Beaupré Bell Esq. (1704–1741) was an English

antiquary An antiquarian or antiquary () is an aficionado or student of antiquities or things of the past. More specifically, the term is used for those who study history with particular attention to ancient artefacts, archaeological and historic sit ...

, of Beaupré Hall,

Norfolk Norfolk ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in England, located in East Anglia and officially part of the East of England region. It borders Lincolnshire and The Wash to the north-west, the North Sea to the north and eas ...

. Beaupré Bell was the first son of Beaupré Bell Esq., and Margaret, the daughter of Sir Anthony Oldfield, and was a fifth generation descendant of

Sir Robert Bell Sir Robert Bell Serjeant-at-law, SL (died 1577) of Beaupré Hall, Norfolk, was a Speaker of the House of Commons (United Kingdom), Speaker of the House of Commons (1572–1576), who served during the reign of Elizabeth I of England, Queen Elizab ...

and his wife Dorthie, of the old family of Beaupré or De Bello Prato. His father Beaupré Bell was eccentric and "hardly allowed his son the common necessaries of life", but owned an estate worth £1500 per annum and also was reported to have had over 500 horses, all unbroken and allowed to roam wild. He possessed a good library, though neglected with the rest of the mansion. Beaupré Bell attended Westminster College and moved on to

Trinity College, Cambridge Trinity College is a Colleges of the University of Cambridge, constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Founded in 1546 by King Henry VIII, Trinity is one of the largest Cambridge colleges, with the largest financial endowment of any ...

, where he finished his education. He had an eye for all things ancient, with a particular interest in

Roman coins Roman currency for most of Roman history consisted of gold, silver, bronze, orichalcum#Numismatics, orichalcum and copper coinage. From its introduction during the Roman Republic, Republic, in the third century BC, through Roman Empire, Imperial ...

. Bell authored several works on this subject, one on the coins minted by Roman Emperors. He became Vice-President of the

Spalding Gentlemen's Society The Spalding Gentlemen's Society is a learned society based in Spalding, Lincolnshire, Spalding, Lincolnshire, England, concerned with cultural, scientific and antiquarian subjects. It is Britain's oldest such provincial body, founded in 1710 by ...

in 1726, and gave assistance to

Francis Blomefield Rev. Francis Blomefield (23 July 170516 January 1752), FSA, Rector of Fersfield in Norfolk, was an English antiquarian who wrote a county history of Norfolk: ''An Essay Towards a Topographical History of the County of Norfolk''. It includes ...

. Beaupré Bell died from

consumption Consumption may refer to: * Eating *Resource consumption *Tuberculosis, an infectious disease, historically known as consumption * Consumer (food chain), receipt of energy by consuming other organisms * Consumption (economics), the purchasing of n ...

on his way to Bath.The original ''Dictionary of National Biography'' article cited August 1745 for Bell's death, whereas modern references cite 1741. While the circumstance of the death is the same, the reason for difference in dates is not mentioned. By his will he bequeathed his collection of coins and medals to Trinity College, Cambridge, together with 12 volumes of manuscripts that were catalogued, together with the medieval manuscripts, by

Montague Rhodes James Montague Rhodes James (1 August 1862 – 12 June 1936) was an English medievalist scholar and author who served as provost of King's College, Cambridge (1905–1918), and of Eton College (1918–1936) as well as Vice-Chancellor of the Univers ...

References

*P. Courtney
‘Bell, Beaupré (1704–1741)’
rev. David Boyd Haycock, ''

Oxford Dictionary of National Biography The ''Dictionary of National Biography'' (''DNB'') is a standard work of reference on notable figures from History of the British Isles, British history, published since 1885. The updated ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'' (''ODNB'') ...

'', Oxford University Press, 2004, accessed 15 Feb 2007 *Manning, J. A., ''Speakers'', pb. Myers and Company, London p. 242, 245.

References

Further reading