The author of the Ingoldsby Legends (a collection of myths, legends and ghost stories), Richard Harris Barham came to Brasenose in 1807. His attitude towards his studies can be gathered from the excuse he gave for his persistent failure to attend morning Chapel at 7am. He claimed that the hour was too late for him; if he did not get to bed by 6am at the latest he was fit for nothing the following day.
He took his B.A. in 1811. He had intended to pursue the law, but it is said that the shock of a contemporary's death sobered him and instead he went into the Church. He was ordained in 1813 and held livings first in Kent and then in London.