Silvanus Bevan
FRS (1691–8 June 1765) was an
apothecary
''Apothecary'' () is a mostly archaic term for a medical professional who formulates and dispenses '' materia medica'' (medicine) to physicians, surgeons, and patients. The modern chemist (British English) or pharmacist (British and North Amer ...
, who founded the London firm of
Allen & Hanburys
Allen and Hanburys Ltd was a British pharmaceutical manufacturer, absorbed by Glaxo Laboratories in 1958. GlaxoSmithKline, its successor company, used the Allen and Hanburys name for the specialist respiratory division until beginning to phase ...
.
Biography
Early life
Silvanus Bevan was born in 1691 in
Swansea, into a prosperous Welsh
Quaker family. His father, who died in 1725, was also called
Silvanus. His mother was Jane Bevan (née Phillips).
He had a younger brother,
Timothy 1704-1786). He left Swansea as a young man, and moved to
Cheapside
Cheapside is a street in the City of London, the historic and modern financial centre of London, which forms part of the A40 London to Fishguard road. It links St. Martin's Le Grand with Poultry. Near its eastern end at Bank junction, where ...
, in London.
Career
He obtained his "Freedom" from the
Worshipful Society of Apothecaries
The Worshipful Society of Apothecaries of London is one of the livery companies of the City of London. It is one of the largest livery companies (with over 1,600 members in 2012) and ranks 58th in their order of precedence.
The society is a m ...
in 1715 having served his seven years' apprenticeship with Thomas Mayleigh. He established his Pharmacy at Number Two Plough Court, Lombard Street
ODNB
The ''Dictionary of National Biography'' (''DNB'') is a standard work of reference on notable figures from British history, published since 1885. The updated ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'' (''ODNB'') was published on 23 September ...
article by Geoffrey Tweedale, 'Bevan, Silvanus (1691–1765)', Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, 200
accessed 10 March 2008. in one of whose rooms
Alexander Pope
Alexander Pope (21 May 1688 O.S. – 30 May 1744) was an English poet, translator, and satirist of the Enlightenment era who is considered one of the most prominent English poets of the early 18th century. An exponent of Augustan literature, ...
, the poet, had been born in 1688.
William Cookworthy
William Cookworthy (12 April 170517 October 1780) was an English Quaker minister, a successful pharmacist and an innovator in several fields of technology. He was the first person in Britain to discover how to make hard-paste porcelain, like ...
was one of his apprentices.
His business prospered, and in 1725 he was joined by his younger brother,
Timothy (1704–1786). Timothy continued the Plough Court Pharmacy after his brother's retirement, and was succeeded by his son,
Joseph Gurney Bevan
Joseph Gurney Bevan (1753–1814) was a British Quaker, known as a writer of apologetics.
Life
The son of Timothy and Hannah Bevan, he was born in London on 18 February 1753. His father hired the English educator, historian, and Quaker Rober ...
(1753–1814). In the nineteenth century, under
William Allen William Allen may refer to:
Politicians
United States
*William Allen (congressman) (1827–1881), United States Representative from Ohio
*William Allen (governor) (1803–1879), U.S. Representative, Senator, and 31st Governor of Ohio
*William ...
and the Hanbury family,
Allen & Hanburys
Allen and Hanburys Ltd was a British pharmaceutical manufacturer, absorbed by Glaxo Laboratories in 1958. GlaxoSmithKline, its successor company, used the Allen and Hanburys name for the specialist respiratory division until beginning to phase ...
became one of the leading pharmaceutical companies in London.
In 1725, he was elected a Fellow of the
Royal Society
The Royal Society, formally The Royal Society of London for Improving Natural Knowledge, is a learned society and the United Kingdom's national academy of sciences. The society fulfils a number of roles: promoting science and its benefits, re ...
, on the proposal of
Isaac Newton
Sir Isaac Newton (25 December 1642 – 20 March 1726/27) was an English mathematician, physicist, astronomer, alchemist, theologian, and author (described in his time as a " natural philosopher"), widely recognised as one of the grea ...
.
In 1743 his letter entitled “An Account of an Extraordinary Case of the Bones of a Woman Growing Soft and Flexible”, was printed in their
Philosophical Transactions. It describes his findings having performed a
post-mortem
An autopsy (post-mortem examination, obduction, necropsy, or autopsia cadaverum) is a surgical procedure that consists of a thorough examination of a corpse by dissection to determine the cause, mode, and manner of death or to evaluate any di ...
examination.
He was a skilled carver of
ivory
Ivory is a hard, white material from the tusks (traditionally from elephants) and teeth of animals, that consists mainly of dentine, one of the physical structures of teeth and tusks. The chemical structure of the teeth and tusks of mammals i ...
and several busts of well-known men are still in existence (he sent one to
Lord Cobham, when he was seeking likenesses for statues for his garden at
Stowe House.
