John Scandrett Harford

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

John Scandrett Harford (1785-1866) was the son of a prominent banker in the English city of Bristol. By the end of the 18th Century he was a wealthy bank director in his own right, and is also known as being a landowner, a staunch Quaker and an abolitionist.

Harford had a sizeable portfolio, including the Blaise Castle estate at Henbury. This was originally property of Thomas Farr, but Farr went bankrupt in 1778 following the American Revolutionary War. The estate then changed hands a number of times, but it was Harford who eventually purchased the land and buildings. As of circa 1815, he also owned the Peterwell estate at Lampeter, making the purchase jointly with his younger brothers. It was shortly after a meeting with Bishop Burgess, the founder of St David's College Lampeter in 1820, that Harford offered to donate to him the site of Lampeter Castle, 'Castle Field' or 'Cae Castell' in Welsh, which, as Lords of the Manor of Lampeter, he and his brothers now owned. As such, it is on land donated by Harford that the University of Wales, Lampeter now stands.

He was a moderately successful artist, and his oil paintings can often be found at auctions in the UK. A bust of Harford is in the collection of the University of Wales, Lampeter, and is currently on display in that institution's main library building.