Edward Hawkins (numismatist)
Encyclopedia
Edward Hawkins was an English numismatist and antiquary. He is known as a keeper at the British Museum
.
on 5 May 1780, he was the eldest son of Edward Hawkins of Macclesfield, banker, by his wife Ellen, daughter of Brian Hodgson of Ashbourne, Derbyshire
. He was educated at Macclesfield grammar school, and privately from 1797 to 1799 by Richard Ormerod, vicar of Kensington
.
Around 1799 he returned to Macclesfield, and received a commission in a volunteer corps raised there. He was employed under his father in the Macclesfield bank until 1802, when the family left Macclesfield, and settled at Court Herbert in Glamorganshire. While there he was a partner with his father in a bank at Swansea
, and they superintended the copper works at Neath Abbey
.
In 1807 he left Court Herbert, and lived successively at Glanburne, Drymon, and Dylais in North Wales. At this time he turned his attention to botany, and was elected a fellow of the Linnean Society in 1806. He also formed a collection of books and prints relating to Chester
, and added a great number of engravings to his copy of Ormerod's Cheshire. In 1816 his father died, leaving heavy debts, which Hawkins voluntarily charged on his own estates.
In 1819 Hawkins took up residence in Surrey
, first at Nutfield
, and then at East Hill, Oxted
. In 1821 he was elected Fellow of the Royal Society, of which he became vice-president.
In 1826 Hawkins was appointed keeper of antiquities (including at that time coins and medals, and prints and drawings) at the British Museum, in succession to Taylor Combe
, for whom he had been acting as deputy since May 1825; and held the office till his resignation at the close of 1860. He was president of the Numismatic Society of London, and fellow (elected 1826) and vice-president (1856) of the Society of Antiquaries of London
; he contributed to the proceedings of both societies. In 1846 he was elected one of the treasurers of the Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge.
Hawkins died at his house, 6 Lower Berkeley Street, London, on 22 May 1867.
He also wrote a descriptive account of British medals, and an abridgment of part of this work (to the end of the reign of William III) was printed in 1852. The trustees of the British Museum declined to issue it, chiefly on account of several paragraphs in which Hawkins expressed his strong Protestant and Tory views. But when completed to the death of George II, and revised, with additions, by A. W. Franks and H. A. Grueber, it ultimately appeared as a British Museum publication in 1885, with the title Medallic Illustrations of the History of Great Britain and Ireland, London, 2 vols. It became a standard work on the subject. Hawkins had a close knowledge of British medals, and had formed a collection of them, which was purchased from him by the British Museum in 1860. He also formed a large collection of English political caricatures, which was purchased by the British Museum in 1868.
Hawkins edited for the Chetham Society
Sir William Brereton
's Travels in Holland, 1844, and The Holy Lyfe … of Saynt Werburge, 1848.
Attribution
British Museum
The British Museum is a museum of human history and culture in London. Its collections, which number more than seven million objects, are amongst the largest and most comprehensive in the world and originate from all continents, illustrating and documenting the story of human culture from its...
.
Life
Born at MacclesfieldMacclesfield
Macclesfield is a market town within the unitary authority of Cheshire East, the county palatine of Chester, also known as the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England. The population of the Macclesfield urban sub-area at the time of the 2001 census was 50,688...
on 5 May 1780, he was the eldest son of Edward Hawkins of Macclesfield, banker, by his wife Ellen, daughter of Brian Hodgson of Ashbourne, Derbyshire
Ashbourne, Derbyshire
Ashbourne is a small market town in the Derbyshire Dales, England. It has a population of 10,302.The town advertises itself as 'The Gateway to Dovedale'.- Local customs :...
. He was educated at Macclesfield grammar school, and privately from 1797 to 1799 by Richard Ormerod, vicar of Kensington
Kensington
Kensington is a district of west and central London, England within the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea. An affluent and densely-populated area, its commercial heart is Kensington High Street, and it contains the well-known museum district of South Kensington.To the north, Kensington is...
.
Around 1799 he returned to Macclesfield, and received a commission in a volunteer corps raised there. He was employed under his father in the Macclesfield bank until 1802, when the family left Macclesfield, and settled at Court Herbert in Glamorganshire. While there he was a partner with his father in a bank at Swansea
Swansea
Swansea is a coastal city and county in Wales. Swansea is in the historic county boundaries of Glamorgan. Situated on the sandy South West Wales coast, the county area includes the Gower Peninsula and the Lliw uplands...
, and they superintended the copper works at Neath Abbey
Neath Abbey
Neath Abbey was a Cistercian monastery, located near the present-day town of Neath in southern Wales, UK.It was once the largest abbey in Wales. Substantial ruins can still be seen, and are in the care of Cadw...
.
In 1807 he left Court Herbert, and lived successively at Glanburne, Drymon, and Dylais in North Wales. At this time he turned his attention to botany, and was elected a fellow of the Linnean Society in 1806. He also formed a collection of books and prints relating to Chester
Chester
Chester is a city in Cheshire, England. Lying on the River Dee, close to the border with Wales, it is home to 77,040 inhabitants, and is the largest and most populous settlement of the wider unitary authority area of Cheshire West and Chester, which had a population of 328,100 according to the...
