Lancelot Dent was a 19th century British

United Kingdom

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...

 merchant

Merchant

A merchant is a businessperson who trades in commodities that were produced by others, in order to earn a profit.Merchants can be one of two types:# A wholesale merchant operates in the chain between producer and retail merchant...

 resident for a period in Canton

Guangzhou

Guangzhou , known historically as Canton or Kwangchow, is the capital and largest city of the Guangdong province in the People's Republic of China. Located in southern China on the Pearl River, about north-northwest of Hong Kong, Guangzhou is a key national transportation hub and trading port...

, China who dealt primarily in opium

Opium

Opium is the dried latex obtained from the opium poppy . Opium contains up to 12% morphine, an alkaloid, which is frequently processed chemically to produce heroin for the illegal drug trade. The latex also includes codeine and non-narcotic alkaloids such as papaverine, thebaine and noscapine...

.

He was christened on August 4, 1799 in Crosby Ravensworth

Crosby Ravensworth

Crosby Ravensworth is a village, civil parish and fell in the Eden District of Cumbria, England. The village is about east of the M6 motorway, and Shap.-Notable People:*John Langhorne, mathematical master at Giggleswick School...

, Westmorland

Westmorland

Westmorland is an area of North West England and one of the 39 historic counties of England. It formed an administrative county from 1889 to 1974, after which the entirety of the county was absorbed into the new county of Cumbria.-Early history:...

, England, son of William and Jane (Wilkinson) Dent.

He had a powerful hold over some agency houses buying opium from the Calcutta auction, including Carr, Tagore & Company, managed by Bengal

Bengal

Bengal is a historical and geographical region in the northeast region of the Indian Subcontinent at the apex of the Bay of Bengal. Today, it is mainly divided between the sovereign land of People's Republic of Bangladesh and the Indian state of West Bengal, although some regions of the previous...

i merchant Dwarkanath Tagore

Dwarkanath Tagore

Dwarkanath Tagore , was one of the first Indian industrialists and entrepreneurs, was the founder of the Jorasanko branch of the Tagore family, and is notable for making substantial contributions to the Bengal Renaissance.-Childhood:...

.

Together with his brother Thomas, Lancelot commissioned construction of Flass House, now a grade two listed building in the Palladian style

Palladian architecture

Palladian architecture is a European style of architecture derived from the designs of the Venetian architect Andrea Palladio . The term "Palladian" normally refers to buildings in a style inspired by Palladio's own work; that which is recognised as Palladian architecture today is an evolution of...

, on land inherited from their sister in England's northern Lake District

Lake District

The Lake District, also commonly known as The Lakes or Lakeland, is a mountainous region in North West England. A popular holiday destination, it is famous not only for its lakes and its mountains but also for its associations with the early 19th century poetry and writings of William Wordsworth...

. The property would remain in the Dent family until 1972, when it was sold to banker, historian and writer Frank Welsh.

Dent died in London on 28 November 1853 aged 54 and is buried in the churchyard at Crosby Ravensworth.

See also

• Dent & Co.
  Dent & Co.
  Dent & Co. or Dent's, was one of the wealthiest British merchant firms, or hongs, active in China during the 19th century. The company was a direct rival to Jardine, Matheson & Co...
  
  
• Anglo-Chinese relations
  Anglo-Chinese relations
  British–Chinese relations , also known as Sino-British relations and Anglo-Chinese relations, refers to the interstate relations between China and the United Kingdom. Although on opposing sides of the Cold War, both countries were allies during World War II, and are members of the UN...