Richard Alexander Bevan

Richard Alexander Bevan (14 July 1834 – 18 February 1918) was a British banker and philanthropist. He is known as "the father of Cuckfield."

Richard Alexander Bevan
Born(1834-07-14)14 July 1834
Brighton, East Sussex, England
Died18 February 1918(1918-02-18) (aged 83)
EducationHarrow School
Alma materTrinity College, Cambridge
OccupationBanker
SpouseLaura Maria Polhill
Children4 sons (including Robert Bevan), 2 daughters
Parent(s)Richard Bevan
Charlotte Hunter
RelativesSilvanus Bevan (paternal great-great-grandfather)
Timothy Bevan (paternal great-grandfather)
Silvanus Bevan (paternal grandfather)

Early life

Richard Alexander Bevan was born on 14 July 1834 in Brighton, England.[1][2] His father, Richard Bevan, was a banker.[3] His mother, Charlotte Hunter, was the daughter of Colonel Richard Hunter. He grew up at Highcliff Lodge, a house located at 128 Marine Parade, which is located on Marine Square in Kemptown, Brighton.[1]

He was educated at Harrow School and Trinity College, Cambridge.[1][3]

Career

Bevan was a banker.[2] He became a partner in the Brighton Union Bank which was founded in Brighton in 1805.[1][4][5] The bank was set up by a deed of co-partnership between William Golding, James Browne, Nathaniel Hall, Richard Lashmar and Thomas West.[6] It became Hall, Bevan, West and Bevans, before being taken over by Barclay, Bevan, Tritton, Ransom, Bouverie and Co in 1894, and going on to form part of Barclays Bank.[6]

Philanthropy

Bevan served as a Justice of the Peace and was the Treasurer of Brighton College, a private boarding school, from 1860 to 1918.[1]

Bevan became known as "the father of Cuckfield."[2] He built the Queen's Hall in Cuckfield in 1897 to commemorate the Queen's Diamond Jubilee.[2]

Personal life

Bevan married Laura Maria Polhill (daughter of Edward Polhill).[1] They had four sons, including painter Robert Bevan, and two daughters.[1] Their daughter Edith Bevan founded the Cuckfield Women’s Suffrage Society.[7]

They resided on Brunswick Square, Hove, near Brighton. In 1862, they moved to Cuckfield, where he built Horsgate House in 1865.[1][2]

Death

Bevan died on 18 February 1918 and is buried in the Bevan family tomb at Holy Trinity Church, Cuckfield.[3]

References
  1. "More about the Bevans". Regency Town House. Archived from the original on 5 March 2012. Retrieved 14 August 2015.
  2. Cuckfield Museum:Richard Alexander Bevan (1834-1918)
  3. John Venn (15 September 2011). Alumni Cantabrigienses: A Biographical List of All Known Students, Graduates and Holders of Office at the University of Cambridge, from the Earliest Times to 1900. Cambridge University Press. p. 253. ISBN 978-1-108-03611-5. Retrieved 14 August 2015.
  4. Barclays Bank: Founding banks and building societies: Hall, Bevan, West and Bevans (Brighton Union Bank)
  5. Dan Tester, Brighton & Hove On This Day: History, Facts & Figures from Every Day of the Year, Worthing, West Sussex: Pitch Publishing, 2014
  6. "Hall, Bevan, West and Bevans (Brighton Union Bank)". Barclays. Retrieved 14 August 2015.
  7. "Mid Sussex Suffragettes". Cuckfieldcompendium. Retrieved 14 August 2015.
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