Andrew Pritchard
Encyclopedia
Andrew Pritchard was an English
naturalist and natural history
dealer who made significant improvements to microscopy
and studied microscopic organisms. His belief that God and nature were one led him to the Unitarians
, a religious movement to which he and his family devoted much energy. He became a leading member of Newington Green Unitarian Church
in north London
, and worked to build a school there.
, an artist deeply interested in science. His brother was the painter John Varley
, but Pritchard would have seen more of Cornelius's son Cromwell Fleetwood
, an engineer who pioneered the transatlantic telegraph cable
.
Pritchard set up as an optician, and also sold microscopes and microslide preparations. These slides he prepared by studying the microscopic organisms that he saw, and identifying and labelling them. Starting in 1830, he collaborated with C.R. Goring to produce beautifully illustrated books showing the "animalcules" visible through the microscope. His shops were in central London
, more towards The City
than the West End
, variously at 162 Fleet Street
, Pickett Street and 312 & 263 The Strand
. The Oxford Dictionary of National Biography says his List of 2000 Microscopic Objects (1835) "is very important in the history of microscopy... his History of the Infusoria (1841) was long a standard work, and the impetus it gave to the study of biological science cannot be overestimated." He also wrote books and articles on "natural history as seen through the microscope, on optical instruments, and on patents"
Pritchard held various Dissenting religious views over his lifetime, holding that science and religion
were one. Through the Varleys he attended a Sandemanian church, where he became acquainted with Michael Faraday
, one of the most influential scientists in history In the end he joined a Unitarian congregation, because religious freedom and self-improvement were the watchwords of the movement
, which still struggled against civil disabilities. Money aside, Pritchard would not have been able to attend an English university as a young man, for example, because the only two, Oxford and Cambridge, restricted entry to members of the Church of England
. "No-one exists divorced from immediate and larger social environments. Dissenters led educational reform, especially in giving “lower orders” scientific knowledge and skill."
Pritchard joined the congregation of Newington Green Unitarian Church
, an establishment long connected with scientific enquiry (Joseph Priestley
), education (Mary Wollstonecraft
), and political dissent (Richard Price
). He is described in the church's history as "the leading member of the congregation". From 1850 to 1873 he was its treasurer, during which time donations doubled. Before the passage of the Elementary Education Act 1870
, compulsory schooling
did not exist, so the church started a school to offer education to the village children. He led the Newington Green Conversation Society, membership restricted to 16, a successor to the Mutual Instruction Society. Faraday was a frequent visitor.
He married Caroline Isabella Straker in 1829 and they had several children. His wife was chair of the chapel organisation, and after a few decades there were 20 Pritchards involved in the chapel. Their son Henry Baden Pritchard (1841–1884) was a chemist, traveller, and photographer. Their son Andrew Goring Pritchard, a solicitor, was a leading light of the Association of Municipal Corporations, and he in turn had a son, Clive Fleetwood Pritchard, who became mayor of Hampstead
. Their son Ion (d. 1929) and daughter Marian Pritchard (d. 1908) continued the work of their parents at the Newington Green Unitarian Church. The cause of liberal religion
in general, and the development of the General Assembly of Unitarian and Free Christian Churches
, were overarching themes. Ion was President of the Sunday School Association, one of the precursors to the General Assembly. Marian in particular is described as an unsung heroine, and "one of the leaders of modern Unitarianism". She set up Oxford Summer Schools for the training of Sunday School teachers, and Winifred House Invalid Children's Convalescent Home.
English people
The English are a nation and ethnic group native to England, who speak English. The English identity is of early mediaeval origin, when they were known in Old English as the Anglecynn. England is now a country of the United Kingdom, and the majority of English people in England are British Citizens...
naturalist and natural history
Natural history
Natural history is the scientific research of plants or animals, leaning more towards observational rather than experimental methods of study, and encompasses more research published in magazines than in academic journals. Grouped among the natural sciences, natural history is the systematic study...
dealer who made significant improvements to microscopy
Microscopy
Microscopy is the technical field of using microscopes to view samples and objects that cannot be seen with the unaided eye...
and studied microscopic organisms. His belief that God and nature were one led him to the Unitarians
Unitarianism
Unitarianism is a Christian theological movement, named for its understanding of God as one person, in direct contrast to Trinitarianism which defines God as three persons coexisting consubstantially as one in being....
, a religious movement to which he and his family devoted much energy. He became a leading member of Newington Green Unitarian Church
Newington Green Unitarian Church
Newington Green Unitarian Church in north London is one of England's oldest Unitarian churches. It has had strong ties to political radicalism for over 300 years, and is London's oldest Nonconformist place of worship still in use...
in north London
North London
North London is the northern part of London, England. It is an imprecise description and the area it covers is defined differently for a range of purposes. Common to these definitions is that it includes districts located north of the River Thames and is used in comparison with South...