, and added a great number of engravings to his copy of Ormerod's Cheshire. In 1816 his father died, leaving heavy debts, which Hawkins voluntarily charged on his own estates.
In 1819 Hawkins took up residence in Surrey
Surrey
Surrey is a county in the South East of England and is one of the Home Counties. The county borders Greater London, Kent, East Sussex, West Sussex, Hampshire and Berkshire. The historic county town is Guildford. Surrey County Council sits at Kingston upon Thames, although this has been part of...
, first at Nutfield
Nutfield
Nutfield can refer to:*Nutfield, Victoria, suburb of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia*Nutfield, Surrey in Surrey, England*Nutfield, New Hampshire, the colonial township from which the modern places of Londonderry, Derry, Windham and parts of Salem, Hudson, and the city of Manchester were formed....
, and then at East Hill, Oxted
Oxted
Oxted is a commuter town in Surrey, England at the foot of the North Downs, north of East Grinstead and south-east of Croydon.- History :The town lay within the Anglo-Saxon administrative division of Tandridge hundred....
. In 1821 he was elected Fellow of the Royal Society, of which he became vice-president.
In 1826 Hawkins was appointed keeper of antiquities (including at that time coins and medals, and prints and drawings) at the British Museum, in succession to Taylor Combe
Taylor Combe
-Life:He was the eldest son of Dr. Charles Combe, the physician and numismatist. He was educated at Harrow School and at Oriel College, Oxford, where he graduated B.A. on 5 June 1795, M.A. 10 July 1798....
, for whom he had been acting as deputy since May 1825; and held the office till his resignation at the close of 1860. He was president of the Numismatic Society of London, and fellow (elected 1826) and vice-president (1856) of the Society of Antiquaries of London
Society of Antiquaries of London
The Society of Antiquaries of London is a learned society "charged by its Royal Charter of 1751 with 'the encouragement, advancement and furtherance of the study and knowledge of the antiquities and history of this and other countries'." It is based at Burlington House, Piccadilly, London , and is...
; he contributed to the proceedings of both societies. In 1846 he was elected one of the treasurers of the Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge.
Hawkins died at his house, 6 Lower Berkeley Street, London, on 22 May 1867.
Works
He edited and contributed to part v. and parts vii–x. of the Description of Ancient Marbles in the British Museum, 1812, &c., and completed and revised the Description of the Anglo-Gallic Coins in the British Museum, 1826, begun by Combe. Hawkins published in 1841 (London) The Silver Coins of England, the standard work on the subject (2nd and 3rd editions by Robert Lloyd Kenyon, 1876, and 1887).He also wrote a descriptive account of British medals, and an abridgment of part of this work (to the end of the reign of William III) was printed in 1852. The trustees of the British Museum declined to issue it, chiefly on account of several paragraphs in which Hawkins expressed his strong Protestant and Tory views. But when completed to the death of George II, and revised, with additions, by A. W. Franks and H. A. Grueber, it ultimately appeared as a British Museum publication in 1885, with the title Medallic Illustrations of the History of Great Britain and Ireland, London, 2 vols. It became a standard work on the subject. Hawkins had a close knowledge of British medals, and had formed a collection of them, which was purchased from him by the British Museum in 1860. He also formed a large collection of English political caricatures, which was purchased by the British Museum in 1868.
Hawkins edited for the Chetham Society
Chetham Society
The Chetham Society was founded in Manchester, England, in 1843, by James Crossley, a lawyer, and the Reverend Thomas Corser. The Society's stated aim is to maintain the "Historical and Literary Connected with the Palatine Counties of Lancaster and Chester"...
Sir William Brereton
Sir William Brereton, 1st Baronet
Sir William Brereton, 1st Baronet was an English writer and politician who sat in the House of Commons at various times between 1628 and 1659. He was a commander in the Parliamentary army in the English Civil War....
's Travels in Holland, 1844, and The Holy Lyfe … of Saynt Werburge, 1848.
Family
Hawkins married, on 29 September 1806, Eliza, daughter of Major Rohde, and had three sons and a daughter:- Edward, died 1867;
- Rev. Herbert Samuel, rector of Deyton, SuffolkSuffolkSuffolk is a non-metropolitan county of historic origin in East Anglia, England. It has borders with Norfolk to the north, Cambridgeshire to the west and Essex to the south. The North Sea lies to the east...
; - Major Rohde Hawkins, the architect;
- Mary Eliza, wife of John Robert KenyonJohn Robert KenyonJohn Robert Kenyon was a British lawyer and academic.He was born the third son of Hon. Thomas Kenyon of Pradoe in Shropshire, gentleman. He attended Charterhouse School and then matriculated at Christ Church, Oxford, on 24 January 1825, aged 18...
, Q.C.
External links
- Portrait bust at the British Museum by Richard Cockle LucasRichard Cockle LucasRichard Cockle Lucas was an English sculptor and photographer.-Career:Lucas was born in Salisbury, Wiltshire, the son of Richard Lucas and his wife, Martha Sutton ....
.
Attribution