Bateman Saddington, apothecary of Fleet Street (1728 - 1804)

Over a period of time, I have accumulated various pieces of information about Bateman Saddington, and the time has come to put them together and try to get a proper view of the man.

Bateman Saddington was baptised on 1 September 1728 at Desford, LEI, the third of six children of Joseph Saddington and his wife, Faith Fellow (IGI). Bateman is an unusual first name, but one which continued to appear in this branch of the Saddington family until the end of the 19th century. As yet, it has not been possible to discover the origin of the name's use as a first name.

Not much is known about Bateman's childhood. His father, Joseph, was a tailor at Desford. He is known to have taken on at least one apprentice, and to have served his turn as churchwarden. Joseph must have been reasonably prosperous as two of his sons became butchers and Bateman was apprenticed to an apothecary. At some point after completing his apprenticeship, he then moved to London.

According to the records of the Society of Apothecaries of London, Bateman served a 7 year apprenticeship with one John Marshall, apothecary of Mountsorrel, Leicester. On April 4 1758, he attended the Society's Private Court, seeking admission to the freedom of the Society by redemption, i.e. by payment of a lump sum. This was necessary because, having qualified as an apothecary outside London, he was classed as a "foreigner". Bateman was examined by the Private Court, which was comprised of the Master and two Wardens, who gave their approval of his admission.

Having paid a Fine of £11 14s 0d (£1,432.73 in 2006), an additional 40s (£244.91) towards the Society's Physic Garden at Chelsea and other fees, Bateman was "sworn", i.e he recited the Oath of a Freeman, and was made free by Redemption of the Society of Apothecaries. He became a member of the Yeomanry, the lower ranks of the Society, and was then entitled to seek to become a Freeman of the City of London. His place of residence or shop was given as Fleet Street, and he remained at that address for professional purposes for the rest of his life.

Turning from Bateman's professional life to his private life, it appears that he had married a lady called Elizabeth - the details of their marriage and her surname are as yet unknown. The IGI states that their daughter, Elizabeth, was christened at Saint Andrew, Holborn on 31 December 1758, and her sister, Mary, was christened there on 8 October 1760. Whether Bateman and Elizabeth had any other children remains to be discovered.

On 3 September 1766, Bateman appeared at the Old Bailey as a witness for the prosecution in the case of Alice Weaver. Alice was accused of stealing a pair of shoes belonging to Bateman, valued at 4s (£18.88 in 2006), on or about July 13 1766. Bateman said that they were new shoes, never worn, and that he had identified them by his name written in them. Alice was subsequently acquitted, mainly because the prosecutor could not remember what she had said when charged with the crime by Sir John Fielding, the blind magistrate who sat at Bow Street.

Returning to his professional life, in 1770, having become a Freeman of the City of London, Bateman was promoted to the Livery, or upper ranks of the Society. On 1 September 1790, he took on an apprentice, William Westwood, for the term of 8 years and a consideration of £150 (£13,439.84 in 2006). This was not the first time that he had had an apprentice. On 21 July 1757, when living in St Giles, he had illegally taken on one Joseph Redmond as an apprentice for a term of 7 years and a consideration of £30 (£3,139.15 in 2006). This had been illegal, because, at that time, he was not a Freeman of the Society of Apothecaries and should not have been trading, let alone taking on an apprentice.

In 1796, Bateman was promoted to the Court of Assistants, which was the Society's governing body. On August 13 1802, he was elected Renter Warden, which was the junior of the two Wardens. The following year, on August 12 1803, he was elected Upper Warden, and would have been elected Master of the Society of Apothecaries in August 1804, had he not died in the February. His role as Upper Warden was taken over by Mr Augustine Towson, the then Renter Warden, for the remainder of the term, and a new Renter Warden, Mr A Moore, was chosen.

The final piece of the jigsaw is Bateman's Will, which was proved on 16 February 1804 at the Prerogative Court of Canterbury. Bateman wrote his Will on 16 March 1800, and it was witnessed by Sarah Myers and John Hurst. As the Will is very long, I will just pick out the highlights.

Bateman's wife, Elizabeth, appears to have predeceased him, as the first beneficiary is "my daughter Elizabeth Hodgson but who is known as Elizabeth Saddington", a description which seems to indicate a possible marriage to a Mr Hodgson, maybe of short duration. Elizabeth inherits her father's three houses at Canterbury Place, Walworth, Surrey, and his house (No. 28) at Manor Place during her lifetime. She also inherits "all [his] Stocks standing in [his] name in the Company of Apothecarys with the dividends due on the Navy [?] and Laboratory Stocks that may become due at the time of [his] decease".

The next set of beneficiaries are, shall I say, of as yet unknown provenance. They consist of Sarah Dismore of No. 22 Balburns Gardens, and her three sons, Thomas Spicer Dismore, Joseph Dismore and George Dismore, all three of whom appear to be under 21 in 1800, when Bateman's Will was written. Sarah inherits any monies in his name in the 5% Navy Stock at the Bank of England, together with any dividends due. The three boys each inherit £200 (£9,977.63 in 2006) of the £600 that he has in the 5% Irish Stock in the Bank of England, to be paid to them when they reach 21, less £50 each to be used to apprentice them as their mother sees fit, and she to have the dividends for their support and maintenance during their minority.

Thomas is also to inherit No. 28 Manor Place when Elizabeth Hodgson/Saddington dies. Joseph Dismore will inherit No. 3 Canterbury Place, and George Dismore will inherit No. 1 Canterbury Place, also after Elizabeth's death.

Then the Will turns back to family, specifically to Joseph Jenkins, "my Grandson who I have brought up". My theory is that Joseph Jenkins is the son of Bateman's other daughter, Mary, so another marriage needs to be located and the matching burials. Joseph inherits No. 2 Canterbury Place, where Bateman is living at the time that he makes his Will, after his aunt Elizabeth's death. Joseph is also to receive £100 "to be paid by my Partner John Anderson my aforesaid daughter Eliz for the Lease of my House in Fleet Street deducting five pounds for every year from the sale of the aforesaid Lease to the time of my decease for the time elapsed". I am not sure from this just how much money Joseph actually received.

The Will concludes by leaving Charlotte Anderson, the sister of his Partner, John Anderson, £100 "to be paid out of my Book debts and Effects at my House in Fleet Street"; John Anderson inherits "what other debts may be coming to me", but only after Bateman's debts and funeral expenses have been paid; and finally he leaves £5 (£249.44 in 2006) to his brother, Thomas Saddington, for mourning.

A codicil names his Executors as his nephew, John Lister, and John Hart of the Stamp Office. The precise nature of his relationship with John Lister is unknown. Bateman had two sisters, Elizabeth and Maria, but nothing is known about them. Alternatively, John Lister could have been his wife Elizabeth's nephew.

So, although a lot is known about Bateman Saddington, a lot remains to be discovered. Who did he marry, when and where? Who did his daughters marry, and what more can be found out about their lives? Who are the Dismores, and what is their relationship to him? Where was he buried? And so on and so forth.

My thanks go to Dee Cook, Archivist at the Society of Apothecaries of London, to Stanley Saddington, author of "Some Saddington Families", and to Shelagh Mason's Mum, who transcribed Bateman's Will for me. The monetary calculations were done at Measuring Worth.

For those of you descended from the Appleby Magna Saddingtons, Bateman's brother, John, was the founder of this branch.

Any further information on Bateman Saddington, apothecary of Fleet Street, or any of his descendants or relations will be most welcome.