, and worked to build a school there.
Life
Pritchard was apprenticed to his cousin Cornelius VarleyCornelius Varley
Cornelius Varley was an English water-colour painter.-Biography:Varley was born at Hackney, London, on the 21 November 1781. He was a younger brother of John Varley, a watercolour painter and astrologer, and a close friend of William Blake, he was born in Hackney, London...
, an artist deeply interested in science. His brother was the painter John Varley
John Varley (painter)
John Varley was an English watercolour painter and astrologer, and a close friend of William Blake. They collaborated in 1819–1820 on the book Visionary Heads, written by Varley and illustrated by Blake...
, but Pritchard would have seen more of Cornelius's son Cromwell Fleetwood
C. F. Varley
Cromwell Fleetwood Varley was an English engineer, particularly associated with the development of the electric telegraph and the transatlantic telegraph cable.-Family:...
, an engineer who pioneered the transatlantic telegraph cable
Transatlantic telegraph cable
The transatlantic telegraph cable was the first cable used for telegraph communications laid across the floor of the Atlantic Ocean. It crossed from , Foilhommerum Bay, Valentia Island, in western Ireland to Heart's Content in eastern Newfoundland. The transatlantic cable connected North America...
.
Pritchard set up as an optician, and also sold microscopes and microslide preparations. These slides he prepared by studying the microscopic organisms that he saw, and identifying and labelling them. Starting in 1830, he collaborated with C.R. Goring to produce beautifully illustrated books showing the "animalcules" visible through the microscope. His shops were in central London
Central London
Central London is the innermost part of London, England. There is no official or commonly accepted definition of its area, but its characteristics are understood to include a high density built environment, high land values, an elevated daytime population and a concentration of regionally,...
, more towards The City
City of London
The City of London is a small area within Greater London, England. It is the historic core of London around which the modern conurbation grew and has held city status since time immemorial. The City’s boundaries have remained almost unchanged since the Middle Ages, and it is now only a tiny part of...
than the West End
West End of London
The West End of London is an area of central London, containing many of the city's major tourist attractions, shops, businesses, government buildings, and entertainment . Use of the term began in the early 19th century to describe fashionable areas to the west of Charing Cross...
, variously at 162 Fleet Street
Fleet Street
Fleet Street is a street in central London, United Kingdom, named after the River Fleet, a stream that now flows underground. It was the home of the British press until the 1980s...
, Pickett Street and 312 & 263 The Strand
Strand, London
Strand is a street in the City of Westminster, London, England. The street is just over three-quarters of a mile long. It currently starts at Trafalgar Square and runs east to join Fleet Street at Temple Bar, which marks the boundary of the City of London at this point, though its historical length...
. The Oxford Dictionary of National Biography says his List of 2000 Microscopic Objects (1835) "is very important in the history of microscopy... his History of the Infusoria (1841) was long a standard work, and the impetus it gave to the study of biological science cannot be overestimated." He also wrote books and articles on "natural history as seen through the microscope, on optical instruments, and on patents"
Pritchard held various Dissenting religious views over his lifetime, holding that science and religion
Relationship between religion and science
The relationship between religion and science has been a focus of the demarcation problem. Somewhat related is the claim that science and religion may pursue knowledge using different methodologies. Whereas the scientific method basically relies on reason and empiricism, religion also seeks to...
were one. Through the Varleys he attended a Sandemanian church, where he became acquainted with Michael Faraday
Michael Faraday
Michael Faraday, FRS was an English chemist and physicist who contributed to the fields of electromagnetism and electrochemistry....
, one of the most influential scientists in history In the end he joined a Unitarian congregation, because religious freedom and self-improvement were the watchwords of the movement
General Assembly of Unitarian and Free Christian Churches
The General Assembly of Unitarian and Free Christian Churches is the umbrella organisation for Unitarian, Free Christian and other liberal religious congregations in the United Kingdom. It was formed in 1928, with denominational roots going back to the Great Ejection of 1662...
, which still struggled against civil disabilities. Money aside, Pritchard would not have been able to attend an English university as a young man, for example, because the only two, Oxford and Cambridge, restricted entry to members of the Church of England
Church of England
The Church of England is the officially established Christian church in England and the Mother Church of the worldwide Anglican Communion. The church considers itself within the tradition of Western Christianity and dates its formal establishment principally to the mission to England by St...
. "No-one exists divorced from immediate and larger social environments. Dissenters led educational reform, especially in giving “lower orders” scientific knowledge and skill."
