George Bax Holmes
Encyclopedia
George Bax Holmes was a wealthy Quaker and fossil collector in Victorian Horsham
. Having started life pursuing a medical career he was able to devote more time to his fossil hunting from 1834. It was in that year that his father died and left him considerable property interests. As early as 1836 he contributed to Howard Dudley
's history of Horsham with a paragraph on his work
on 3 May 1803, the first son of Joseph Holmes, an active Quaker. He was married on 19 October 1826 to his third cousin Mary Burns of Chichester
at which time his occupation was recorded as "chemist and druggist" of Horsham.
As a Quaker in these times Bax Holmes was still regarded as a dissenter
from the mainstream Church of England
, even though the religious Act of Toleration
had been passed in 1689. In 1834, for refusing to pay the church rates of 4s 10½d (2007: £19) he had two arm chairs valued at £3 9s 0d (2007: £276) removed.
, a plant eating dinosaur
, in building works on the future site of the Royal & Sun Alliance (now RSA) headquarters. In 1840 a stone was uncovered while building the Chapel of Ease, later to become St Marks Church. Bax Holmes identified them as fossilised iguanodon bones, the largest found since the name was coined by Gideon Mantell
of Lewes some 15 years earlier. The bones were used by Benjamin Waterhouse Hawkins
in 1854 when creating the dinosaur models
for Sydenham Park.
A record of Bax Holmes' work is preserved in the form of 34 letters to fellow fossil expert Richard Owen
, with whom Bax Holmes was in correspondence throughout his life. These letters are held in the Owen Correspondence collection at the Natural History Museum
.
George Bax Holmes died on 31 March 1887 and is buried at the Friends Meeting House
in Worthing Road, Horsham. Today his gravestone is in use as a paving slab and can be seen at the start of the path to the left of the central entrance. His death is noted in the Quaker's Annual Monitor and the Horsham Advertiser, dated 2 April 1887, published an obituary.
After Bax Holmes died his daughter sold his collection of 767 (some say 764) fossils to the Corporation of Brighton
for £55 and they later went on display at the Booth Museum of Natural History
. Until recently they lay in store there until being returned to Horsham Museum
for a long term display. It is believed that Bax Holmes lived in the Causeway next door to the current museum and the bones have almost come home.
Horsham
Horsham is a market town with a population of 55,657 on the upper reaches of the River Arun in the centre of the Weald, West Sussex, in the historic County of Sussex, England. The town is south south-west of London, north-west of Brighton and north-east of the county town of Chichester...
. Having started life pursuing a medical career he was able to devote more time to his fossil hunting from 1834. It was in that year that his father died and left him considerable property interests. As early as 1836 he contributed to Howard Dudley
Howard Dudley
Howard Dudley wrote the first illustrated history of Horsham, West Sussex, in 1836. The book was entitled The History and Antiquities of Horsham and its Vicinities. He also produced the lithographs and woodcuts that were used as the illustrations, and then went on to print the book himself...
's history of Horsham with a paragraph on his work
Religion
Bax Holmes was born in HorshamHorsham
Horsham is a market town with a population of 55,657 on the upper reaches of the River Arun in the centre of the Weald, West Sussex, in the historic County of Sussex, England. The town is south south-west of London, north-west of Brighton and north-east of the county town of Chichester...
on 3 May 1803, the first son of Joseph Holmes, an active Quaker. He was married on 19 October 1826 to his third cousin Mary Burns of Chichester
Chichester
Chichester is a cathedral city in West Sussex, within the historic County of Sussex, South-East England. It has a long history as a settlement; its Roman past and its subsequent importance in Anglo-Saxon times are only its beginnings...
at which time his occupation was recorded as "chemist and druggist" of Horsham.
As a Quaker in these times Bax Holmes was still regarded as a dissenter
Dissenter
The term dissenter , labels one who disagrees in matters of opinion, belief, etc. In the social and religious history of England and Wales, however, it refers particularly to a member of a religious body who has, for one reason or another, separated from the Established Church.Originally, the term...
from the mainstream 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...
