DURHAM COUNTY
LOCAL HISTORY SOCIETY

Site Map

William Pryce Cumby grew up with his mother's family in Heighington, County Durham. He joined the navy when still only eight years old. At the Battle of Trafalgar he was First Lieutenant of HMS Bellerophon. He took command of her when her captain was killed, and led his ship to victory. He was promoted Captain and served with distinction until 1815, after which he became a gentleman landowner. In 1837 he was recalled to the Service, but he died within the year. A monument in Heighington parish church, crowned with naval trophies worthy of Westminster Abbey, describes his achievements and qualities.

His daughter Jane, using family papers and memories, wrote a vividly moving account of Cumby's life, and her manuscript was preserved by his descendants. My account of his life starts from Jane's Memoir, and expands it from the family papers and public records. These powerfully support the description of the generous nature of Captain Cumby which the Heighington Church Memorial contains.

I am indebted to the late Revd. William Horatio Sandys Cumby Spurrier, O.B.E., the great grandson of Captain Cumby, through whose kindness I had access to the family papers and who encouraged my interest in his ancestor. My thanks are also due to my wife Joyce for her encouragement, to my cousins K.W. Holmes, RH.S., for his assistance in research at the Public Record Office and the National Maritime Museum, and to his sister Jill for the hospitality which enabled me to work in those places.

H.W.J.