife had two sons and a daughter.<ref name="DNB" /> His elder son, John Charles Chambers, was vicar of St Mary's, Soho, and warden of the House of Charity in Soho. His younger son, Oswald Lyttleton Chambers, became vicar of Hook, Yorkshire, in 1863 and died there in 1883.<ref name="DNB" />
==References== {{Reflist}}
;Attribution {{DNB |wstitle=Chambers, John (1780-1839) |volume=10}}
==External links== * {{Wikisource author-inline|John Chambers}}
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Chambers, John}} Category:1780 births Category:1839 deaths Category:19th-century English biographers Category:Antiquarians from London Category:English antiquarians Category:English topographers