Joseph Stevens

Joseph Stevens (14 April 1818 – 7 April 1899) was a British archaeologist, former medical doctor, and antiquarian. Stevens was a significant contributor to the archaeological field and is noted for being the first curator of Reading Museum. Stevens died in St Mary Bourne, Hampshire, at the age of 81.

Personal life Stevens was born in Stanmore, Berkshire to a yeoman farmer. Upon his retirement in 1879, Stevens moved to Reading, Berkshire as a widower to pursue his archaeological and geological interests. Isherwood examines Stevens' work at St Mary Bourne, which at the time was a poor rural parish, at a time where Victorian public health reformers and legislation were being continuously improved.

In 1882, before official appointment as Honorary Curator, Stevens recorded The Bland Collection, a large eclectic collection, donated by Horatio Bland, merchant and artefact collector.

After promoting Reading Museum for over a decade, on the 20 August 1891 in Reading Town Hall, Stevens was presented his own marble bust which had been commissioned in his honour and paid for by public subscription. The bust was intended to be placed at the entrance of the museum.

Death Stevens lived in Reading until his death on 7 April 1899. His body was moved to St Mary Borne where he was buried next to his wife Mary who had died in 1874.

At the time of his death, Stevens was a member of the Royal College of Physicians London, and the British Archaeological Association. Prior to his death, Stevens had also been a local member of council for Berkshire and Hampshire, Honorary Curator of both Reading Museum and Andover Museum, and an established author.

Works

A Parochial History of St Mary Bourne with an account of Hurstbourne Priors Hants (Hampshire, 1888) Antiquarian Intelligence, Journal of British Archaeological Association, vol. 38, 1882, pp. 33–348 On the Remains Found in an Anglo-Saxon Tumulus at Taplow, Bucks., Journal of British Archaeological Association, vol. 40, 1884, pp. 61–71 Palaeolithic Flint Implements, with Mammalian Remains, in the Quaternary Drift at Reading, Journal of the British Archaeological Association, vol. 37, 1881, pp. 1–11 Remains Found at the Reading Gas Works, Journal of the British Archaeological Association, vol. 37, 1881, pp. 264–268 St Mary Borne Past and Present (1863) Stone Implements Found in the Thames River, Journal of British Archaeological Association, vol. 39, 1883, pp. 344–346 The Font at St Mary Bourne, Journal of British Archaeological Association, vol. 36, 1880, pp. 30–33