DR NATHANIEL SPENS (1728 - 1815) PHYSICIAN AND ARCHER
engraving on paper by John Buego 1759-1841, published in 1796
67.5 x 40.5 cm
94.0 x 66.5 cm (framed)

'Dr Spens (1728-1815) of Craigsanquhar, Fife was elected to the Royal Company in 1750 at the age of 22. He was to be an Archer for 65 years. By the 1770s he was firmly established as one of the Royal Company’s most outstanding archers. He won the Silver Bowl four times, the Edinburgh Arrow three times, the Musselburgh Arrow in 1777 and the King’s Prize in 1793. He won the Goose Prize ten times, the last at the age of nearly 80 in 1807. He was made President of the Council in 1809 and in 1810 a dinner was held to celebrate the 60th anniversary of his membership. The Royal Company still compete for the Spens Medal, instituted in 1833 in his memory. Dr Spens was also a distinguished member of the medical profession, being President of the Royal College of Physicians, Edinburgh from 1794-1796. He was a man of fashion too: Dr Spens is said to have been the first person to carry an umbrella in Edinburgh.' The original painting of Dr Spens still hangs in Archers' Hall in Edinburgh.

After (The Royal Company of Archers, 2025).