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Sir Prescott
Hewett leaves Chestnut Lodge for the last time
On a June morning in 1891 a funeral
cortege left Chestnut Lodge, on Dog and Bacon Green,
proceeded down North Parade, along Hurst Road and up
to the station. Apart from the hearse, there were a
number of other carriages in the procession, and when
it arrived at the station a further group of people
was there to greet its arrival. It was the day of the
funeral of Sir Prescott Gardner Hewett, who, although
he had only lived in Horsham for a few years, was much
respected locally. He was taken on the 10.20 am train
from Horsham to London, where there was to be a
service at St Margaret's, Westminster, followed by the
burial at Brompton cemetery, where he would be laid to
rest by the side of his wife.
There was a good turn out on the day. His neighbour
Arthur Oddie from North Lodge was there, as were the
Allcards from Wimblehurst, together with Mrs Hurst and
other local families - the Prewetts, Lampards,
Galliers and Bostocks. Among the floral tributes was
one from the staff of Horsham station (Hewett had been
a regular traveller to London) and a magnificent white
wreath from the Society of Painters in Watercolours.
So who was Sir Prescott? A man of rare talent is the
answer, who rose to become perhaps the most eminent
surgeon of his day ('the most skilful operator in
London'), and who was also an outstanding amateur
artist, with a talent that he continued to develop on
his retirement to Horsham.
He was the son (one of many) of William Hewett, the
squire of Bilham Hall near Doncaster, and was born on
3rd July 1812. His father sounds a bit of a character.
He was reckoned to be 'an ardent supporter of the
turf, much given to heavy betting'. The very year of
Prescott's birth he went overboard, and was ruined by
a heavy bet that went wrong on the 1812 Derby. As a
consequence he decamped with all the boys to Paris,
perhaps to escape the bookmakers, and sent young
Prescott to school at a seminary five miles south of
Paris.
As it turns out he may have done his son a great
favour, because while there Prescott made friends with
one particular boy, whose father was a leading French
surgeon, and it was this influence that set him on a
path that was to lead to such distinction.
He first took up painting in Paris, but abandoned the
idea of making it a full-time career, and instead
studied anatomy, and became thoroughly grounded in the
principles of French surgery, for which he had the
highest regard. He then returned to England, and
became a member of the Royal College of Surgeons in
1836. He attracted the attention of Sir Benjamin
Brodie, president of the College, and when he was on
the point of taking up a post with the East India
Company Sir Benjamin persuaded him otherwise, and he
became demonstrator of anatomy at St George's
Hospital, where a relative, Dr Cornwallis Hewett,
Downing Professor of Medicine at Cambridge, had also
been.
Prescott Hewett rose to occupy more senior roles at
the hospital, and became a fellow of the Royal College
of Surgeons in 1843. He was professor of human anatomy
between 1854-59, and president of the College in 1876.
Many other honours came to him as well. He was
president of the Pathological Society in 1863, and of
the Clinical Society ten years later. In 1874 he was
appointed a fellow of the Royal Society.
In 1867 he became surgeon-extraordinary to Queen
Victoria, and in that arcane way of courtly titles,
was appointed serjeant-surgeon-extraordinary in 1877
and serjeant-surgeon in 1884. But I think all these
fancy labels just meant that if the Queen needed an
operation - he did it. He also looked after the Prince
of Wales, and it was said that he was highly rated at
Windsor Castle. He also had a considerable following
among 'aristocratic invalids' such as the Duke of
Rutland, and his refined and courtly manner must have
stood him in good stead. But despite all this success
it was held that he only amassed 'a moderate fortune',
because of the 'generous alacrity' with which he
tended to the needs of the poor - often refusing all
payment.
As a reward for all his achievements he was created a
baronet in 1883, and in 1886, at the age of 74, he
retired to Chestnut Lodge (Kelly's Directory for 1882
records Benjamin Watkins as being the occupier, and
earlier, in the mid-1830s, it was the home of Benjamin
Fox, who played an active part in local politics as a
supporter of the Pink, or Conservative interest). It
was also said that Hewett's hand and eye were as
steady and true at the age of 70 as they had been as a
30 year old, and for professional reasons he was
careful throughout his career to lead a temperate
life. A man with a slim, wiry frame, he had great
energy, keen organisational skills and an immense
capacity for hard work, and must have found it hard to
settle into retirement. On the other hand he was now
able to dedicate more time to his other great passion
in life, and his 'delicate and refined' landscapes
were much admired; among his subjects were the Downs
and lanes and cottages of the Weald. His style was
held to be after that of George Fripp, who was a
leading watercolourist of the day and much patronised
by Royalty. Eventually fifty pictures from Hewett's
own collection of water colours was presented to the
nation, and there was an exhibition of them at the
South Kensington Museum in 1891.
He also played an active part in Horsham society, and
in early August 1886, on a 'delightfully fine day' and
assisted by his spinster daughter, held a garden party
at Chestnut Lodge. The company was 'large and
distinguished', and much enjoyment ensued from playing
tennis, strolling through the well kept grounds and
inspecting the host's 'famous collection of water
colours'. His magnificnt display of sunflowers,
including some specimen doubles obtained from Holland,
was much admired, and the Horsham Town Band 'was
stationed on the lawn tennis ground and performed a
choice selection of music'. To cap it all, everyone
had immense fun participating in a game of Aunt Sally.
In 1849 Hewett had married Sarah, the eldest daughter
of the Rev Joseph Cowell of Todmorton, Lancashire, and
they had one son (who died very shortly after his
father) and two daughters, one of whom became a Mrs.
Hallett. His wife pre-deceased him by a number of
years, and his own death, on 21st June 1891 at the age
of 79, was brought about by an attack of influenza, a
prevailing epidemic locally, which he could not shake
off.
There is little now to mark his memory. Chestnut Lodge
is no more, and in its place, on the corner of
Pondtail Road and North Parade, is a small estate of
flats. The big house, like so many in the area, fell
to the developers in the late 1950s. But if you go a
short way down Pondtail Road, on the left, you will
find the old coach house, which happily still remains.
And how good it would be to come across one of his
Sussex paintings one day: now that would be really
something. |