, even though the religious Act of Toleration
Act of Toleration 1689
The Act of Toleration was an act of the English Parliament , the long title of which is "An Act for Exempting their Majestyes Protestant Subjects dissenting from the Church of England from the Penalties of certaine Lawes".The Act allowed freedom of worship to Nonconformists who had pledged to the...
had been passed in 1689. In 1834, for refusing to pay the church rates of 4s 10½d (2007: £19) he had two arm chairs valued at £3 9s 0d (2007: £276) removed.
Fossil collecting
Bax Holmes is perhaps best known for his discovery of the Great Horsham IguanodonIguanodon
Iguanodon is a genus of ornithopod dinosaur that lived roughly halfway between the first of the swift bipedal hypsilophodontids and the ornithopods' culmination in the duck-billed dinosaurs...
, a plant eating dinosaur
Dinosaur
Dinosaurs are a diverse group of animals of the clade and superorder Dinosauria. They were the dominant terrestrial vertebrates for over 160 million years, from the late Triassic period until the end of the Cretaceous , when the Cretaceous–Paleogene extinction event led to the extinction of...
, in building works on the future site of the Royal & Sun Alliance (now RSA) headquarters. In 1840 a stone was uncovered while building the Chapel of Ease, later to become St Marks Church. Bax Holmes identified them as fossilised iguanodon bones, the largest found since the name was coined by Gideon Mantell
Gideon Mantell
Gideon Algernon Mantell MRCS FRS was an English obstetrician, geologist and palaeontologist...
of Lewes some 15 years earlier. The bones were used by Benjamin Waterhouse Hawkins
Benjamin Waterhouse Hawkins
Benjamin Waterhouse Hawkins was an English sculptor and natural history artist renowned for combining both in his work on the life-size models of dinosaurs in the Crystal Palace Park, Sydenham, south London...
in 1854 when creating the dinosaur models
Crystal Palace Dinosaurs
The Crystal Palace Dinosaurs, also known as Dinosaur Court, are a series of sculptures of dinosaurs and extinct mammals located in Crystal Palace, London. Commissioned in 1852 and unveiled in 1854, they were the first dinosaur sculptures in the world, pre-dating the publication of Charles Darwin's...
for Sydenham Park.
A record of Bax Holmes' work is preserved in the form of 34 letters to fellow fossil expert Richard Owen
Richard Owen
Sir Richard Owen, FRS KCB was an English biologist, comparative anatomist and palaeontologist.Owen is probably best remembered today for coining the word Dinosauria and for his outspoken opposition to Charles Darwin's theory of evolution by natural selection...
, with whom Bax Holmes was in correspondence throughout his life. These letters are held in the Owen Correspondence collection at the Natural History Museum
Natural History Museum
The Natural History Museum is one of three large museums on Exhibition Road, South Kensington, London, England . Its main frontage is on Cromwell Road...
.
Legacy
Friends meeting house
A Friends meeting house is a meeting house of the Religious Society of Friends , where meeting for worship may be held.-History:Quakers do not believe that meeting for worship should take place in any special place. They believe that "where two or three meet together in my name, I am there among...
in Worthing Road, Horsham. Today his gravestone is in use as a paving slab and can be seen at the start of the path to the left of the central entrance. His death is noted in the Quaker's Annual Monitor and the Horsham Advertiser, dated 2 April 1887, published an obituary.
After Bax Holmes died his daughter sold his collection of 767 (some say 764) fossils to the Corporation of Brighton
Brighton
Brighton is the major part of the city of Brighton and Hove in East Sussex, England on the south coast of Great Britain...
for £55 and they later went on display at the Booth Museum of Natural History
Booth Museum of Natural History
Booth Museum of Natural History is a municipally-owned museum of natural history in the city of Brighton and Hove in the South East of England. It is part of "Royal Pavilion & Museums, Brighton and Hove". Admission is free....
. Until recently they lay in store there until being returned to Horsham Museum
Horsham Museum
Horsham Museum is a museum at Horsham, West Sussex, in South East England. It was founded in August 1893 by volunteers of the Free Christian Church and became part of Horsham District Council in 1974...
for a long term display. It is believed that Bax Holmes lived in the Causeway next door to the current museum and the bones have almost come home.
External links
- George Bax Holmes featured in Hidden Horsham