Life

He was the son of a farmer at Banwell

Banwell

Banwell is a village and civil parish on the River Banwell in the North Somerset district of Somerset, England. Its population was 2,923 according to the 2001 census.-History:...

, Somerset, was born on 24 April 1772.
He received such education as the parish clerk, who was also the schoolmaster of the village, could give him. Like his father, he worked on the land.
He married and bought a small estate, which he farmed himself.

Excited by the tradition that Banwell Hill contained a large cavern, he persuaded two miners to join him (September 1824) in sinking a shaft.
At a depth of about 100 feet they came to a stalactite cave.
While making a second opening lower down the side of the hill, in order to form a better approach to this cave, he discovered a smaller cavern containing animal bones.
With some help procured for him by the Bishop of Bath and Wells

Bishop of Bath and Wells

The Bishop of Bath and Wells heads the Church of England Diocese of Bath and Wells in the Province of Canterbury in England.The present diocese covers the vast majority of the county of Somerset and a small area of Dorset. The Episcopal seat is located in the Cathedral Church of Saint Andrew in...

 (G. H. Law), to whom the land belonged, Beard dug out the cavern, and found among the debris a number of bones of the bear, buffalo, reindeer, wolf, etc..
Captivated with his discovery, he let his land, and spent all his time in searching for bones and putting them together.
He acted as guide to the many visitors who came to see the cavern and the bones he collected.
He soon learned something of the scientific importance of his discoveries, and became an eager collector of the contents of the bone-caves of the neighbourhood, at Hutton, Bleadon, and Sandford.
He was a reserved man, of quaint manners, and with a high opinion of his own skill.
The nickname of the "Professor" given him by the bishop greatly pleased him, and be was generally called by it.
He died on 9 January 1868, in his ninety-sixth year.
He retained his bodily and mental activity almost to the day of his death.
He was a small man, of short stature and light build.

Legacy

There is a bust of him in Banwell churchyard, and an engraving representing him at the age of seventy-seven in Rutter's Delineations of Somersetshire.
His collection of bones was bought by the Somersetshire Archæological and Natural History Society, and is now in the Museum of Somerset at Taunton Castle

Taunton Castle

Taunton Castle is a castle built to defend the town of Taunton, Somerset, England.It has origins in the Anglo Saxon period and was later the site of a priory. The Normans then built a stone structured castle, which belonged to the Bishops of Winchester...

. Some idea of its value may be gained from the fact that it includes a large number of the bones of the Felis spelœa, one skull being the most perfect that has been found in England.

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