Pritchard joined the congregation of Newington Green Unitarian Church
Newington Green Unitarian Church
Newington Green Unitarian Church in north London is one of England's oldest Unitarian churches. It has had strong ties to political radicalism for over 300 years, and is London's oldest Nonconformist place of worship still in use...
, an establishment long connected with scientific enquiry (Joseph Priestley
Joseph Priestley
Joseph Priestley, FRS was an 18th-century English theologian, Dissenting clergyman, natural philosopher, chemist, educator, and political theorist who published over 150 works...
), education (Mary Wollstonecraft
Mary Wollstonecraft
Mary Wollstonecraft was an eighteenth-century British writer, philosopher, and advocate of women's rights. During her brief career, she wrote novels, treatises, a travel narrative, a history of the French Revolution, a conduct book, and a children's book...
), and political dissent (Richard Price
Richard Price
Richard Price was a British moral philosopher and preacher in the tradition of English Dissenters, and a political pamphleteer, active in radical, republican, and liberal causes such as the American Revolution. He fostered connections between a large number of people, including writers of the...
). He is described in the church's history as "the leading member of the congregation". From 1850 to 1873 he was its treasurer, during which time donations doubled. Before the passage of the Elementary Education Act 1870
Elementary Education Act 1870
The Elementary Education Act 1870, commonly known as Forster's Education Act, set the framework for schooling of all children between ages 5 and 12 in England and Wales...
, compulsory schooling
Compulsory education
Compulsory education refers to a period of education that is required of all persons.-Antiquity to Medieval Era:Although Plato's The Republic is credited with having popularized the concept of compulsory education in Western intellectual thought, every parent in Judea since Moses's Covenant with...
did not exist, so the church started a school to offer education to the village children. He led the Newington Green Conversation Society, membership restricted to 16, a successor to the Mutual Instruction Society. Faraday was a frequent visitor.
He married Caroline Isabella Straker in 1829 and they had several children. His wife was chair of the chapel organisation, and after a few decades there were 20 Pritchards involved in the chapel. Their son Henry Baden Pritchard (1841–1884) was a chemist, traveller, and photographer. Their son Andrew Goring Pritchard, a solicitor, was a leading light of the Association of Municipal Corporations, and he in turn had a son, Clive Fleetwood Pritchard, who became mayor of Hampstead
Hampstead
Hampstead is an area of London, England, north-west of Charing Cross. Part of the London Borough of Camden in Inner London, it is known for its intellectual, liberal, artistic, musical and literary associations and for Hampstead Heath, a large, hilly expanse of parkland...
. Their son Ion (d. 1929) and daughter Marian Pritchard (d. 1908) continued the work of their parents at the Newington Green Unitarian Church. The cause of liberal religion
Liberal religion
Liberal religion is a religious tradition which embraces the theological diversity of a congregation rather than a single creed, authority, or writing...
in general, and the development of the General Assembly of Unitarian and Free Christian Churches
General Assembly of Unitarian and Free Christian Churches
The General Assembly of Unitarian and Free Christian Churches is the umbrella organisation for Unitarian, Free Christian and other liberal religious congregations in the United Kingdom. It was formed in 1928, with denominational roots going back to the Great Ejection of 1662...
, were overarching themes. Ion was President of the Sunday School Association, one of the precursors to the General Assembly. Marian in particular is described as an unsung heroine, and "one of the leaders of modern Unitarianism". She set up Oxford Summer Schools for the training of Sunday School teachers, and Winifred House Invalid Children's Convalescent Home.
Works
- 1830 with C.R. Goring. Microscopic illustrations of a few new, popular and diverting living objects with their natural history London, Whittaker, Treacher, & Co
- 1834 The natural history of animalcules : containing descriptions of all the known species of Infusoria : with instructions for procuring and viewing them London, Whittaker and Co.
- 1854 with C.R. Goring. Notes on aquatic microscopic subjects of natural history : selected from the ‘Microscopic Cabinet’ ...illustrated by ten coloured engravings London : Whittaker & Co.
Sources
- Bracegirdle, Brian (1998) Microscopical Mounts and Mounters, Quekett Microscopical Club, London
- Nuttall, Robert (2006) "Marketing the achromatic microscope: Andrew Pritchard’s engiscope", Quekett Journal of Microscopy, 40:309-330.
Further reading
- "Andrew Pritchard's Contribution to Metallurgical Microscopy" by R. H. Nuttall. Technology and Culture, Vol. 20, No. 3 (Jul., 1979), pp. 569–577 here.
External links
- Special collection at the Whipple Library Early 19th-century natural history and the diamond lens microscope: microscope books of Dr C.R. Goring (1792–1840) and Andrew Pritchard (1804–1882)
- Microscopy Magazine