John Spry and his brother Edward
Spry were Shipwrights at Plymouth.
From the book "British
Warships in the Age of Sail, 1714 - 1792 - the ship "Fubbs" was
recommissioned under Capt Richard Spry (d 1765), in Plymouth.
In 1797, the Register for
Apprentices Indentures notes that John Spry was a shipwright.
In the National Archives, John Spry
has a petition for being a servant for 32 years. Date 1740. He was probably
petitioning for a pension.
There was an engraved print of
Edward Spry Shipwright done in October 1788.
They no doubt built the ship
"Spry" which was recorded as being in South Africa in August
1814. In 1815 she was recorded as a
Sloop of War and sailing from Noncy Point and Dover Port.
In the 18th century and most of
the 19th, a sloop-of-war in the Royal Navy was a warship with a single gun deck that
carried up to eighteen guns. The rating
system covered
all vessels with 20 guns and above; thus, the term sloop-of-war
encompassed all the unrated combat vessels, including the very small gun-brigs
and cutters. In technical terms, even the
more specialised bomb
vessels and fireships were classed as sloops-of-war,
and in practice these were employed in the sloop role when not carrying out
their specialized functions.
Edward Spry - boat-builder 73
years shipwright in Plymouth Dockyard, and he died in 1789 aged 93.
In 1799, there was an auction of
a tenement called West Anderton, situated near Mount Edgcumbe, in the parish of
Maker, in the county of Cornwall, about a mile from Cremil Passage lower road
from thence to Milbrooke; consisting of a dwelling house, an orchard, and four
fields of land, containing about six ares, with the appertanes, late in the
tenure of Mr Little, ship-builder tenant there- of to Mr John Spry deceased.
Edward's son, was Dr. Edward
Sprye. He studied at Oxford and Cambridge in Medicine. He never married, and Edward died at his
son's house in Plymouth.
His brother Benny Spry, studied
physics. He died rather young. He may have been named Binny Spry, and
translated into Benny.
Their sister Joan Sprye, who
married William Kingdom, was also translated as Jane at times. There appears to be a Joan and a Jane.
Dr Edward Spry 6th Great Uncle
Edward Spry
b.? d.c.1796
MD Aberd(1759) Ex LRCP(1767) MA MD Leyden(1768) FRCP Edin(1774)
Edward Spry, M.D., was born at Plymouth. Destined by his father for the
church, he received an excellent classical education, and was matriculated at
Oxford. His own predilection being for physic rather than theology, he soon
left the university, and returning to Plymouth, was apprenticed for five years
to Mr. George Woollcombe, an eminent practitioner in that town.
On the completion of his articles, Mr. Spry proceeded to London, where
he attended lectures and the medical and surgical practice of the two borough
hospitals. He then travelled on the continent for a somewhat lengthened period;
and having visited the most celebrated universities and medical schools of
Scotland, Ireland, France, Holland, and Italy, he returned to Devonshire and
commenced practice as a surgeon at Plymouth.
In 1756 Mr. Spry’s name was brought prominently before the scientific
world. At the fire of the Eddystone lighthouse, on the 4th December, 1754, a
man ninety-four years of age was seriously injured by the fall of a quantity of
molten lead upon him, a portion of which, to use the old man’s reiterated
assertion, " ran down his throat into his body."
With much difficulty the aged sufferer was brought on shore, when Mr.
Spry was sent for. His treatment of the case was eminently judicious, and the
man survived the accident for twelve days. On examination after death, a lump
of lead, 3¾ inches in length by 1½ in breadth, and weighing 7 oz. 5 drs. 18
grs. was extracted from the stomach. Mr. Spry immediately drew up an account of
the case, and on the 19th December, 1755, forwarded it to the Royal Society.
The circumstances were so extraordinary as to raise some doubts of the
writer’s veracity ; the reading of the paper was, therefore, postponed,
confirmatory evidence was demanded, and Sir William (then Mr.) Watson, an
influential fellow of the society, wrote to Dr. Huxham requesting him to
inquire into the case. Unfortunately Mr. Spry had been alone at the
post-mortem, examination of the body, and no eye-witness of the actual removal
of the lead from the stomach could be produced. Mr. Spry, therefore, instituted
a series of experiments upon the lower animals, which proved so conclusive that
he drew up a report of them in a letter addressed directly to the president of
the society—the earl of Macclesfield.
Dr. Huxham, too, who would seem in the first instance to have been
incredulous, expressed himself perfectly satisfied, and in his reply to Sir
William Watson testified to his own belief in Mr. Spry’s veracity. The original
report of the case, Mr. Spry’s letter to the president, and Dr. Huxham’s
communication, were read to the society on the 5th February, 1756, and
published in the "Philosophical Transactions," vol. xlix, p. 477.
On the 4th January, 1759, Mr. Spry was created doctor of medicine by the
university of Aberdeen. He continued, however, in general practice until 1762,
when he retired from that laborious branch of the profession. Intending to
practise thenceforward as a physician, he devoted himself for a time to further
study, and with this view proceeded to the continent, where he once more
visited the principal medical schools of Europe.
He was admitted an Extra-Licentiate of the College of Physicians 9th
November, 1767; and then, passing over to Holland, proceeded master of arts and
doctor of medicine at Leyden 20th January, 1768 (D.M.I. de Variolis ac
Morbillis iisque Inoculandis, 4to.). Dr. Spry commenced his career as a
physician at Totnes, where he practised for three or four years with
considerable success.
Desirous, however, of a wider field for his exertions, he determined on
removing to his native town. Prior thereto, he passed a session at Edinburgh;
and on the 3rd May, 1774, was admitted a fellow of the College of Physicians
there. Returning to Devonshire, he proceeded direct to Plymouth, where he
arrived but a few months before Dr. Remmett, with whom he shared for some years
the practice and professional emoluments of the town and neighbourhood.
