Richard Harris Barham was born in Canterbury, England on 6th December 1788. His father died when he was seven leaving him a small estate, including the manor of Tappington of Denton in Kent. As a nine-year old he was sent to St Paul's School where, in an accident, one of his arms was partially crippled. His focus went from the physical to the mental and he became a dedicated reader and diligent student.In 1807 he entered Brasenose College, Oxford, to study Law. However he decided instead that his path in life was to be religious and in 1813 he was ordained and accepted a country curacy and in 1821 he received the post of minor canon of St. Paul's Cathedral in London, where he served as a cardinal. Three years later he became one of the priests in ordinary of the King's Chapel Royal.In 1826 Barham first contributed to Blackwood's Magazine; and in 1837 he began to write, for the recently founded magazine, Bentley's Miscellany, a series of tales and poems known as 'The Ingoldsby Legends'. These became very popular and were later published in book form.Richard Harris Barham died at the age of 56 after a long and painful illness in London on 17th June 1845.