Spencer George Perceval
Encyclopedia
Spencer George Perceval was an English amateur antiquary, geologist, and benefactor to Cambridge University.
Spencer George Perceval was the second son of Ernest Augustus Perceval of Bridgwater
and his cousin Beatrice Trevelyan, fourth daughter of Sir John Trevelyan, 4th Baronet
. He was educated at Radley College
and Trinity Hall, Cambridge
.
Perceval's antiquarian and geological interests drove him to extensive activity as a collector. Between 1852 and 1863 he made collections of Somerset minerals, which were deposited in the Somerset County Museum
. He edited a travel journal of Joseph Banks
relating a tour through Dorset and Somerset, and occasionally corresponded with periodicals on geological and antiquarian subjects.
Perceval left his property to the Fitzwilliam Museum
of the University of Cambridge
. His bequest included a collection of around 300 chapbooks
, and a collection of eighteenth-century memorial jewellery. Perceval directed that the annual income from his property should be spent on objects of art and artefacts associated with pre-nineteenth-century Cambridge alumni.
Spencer George Perceval was the second son of Ernest Augustus Perceval of Bridgwater
Bridgwater
Bridgwater is a market town and civil parish in Somerset, England. It is the administrative centre of the Sedgemoor district, and a major industrial centre. Bridgwater is located on the major communication routes through South West England...
and his cousin Beatrice Trevelyan, fourth daughter of Sir John Trevelyan, 4th Baronet
Sir John Trevelyan, 4th Baronet
Sir John Trevelyan, 4th Baronet , was a British politician.The member of an ancient Cornwall family, Trevelyan sat as Member of Parliament for Newcastle-upon-Tyne from 1777 to 1780 and for Somerset from 1780 to 1796. He died in April 1828, aged 93...
. He was educated at Radley College
Radley College
Radley College , founded in 1847, is a British independent school for boys on the edge of the English village of Radley, near to the market town of Abingdon in Oxfordshire, and has become a well-established boarding school...
and Trinity Hall, Cambridge
Trinity Hall, Cambridge
Trinity Hall is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge, England. It is the fifth-oldest college of the university, having been founded in 1350 by William Bateman, Bishop of Norwich.- Foundation :...
.
Perceval's antiquarian and geological interests drove him to extensive activity as a collector. Between 1852 and 1863 he made collections of Somerset minerals, which were deposited in the Somerset County Museum
Somerset County Museum
The Museum of Somerset is located in the 12th century great hall of Taunton Castle, in Taunton in the county of Somerset, England. The museum is run by Somerset County Council and includes objects initially collected by the Somerset Archaeological and Natural History Society who own the...
. He edited a travel journal of Joseph Banks
Joseph Banks
Sir Joseph Banks, 1st Baronet, GCB, PRS was an English naturalist, botanist and patron of the natural sciences. He took part in Captain James Cook's first great voyage . Banks is credited with the introduction to the Western world of eucalyptus, acacia, mimosa and the genus named after him,...
relating a tour through Dorset and Somerset, and occasionally corresponded with periodicals on geological and antiquarian subjects.
Perceval left his property to the Fitzwilliam Museum
Fitzwilliam Museum
The Fitzwilliam Museum is the art and antiquities museum of the University of Cambridge, located on Trumpington Street opposite Fitzwilliam Street in central Cambridge, England. It receives around 300,000 visitors annually. Admission is free....
of the University of Cambridge
University of Cambridge
The University of Cambridge is a public research university located in Cambridge, United Kingdom. It is the second-oldest university in both the United Kingdom and the English-speaking world , and the seventh-oldest globally...
. His bequest included a collection of around 300 chapbooks
Chapbook
A chapbook is a pocket-sized booklet. The term chap-book was formalized by bibliophiles of the 19th century, as a variety of ephemera , popular or folk literature. It includes many kinds of printed material such as pamphlets, political and religious tracts, nursery rhymes, poetry, folk tales,...
, and a collection of eighteenth-century memorial jewellery. Perceval directed that the annual income from his property should be spent on objects of art and artefacts associated with pre-nineteenth-century Cambridge alumni.
Writings
- 'Supplemenary Note on Minerals found in Somersetshire', Geological Magazine, 10:106 (April 1873), p. 166
- 'James Parkinson, the Author of "Organic Remains of a Former World"', NatureNatureNature, in the broadest sense, is equivalent to the natural world, physical world, or material world. "Nature" refers to the phenomena of the physical world, and also to life in general...
51 (8 November 1984), pp. 31-2