Henry Hele (1688/89–1778) was an English physician, who became a substantial landowner in

Wiltshire Wiltshire (; abbreviated Wilts) is a historic and ceremonial county in South West England with an area of . It is landlocked and borders the counties of Dorset to the southwest, Somerset to the west, Hampshire to the southeast, Gloucestershire ...

and

Somerset ( en, All The People of Somerset) , locator_map = , coordinates = , region = South West England , established_date = Ancient , established_by = , preceded_by = , origin = , lord_lieutenant_office =Lord Lieutenant of Somerset , lord_ ...

Origins

Hele was the son of Richard Hele, of the Close,

Salisbury Salisbury ( ) is a cathedral city in Wiltshire, England with a population of 41,820, at the confluence of the rivers Avon, Nadder and Bourne. The city is approximately from Southampton and from Bath. Salisbury is in the southeast of Wil ...

, who in his will dated 1704, proved in 1706, described himself as a gentleman. At the time of his father's will, Henry Hele had two brothers, Richard (1688/89–1756), later a

prebendary A prebendary is a member of the Roman Catholic or Anglican clergy, a form of canon with a role in the administration of a cathedral or collegiate church. When attending services, prebendaries sit in particular seats, usually at the back of the ...

of Salisbury) and John, and two sisters, Amy and Susannah. The elder Richard’s origins are obscure, although he may be connected to the two Richard Heales (father and son), who were identified as musicians in deeds of bastardy and settlement from the 1670s in the Salisbury City Council archives.

Practice

Hele practised successfully as a physician in

for over 50 years. He engaged in a long-running professional controversy in the ''

Salisbury Journal The ''Salisbury Journal'' is the local newspaper for the Salisbury area of England. Founded in 1729, it was revived by William Collins in 1736, who used it to oppose the government of Sir Robert Walpole. Benjamin Collins took over the publicatio ...

'' with his younger rival, John Barker (1708–1749). At a meeting on 24 September 1766, he was nominated as one of the first two physicians of the new hospital that became the

Salisbury Infirmary The Salisbury Infirmary was a hospital at Fisherton Street in Salisbury, Wiltshire, England, from 1767 until 1993. History The Salisbury Infirmary had a long history as a hospital. The first Lord Feversham, who died in 1763, left a sum of £500 ...

. Towards the end of his long life, in 1776, he became involved in a scandal concerning an alleged conspiracy by one Mary Bowes to have her sister Diana forcibly incarcerated in a lunatic asylum; Hele signed the certificate of lunacy that made the scheme possible and was indicted by a grand jury.

Property

From 1744, Hele lived in Myles Place, one of the finest houses in the Cathedral Close in Salisbury. He was involved in numerous land transactions and acquired, in particular, the manors of

Sock Dennis Sock Dennis is an historic manor in the parish of Ilchester in Somerset, England. History In the Domesday Book of 1086 the manor of Sock Dennis was in the possession of Robert, Count of Mortain. From the mid-13th century it was described as a ma ...

and

South Petherton South Petherton is a village and civil parish in the South Somerset district of Somerset, England, located east of Ilminster and north of Crewkerne. The parish had a population of 3,367 in 2011 and includes the smaller village of Over Stra ...

in Somerset, and Brook House and Lodgwood Farm, near

Westbury, Wiltshire Westbury is a town and civil parish in the west of the English county of Wiltshire, below the northwestern edge of Salisbury Plain, about south of Trowbridge and a similar distance north of Warminster. Originally a market town, Westbury was kn ...

Family, death and posterity

By his first wife, Martha Vince (or Vints), Hele had two daughters and co-heirs, Jane (1720/1–1768; married Thomas Phipps of

Westbury Leigh Westbury may refer to: Places United Kingdom *Westbury, Buckinghamshire *Westbury, Shropshire *Westbury, Wiltshire *Westbury-on-Severn, Gloucestershire *Westbury-on-Trym, Bristol *Westbury-sub-Mendip, Somerset United States *Westbury, Connect ...

, Wiltshire) and Martha (married Joceline Robinson). In April 1737, Hele married secondly Jane Rolfe, the daughter of John Rolfe, who reputedly brought with her a fortune of £10,000. Hele died on 24 June 1778. In his will (proved on 9 July 1778), he made bequests of money totalling over £23,000, as well as disposing of his real property. He was buried in

Salisbury Cathedral Salisbury Cathedral, formally the Cathedral Church of the Blessed Virgin Mary, is an Anglican cathedral in Salisbury, England. The cathedral is the mother church of the Diocese of Salisbury and is the seat of the Bishop of Salisbury. The buildi ...

and his memorial inscription reads: "M.S. emoriae sacrumHenrici Hele qui rem medicam in hoc clause & civitate adjacenti per quinqueginta annose probe & feliciter exercuit"."Sacred to the memory of Henry Hele who conducted a medical practice in this Close and adjoining city for fifty years with integrity and success".

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hele, Henry 1778 deaths 18th-century English medical doctors People from Salisbury Year of birth uncertain English landowners