| John Scandrett Harford | |
|---|---|
| Born | 8 Oct 1785 Bristol |
| Died | 16 Apr 1866 Blaise Castle, Bristol |
John Scandrett Harford, FRS (8 Oct 1785 - 16 Apr 1866) was a British banker, benefactor and abolitionist.
He was born the son of John Scandrett Harford, a prominent banker in the English city of Bristol and educated at Christ College, Cambridge. By the end of the 18th Century he was a wealthy banker in his own right and known as being a landowner, a staunch Quaker and an abolitionist (and friend of William Wilberforce).
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. 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. Two halls of residence at the university, Harford I and Harford II, are also named after him.
He was also a moderately successful artist, and his oil paintings can often be found at auctions in the UK. He was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society in 1923.
He married Louisa, the daughter of Richard Hart Davis. In later life he went blind. He died at Blaise Castle in 1866.[1]