Silvanus Bevan (1661–1725)
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Silvanus Bevan FRS (1691 – 8 June 1765) was an
apothecary ''Apothecary'' () is an Early Modern English, archaic English term for a medicine, medical professional who formulates and dispenses ''materia medica'' (medicine) to physicians, surgeons and patients. The modern terms ''pharmacist'' and, in Brit ...
, who founded the London firm of
Allen & Hanburys Allen and Hanburys Ltd was a British pharmaceutical manufacturer, absorbed by GlaxoSmithKline, Glaxo Laboratories in 1958. GlaxoSmithKline, its successor company, used the Allen and Hanburys name for the specialist respiratory division until b ...
.


Biography


Early life

Silvanus Bevan was born in 1691 in
Swansea Swansea ( ; ) is a coastal City status in the United Kingdom, city and the List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, second-largest city of Wales. It forms a Principal areas of Wales, principal area, officially known as the City and County of ...
, into a prosperous Welsh
Quaker Quakers are people who belong to the Religious Society of Friends, a historically Protestant Christian set of denominations. Members refer to each other as Friends after in the Bible, and originally, others referred to them as Quakers ...
family. His father (1661–1725), a burgess was also called Silvanus. The elder Silvanus owned property at Penclawdd Llanrhidian, and various farms and lands were bought including Gwen-y-Goredd, Tyry Gorge. His mother was Jane Bevan (née Phillips). He had a younger brother,
Timothy Timothy is a masculine name. It comes from the Greek language, Greek name (Timotheus (disambiguation), Timόtheos) meaning "honouring God", "in God's honour", or "honoured by God". Timothy (and its variations) is a common name in several countries ...
(1704-1786), and six sisters. 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, England, which forms part of the A40 road, A40 London to Fishguard road. It links St Martin's Le Grand with Poultry, London, Poultry. Near its eas ...
, 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 me ...
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 Old Style and New Style dates, O.S. – 30 May 1744) was an English poet, translator, and satirist of the Age of Enlightenment, Enlightenment era who is considered one of the most prominent English poets of the early ...
, 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 t ...
was one of his apprentices. His business prospered, and in 1725 he was joined by his younger brother,
Timothy Timothy is a masculine name. It comes from the Greek language, Greek name (Timotheus (disambiguation), Timόtheos) meaning "honouring God", "in God's honour", or "honoured by God". Timothy (and its variations) is a common name in several countries ...
(1704–1786). Timothy continued the Plough Court Pharmacy after his brother's retirement, and was succeeded by his son, Joseph Gurney Bevan (1753–1814). In the nineteenth century, under William Allen and the Hanbury family,
Allen & Hanburys Allen and Hanburys Ltd was a British pharmaceutical manufacturer, absorbed by GlaxoSmithKline, Glaxo Laboratories in 1958. GlaxoSmithKline, its successor company, used the Allen and Hanburys name for the specialist respiratory division until b ...
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 () was an English polymath active as a mathematician, physicist, astronomer, alchemist, theologian, and author. Newton was a key figure in the Scientific Revolution and the Age of Enlightenment, Enlightenment that followed ...
. 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 ''Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society'' is a scientific journal published by the Royal Society. In its earliest days, it was a private venture of the Royal Society's secretary. It was established in 1665, making it the second journ ...
. It describes his findings having performed a
post-mortem An autopsy (also referred to as 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 ...
examination. He was a skilled carver of
ivory Ivory is a hard, white material from the tusks (traditionally from elephants) and Tooth, 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 mamm ...
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 Stowe House is a grade I listed building, listed country house in Stowe, Buckinghamshire, Stowe, Buckinghamshire, England. It is the home of the Private schools in the United Kingdom, private Stowe School and is owned by the Stowe House Preserv ...
. 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.


Family

On 9 November 1715 he married Elizabeth, the daughter of
Daniel Quare Daniel Quare (1648 or 1649 – 21 March 1724) was an English clockmaker and instrument maker who invented a repeating watch movement in 1680 and a portable barometer in 1695. Early life Daniel Quare's origins are obscure. He was possibly a nat ...
, 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, religious thinker, and influential Quakers, Quaker who founded the Province of Pennsylvania during the British colonization of the Americas, British colonial era. An advocate of democracy and religi ...
, 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 1650 – 8 March 1702), also known as William of Orange, was the sovereign Prince of Orange from birth, Stadtholder of County of Holland, Holland, County of Zeeland, Zeeland, Lordship of Utrecht, Utrec ...
. They had no children.(Gamble 1923, 30). His brother Timothy and his wife Elizabeth Barclay (1714–1745) had two sons, Joseph Gurney Bevan and Silvanus Bevan (1743-1830).


Death

He died in Hackney on 5 June 1765, and was buried at the
Bunhill Fields Bunhill Fields is a former burial ground in central London, in the London Borough of Islington, just north of the City of London. What remains is about in extent and the bulk of the site is a public garden maintained by the City of London Cor ...
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 Swansea ( ; ) is a coastal City status in the United Kingdom, city and the List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, second-largest city of Wales. It forms a Principal areas of Wales, principal area, officially known as the City and County of ...
. * Silvanus (II) (1691–1765) the apothecary, and * Silvanus (III) (1743–1830), son of Timothy Bevan, the brother of Silvanus Bevan (II), was one of the founders of
Barclay's Bank Barclays PLC (, occasionally ) 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 ...
and partner of Thrale's Anchor Brewery. He was a grandson of Silvanus (I) and the great grandfather of Robert Polhill Bevan, 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 Wellesley William Desmond Mountjoy Chapman-Huston aka ''Desmond Mountjoy'' (8 August 1884Cf. WBIS. The associated WBIS entry was taken over by Who's Who on the stage, 1907. - 15 September 1952) was an Irish author and publisher. Life Chapman-Hus ...
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, religious thinker, and influential Quakers, Quaker who founded the Province of Pennsylvania during the British colonization of the Americas, British colonial era. An advocate of democracy and religi ...
and Sir Francis Dashwood's Sawmill'. '' Georgian Group Journal'', vol. VIII, 1998, pp. 143–50.


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bevan, Silvanus 1691 births 1765 deaths People from Swansea Welsh Quakers British Quakers Fellows of the Royal Society Welsh apothecaries Silvanus 18th-century British pharmacists Pharmacists from London