Walkern Rector from 1781 to 1817
Benjamin was born in Exeter in 1739 the eldest of 13 children. His father, also Dr Benjamin Heath (1703-1766), was the Town Clerk of Exeter and an avid and well-known collector of rare books. He was the son of a wealthy merchant and was therefore able to devote himself to travel and book collecting.
His son Benjamin was educated at Eton and then in 1759 went to Cambridge to study. In 1771 he became the headmaster of Harrow until 1785 when he resigned the post on being elected to a fellowship in Eton College. In 1781, he was presented by Kings College the Rectory of Walkern. Benjamin had inherited a portion of his fathers collection of books, to which he made considerable additions. He built a library in Walkern to house the collection.
When the collection was auctioned In 1810, it was described in the sale catalogue as “A catalogue or books, containing all the rare, useful, and valuable publications in every department of Literature, from the first invention of Printing to the present time, all of which are in the most perfect condition”
In 1807, he also took up the Rectory of Farnham in Buckinghamshire from Eton College.
Dr Heath died at Walkern, unmarried on 31st May 1817, aged 78 and was buried at St Leaonard’s Exeter.