Born in Salisbury, John Tobin, attended Bristol Grammar School, that had moved to Unity Street in 1767 after vacating its original premises in Lewin’s Mead. After the American War of Independence, John’s father James Tobin had settled in Redland, Bristol. Following school, John left Bristol for London where he composed plays until his death in 1804. He was an acquaintance of Humphrey Davy, who dedicates a poem to him. His brother James Webbe was a friend of Coleridge and Southey, and moved from Yeovil to Bristol. John Tobin died tragically in 1804 before he could witness the success of his play – particularly striking considering his previous failure. He had seen 13 of his earlier plays rejected by theatres. The Honey Moon, Felix Farley’s Bristol Journal explains, is ‘always a comedy favourite’ (12/10/1806) and of Tobin's other achievment The Curfew: ‘the story is interwoven with so many incidents which excite in the audience most lively attention’(16/08/1807)