Life

Born on 29 September 1755, was the eldest son of John Field, an apothecary in extensive practice in Newgate Street

Newgate Street

Newgate Street refers to:*Newgate and Newgate Street in London*Newgate Street, Hertfordshire, a village in Hertfordshire*Newgate Street, Newcastle, a shopping and entertainment street in Newcastle upon Tyne...

, London, by his wife, Anne, daughter of Thomas Cromwell, grocer, who was a grandson of Henry Cromwell

Henry Cromwell

Henry Cromwell was the fourth son of Oliver Cromwell and Elizabeth Bourchier, and an important figure in the Parliamentarian regime in Ireland.-Life:...

, lord deputy of Ireland. He succeeded his father in his profession, and in 1807 was elected apothecary to Christ's Hospital

Christ's Hospital

Christ's Hospital is an English coeducational independent day and boarding school with Royal Charter located in the Sussex countryside just south of Horsham in Horsham District, West Sussex, England...

, a post which he continued to fill until within a short time of his death.

As a member of the Society of Apothecaries he promoted its interests. He gave with Joseph Hurlock free courses of lectures on materia medica

Materia medica

Materia medica is a Latin medical term for the body of collected knowledge about the therapeutic properties of any substance used for healing . The term 'materia medica' derived from the title of a work by the Ancient Greek physician Pedanius Dioscorides in the 1st century AD, De materia medica libre...

at their hall to the apprentices and students, which resulted in the regular establishment of lectures by the society. In 1815 his efforts helped obtainthe act of parliament which enforced an examination into the education and professional attainments of candidates for practising as an apothecary in England and Wales. He also filled for a long period the office of deputy-treasurer, and later of treasurer, of the branch of the affairs of the Society of Apothecaries originally instituted for the supply of the members of their own body with genuine drugs and medicines, but which ultimately extended to the service of the navy, the East India Company

East India Company

The East India Company was an early English joint-stock company that was formed initially for pursuing trade with the East Indies, but that ended up trading mainly with the Indian subcontinent and China...

, and the public generally.

In 1831 Field was nominated by Sir Henry Halford, 1st Baronet, on the part of the general board of health, as one of the medical officers attached to the city of London board of health for the adoption of precautions against the threatened outbreak of cholera

Cholera

Cholera is an infection of the small intestine that is caused by the bacterium Vibrio cholerae. The main symptoms are profuse watery diarrhea and vomiting. Transmission occurs primarily by drinking or eating water or food that has been contaminated by the diarrhea of an infected person or the feces...

 in the metropolis. In common with his colleagues Field afterwards received the thanks of the corporation and a piece of plate. He was also for many years the treasurer of the London Annuity Society for the benefit of the widows of apothecaries, in Chatham place, Blackfriars, of which institution his father was the founder in 1765.

Field died at Woodford, Essex, on 19 December 1837. His portrait, by Henry William Pickersgill

Henry William Pickersgill

Henry William Pickersgill RA was an English painter specialising in portraits. He was a Royal Academician for almost fifty years, and painted many of the most notable figures of his time.-Biography:...

, was hung at Apothecaries' Hall; another, by Samuel Lane

Samuel Lane

-Life:The son of Samuel and Elizabeth Lane, he was born at King's Lynn on 26 July 1780. After a childhood accident he became deaf and partially dumb. He studied under Joseph Farington and then under Sir Thomas Lawrence who employed him as assistant....

, was painted for the London Annuity Society.

Works

Besides contributing professional remarks to medical journals, Field wrote a history of the Chelsea Physic Garden

Chelsea Physic Garden

The Chelsea Physic Garden was established as the Apothecaries’ Garden in London, England in 1673. It is the second oldest botanical garden in Britain, after the University of Oxford Botanic Garden, which was founded in 1621.Its rock garden is the oldest English garden devoted to alpine plants...

: Memoirs, historical and illustrative, of the Botanick Garden at Chelsea, belonging to the Society of Apothecaries of London, London, 1820. It was printed at the expense of the society, to whom the manuscript had been presented. A new edition by Robert Hunter Semple was issued in 1878. His introductory address, delivered on 11 February 1835 at the first of the society's evening meetings for scientific purposes, was also printed by his colleagues.

Family

He married, 2 September 1784, Esther, daughter of John Barron

John Barron

John Barron may refer to:* John Barron , English actor, best known for The Fall and Rise of Reginald Perrin* John Barron , American journalist who exposed Communist activities* John Barron , Irish sportsman...

 of Woolacre House, near Deptford, and by this lady, who died 16 January 1834, he left six sons including Barron Field

Barron Field (author)

Barron Field was an English-born Australian judge and poet.-Early life:Field was the second son of Henry Field, a London surgeon and apothecary, and Esther, née Barron. Barron Field was educated as a barrister and was called to the Inner Temple on 25 June 1814...

 and Frederick Field

Frederick Field (scholar)

-Life:He was born in London, the son of Henry Field, and educated at Christ's Hospital and Trinity College, Cambridge, where he obtained a fellowship in 1824...

, and two daughters.