The Middy April 8 1999

report by Diane Jones.

The remarkable life of artist Robert Bevan is unveiled in a new book on the Bevan family of Cuckfield, written by Francis Stenlake.

Robert, who died in 1925, was little-known during his lifetime. But his works today command thousands of pounds.

He sojourned with Gauguin in Brittany and became a founder member of the Camden Town Group of artists.

His painting The Cab Yard, Night was included in the Royal Academy's Art Treasures of England exhibition last year.

Robert came from a long line of distinguished Bevans who helped to found Barclay. Bevan, Tritton and Co. of Lombards Street, London was the forerunner to Barclay’s Bank. Robert's father Richard was a partner in the bank and played a pivotal role in Cuckfield affairs, becoming a JP and treasurer of the poor Law Board of Guardians which ran the Cuckfield Workhouse.

Richard contributed generously to the church and local good causes and provided substantial funds for the Queens hall, erected to Mark Queen Victoria's Diamond Jubilee in 1897.

For much of his life, Richard lived at Horsgate in Hanlye Lane, now the location of Court Meadow School. His death in 1918 made front-page news in the Middy and a marble plaque commemorating his good works was unveiled in Cuckfield church in 1922.

Richard and his son Robert, who died in 1925, are buried in the family plot in Cuckfield churchyard.

The book, From Cuckfield to Camden Town, centres largely on Robert Bevan, and is written by art historian and adult education teacher Frances Stenlake. It is published by Cuckfield Museum with funding from Cuckfield Parish Council, the Cuckfield Society, and the county and district councils.