After he retired his interest in Welsh antiquities brought him into contact with
Richard Morris. There are references to him in the Morris Letters He was described as being a dilettante, a collector of fossils, curios, books and paintings and a keen gardener. Although he spoke Welsh badly, in 1762 he was elected a member of the
Cymmrodorion.
[
]
Personal life
On 9 November 1715 he married Elizabeth, the daughter of Daniel Quare, the royal clockmaker, at a Friends' meeting-house in the City. His wedding was attended by Sarah, Duchess of Marlborough
Sarah Churchill, Duchess of Marlborough, Princess of Mindelheim, Countess of Nellenburg (née Jenyns, spelt Jennings in most modern references; 5 June 1660 (Old Style) – 18 October 1744), was an English courtier who rose to be one of th ...
, Lord Finch, Lady Cartwright, William Penn
William Penn ( – ) was an English writer and religious thinker belonging to the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers), and founder of the Province of Pennsylvania, a North American colony of England. He was an early advocate of democracy a ...
, the Venetian ambassador and his wife. Elizabeth died soon after their marriage in giving birth to a son, who lived but a few hours. Silvanus subsequently married Martha Heathcote, the daughter of Gilbert Heathcote (1664-1719), a Quaker physician to King William III of England
William III (William Henry; ; 4 November 16508 March 1702), also widely known as William of Orange, was the sovereign Prince of Orange from birth, Stadtholder of Holland, Zeeland, Utrecht, Guelders, and Overijssel in the Dutch Republic f ...
. They had no children.[(Gamble 1923, 30).]
Death
He died in Hackney on 5 June 1765, and was buried at the Bunhill Fields burial-ground.
Notes
There were three prominent Silvanus Bevans in the family.
* Silvanus (I) (1661–1725) the father of the subject of this entry was a burgess of the City of Swansea.
* Silvanus (II) (1691–1765) the apothecary, and
* Silvanus (III) (1743–1830), son of Timothy Bevan
Sir Timothy Hugh Bevan (24 May 1927 – 11 February 2016) was a British lawyer and heir to a banking dynasty. He was the chairman of Barclays Bank from 1981 to 1987.
Early life
Born in May 1927, the younger brother of Robert Francis Bevan (who ...
, the brother of Silvanus Bevan (II), was one of the founders of Barclay's Bank
Barclays () is a British multinational universal bank, headquartered in London, England. Barclays operates as two divisions, Barclays UK and Barclays International, supported by a service company, Barclays Execution Services.
Barclays traces ...
and partner of Thrale's Anchor Brewery. He was a grandson of Silvanus (I) and the great grandfather of Robert Polhill Bevan
Robert Polhill Bevan (5 August 1865 – 8 July 1925) was a British painter, draughtsman and lithographer. He was a founding member of the Camden Town Group, the London Group, and the Cumberland Market Group.
Early life
He was born in Bruns ...
, the artist.
Further reading
* ''The Monthly Record'', 15 March 1873, No 46, Vol IV.
* (The Morris Letters) ''The letters of Lewis, Richard, William and John Morris of Anglesey'', ed. J. H. Davies, 2 vols. (1907–09).
* Audrey Nona Gamble, ''A History of the Bevan Family'' (1923).
* "The Quaker family of Bevan", ''Journal of the Friends' Historical Society'', 22 (1925).
* A. A. Locke and A. Esdaile, ''Plough Court: the story of a notable pharmacy, 1715–1927'', rev. E. C. Cripps (1927).
* Desmond Chapman-Huston and E. C. Cripps, ''Through a City Archway: the story of Allen and Hanburys, 1715–1954'' (1954).
* John Nickalls, 'Some Quaker Portraits, Certain and Uncertain', in ''The Journal of the Friends Historical Society'', Supplement no. 29, 1958, 10–2.
* Hugh Tait, 'Wedgwood, Flaxman, and an English eighteenth-century portrait carver, Silvanus Bevan.' ''Proceedings of the Wedgwood Society'', No 3, 1959. pp. 126–32.
* J. Burnby, ‘A study of the English apothecary from 1660 to 1760’, ''Medical History'', suppl. 3 (1983) hole issue
* Geoffrey Tweedale, ''At the Sign of the Plough: 275 years of Allen & Hanburys and the British pharmaceutical industry, 1715–1990'' (1990) .
* Jonathan Marsden, 'William Penn
William Penn ( – ) was an English writer and religious thinker belonging to the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers), and founder of the Province of Pennsylvania, a North American colony of England. He was an early advocate of democracy a ...
and Sir Francis Dashwood's Sawmill'. ''Georgian Group
The Georgian Group is a British charity, and the national authority on Georgian architecture built between 1700 and 1837 in England and Wales. As one of the National Amenity Societies, The Georgian Group is a statutory consultee on alterat ...
Journal'', vol. VIII, 1998, pp. 143–50.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bevan, Silvanus
1691 births
1765 deaths
People from Swansea
British pharmacists
Welsh Quakers
British Quakers
Fellows of the Royal Society
Welsh apothecaries
Silvanus