Dr. Spry was a good linguist. He wrote Latin with great facility and
elegance; his knowledge of Greek was considerable, and he read Hebrew and
Arabic. To these he added an acquaintance with French and German. In his
exercise at Leyden for his doctor’s degree, are numerous quotations in all
these languages. Those in Hebrew and Arabic occur, indeed, with a frequency
that savours somewhat of ostentatious display. I have not recovered the precise
date of Dr. Spry’s death. It must have occurred before October, 1796, for his
name has disappeared from the College list then published.[1]
William Munk (Volume II,
page 281)
In 1705 following the destruction of the first Eddystone lighthouse
built by Henry Winstanley in England, Captain Lovett acquired the lease of the
Eddystone rock for 99 years, and by an Act of Parliament he was allowed to
charge all ships passing a toll of 1 penny per ton, both inward and outward.
His designer was a man named John Rudyerd, who was a silk mercer on Ludgate
Hill; the trade of scientist or engineer did not really exist then and problems
relating to those fields were approached by people as hobbies rather than
professions.
It seems remarkable that such a person with no experience or proven
knowledge of the subject should be selected to undertake such a difficult and
dangerous task. Taking a shipbuilder's rather than a house builder's approach
he came up with a design based on a cone. His final wooden tower, lit in 1709,
proved much more serviceable than the first tower built by Henry Winstanley.
The lighthouse stood for 47 years. On the night of December 2, 1755, the
top of the lantern caught fire, probably through a spark from one of the
candles. Henry Hall, the keeper on watch, who was 94 years old but said to be
`of good constitution and active for his years', did his best to put out the
fire by throwing water upwards, four yards higher than his head, using a
bucket. Hall was soon joined by the other two keepers who also tried to extinguish
the fire.
Hall
looked up to check the progress of the fire and while doing so he was showered
with falling molten lead from the lantern roof. The lead fell upon his body
burning his head, face, neck and shoulders.
As his mouth was open whilst looking up some of the molten lead ran down
his throat. Hall later recalled that he felt the hot lead go down his throat
and screamed, "My God, I'm on fire inside! He and the other keepers
battled continuously against the fire, but they could do nothing as the fire
was above them all the time - as it burnt downwards it gradually drove them to
the base of the tower and out onto the rock
.
The fire was observed from the shore by a Mr. Edwards, ‘a man of some
fortune and more humanity’. The old account says, he sent off a boat, which
arrived at the lighthouse at 10 am after the fire had been burning for 8 hours.
The sea was too rough for the boat to approach the rock so they threw ropes and
dragged the keepers through the waves to the boat. The lighthouse continued to
burn for 5 days and was completely destroyed.
Henry Hall lived for 12 days after the incident, and a Doctor Spry of
Plymouth who attended him made a postmortem and found a flat oval piece of lead
in his stomach. Dr. Spry wrote an account of this case as follows:
On Thursday the fourth of December, 1755, at three in the afternoon,
Henry Hall, of East-stone-house, near Plymouth, aged 94 years, of a good
constitution, and extremely active for one of that age, being one of the three
unfortunate men, who suffered by the fire of the lighthouse at Eddystone, nine
miles from Plymouth, having been greatly hurt by that accident, with much
difficulty returned to his own house. I being sent for to his assistance found
him in his bed, complaining of extreme pains all over his body; especially in
his left side, below the short ribs, in the breast, mouth and throat. He said
likewise, as well as he could, with a hoarse voice, scarce to be heard, that
melted lead had run down his throat into his body.
Having taken the proper care of his right leg, which was much bruised
and cut on the tibia, I examined his body, and found it all covered with livid
spots and blisters; and the left side of the head and face, with the eye,
extremely burnt; which having washed with linen dipped in an emollient
fomentation, and having applied things used in cases of burning, I then
inspected his throat, the root of tongue, and the parts contiguous, as the
uvula, tonsils, etc. which were greatly scorched by the melted lead. Upon this
I ordered him to drink frequently of water-gruel of some such draught; and
returning to my own house, sent him the oily mixture, of which he took often
two or three spoonfuls.
The next day he was much worse, all the symptoms of his case being
heightened, with a weak pulse; and he could now scarce swallow at all.
The day following there was no change, except that, on account of his
too great costiveness, he took six drachms of manna dissolved in an ounce and
half of infusion of senna, which had no effect till the day following; when
just as a clyster was going to be administered, he had a very fetid discharge
by stool.
That day he was better till night, when he grew very feverish.
The next day, having slept well the preceding night, and thrown up by
coughing a little matter, he was much better.
He began now to speak with less difficulty, and for three or four days
to recover gradually; but then suddenly grew worse; his pulse being very weak:
his side, which grew worse daily from the first, now reddened a little and
swelled; to which I applied the emplaster of gums. But all methods proved
ineffectual, for the next day being seized with cold sweats and spasms in the
tendons, he soon expired.
Examining the body, and making an incision thro’ the left abdomen, I
found the diaphragmatic upper mouth of the stomach greatly inflamed and
ulcerated, and the tunica in the lower part of the stomach burnt; and from the
great cavity of it took out a great piece of lead of the shape and weight here
described.
It will perhaps be thought difficult to explain the manner, by which the
lead entered the stomach: But the account, which the deceased gave me and
others, was, that as he was endeavoring to extinguish the flames, which were at
a considerable height over his head, the lead of the lanthorn being melted
dropped down, before he was aware of it, with great force into his mouth then
lifted up and open, and that in such a quantity, as to cover not only his face,
but all his clothes.
A Photograph of the lead; which weighed exactly seven ounces, five
drachms, and eighteen grains. The piece of lead is now in the collection of the
National Museum of Scotland.
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