302 



BICKERTON BIGLAND. 



the Count de Grasse, April 29th following, he com- 

 manded the Invincible, of seventy-four guns. 



Captain Bickerton was subsequently appointed 

 in succession to the Russel and Terrible, both 

 seventy-fours : but finding the latter unlit for ser- 

 vice, he exchanged into the Amazon frigate, and 

 was ordered to England. The Amazon was paid 

 off in the month of February, 1782. In Septem- 

 ber following, he obtained the command of the 

 Brune, another frigate ; but, in consequence of the 

 peace which took place in 1783, she was soon after 

 put out of commission. Captain Bickerton was not 

 called upon again till January, 1787, when he com- 

 missioned the Sybil, and proceeded to the Leeward 

 islands ; on which station he remained, under the 

 orders of that excellent officer the late Sir William 

 Parker, till the year 1790: but as general tranquil- 

 lity then prevailed throughout Europe, he was not 

 concerned in any transaction immediately deserv- 

 ing of record. 



In February, 1792, he succeeded to the title, on 

 the demise of his father : and in the following year 

 commanded the Ruby, of sixty-four guns. He 

 afterwards removed to the Ramillies, seventy-four, 

 and cruised with lord Howe, in the Bay of Biscay, 

 during the autumn of 1794. In October, 1794, 

 the Ramillies carried General Sir John Vaughan to 

 the West Indies, where she continued till July, 

 1795, and was then ordered to Newfoundland, from 

 whence she returned to England in the month of 

 November following. During the whole of the 

 ensuing year, Sir Richard Bickerton served in the 

 North sea, under Admiral Duncan. In 1797, he 

 was appointed to the Terrible, of seventy-four 

 guns, forming part of the channel fleet, at that- 

 period commanded by Lord Bridport, on which ser- 

 vice he continued till promoted to the rank of 

 rear-admiral, February 14th, 1799. In the autumn 

 of that year, he hoisted his flag at Portsmouth, as 

 assistant port-admiral ; a situation requiring an 

 extraordinary degree of vigilance and activity. 



On the 13th of May, 1800, Sir Richard sailed 

 for the Mediterranean, in the Seahorse, being ap- 

 pointed to a command on that station, under Lord 

 Keith. Generals Abercromby, Moore, and Hut- 

 chinson, were passengers on board the same frigate. 

 On the arrival of Sir Richard Bickerton, he hoisted 

 his flag on board the Swiftsure, Captain Hallowell 

 (the present Admiral Sir Benjamin Hallowell 

 Carew), and proceeded to Cadiz, with four seventy- 

 fours and two frigates under his orders, to blockade 

 that port. The expedition against the French in 

 Egypt being ready, Sir Richard Bickerton left 

 Cadiz, and proceeded with Lord Keith to Alex- 

 andria, which port he blockaded until it surren- 

 dered to the British arms. 



On the news of peace arriving in Egypt, Lord 

 Keith returned to England, leaving Sir Richard at 

 Alexandria, to superintend the embarkation of the 

 French army ; a service that was conducted with 

 so much celerity, as to excite from the republican 

 General Menou, not only his grateful acknowledg- 

 ments, but the flattering compliment that "the 

 vigilance of Sir Richard's squadron had accelerated 

 the reduction of that place, as it cut them off 

 from all supply." During the rear-admiral's stay 

 in Egypt, he had the honour of being invested by 

 the Captain Pacha, with the insignia of the Turkish 

 Order of. the Crescent. The ceremony was per- 

 formed on the spot where the battle was fought 

 which decided the fate of that country. 



During the short-lived peace, Sir Richard Bick- 



erton commanded in the Mediterranean, with his 

 flag in the Kent, of seventy-four guns. On the 

 23d of April, 1804, he was advanced to the rank 

 of rear-admiral of the red, and about the same 

 time hoiated his flag on board the Royal Sovereign 

 a first rate; and when Lord Nelson went in pur- 

 suit of the combined squadrons to the West Indies, 

 he was left by his lordship to command on that 

 station. In Sept. 1805, ill health compelled Sir 

 Richard to return to England On the 9th of Nov. 

 1805, he was advanced to the rank of vice-ad- 

 miral. A change taking place in the administra- 

 tion, Sir Richard Bickerton was, in April, 1807, 

 nominated one of the lords commissioners of the 

 admiralty, and soon afterwards, at the general 

 election, was returned to parliament as one of the 

 representatives for Poole. While he was at the 

 hoard of admiralty a promotion of flag officers 

 took place, and Sir Richard Bickerton, on the 31st 

 of July, 1810, was made admiral of the blue. Sir 

 Richard Bickerton retained his seat at the admir- 

 alty until 1812, when he succeeded Admiral Sir 

 Roger Curtis as commander-in-chief at Ports- 

 mouth. The Order of the Bath being divided into 

 three classes, Sir Richard Bickerton was, in 1815, 

 created a knight commander of the same; and on 

 the death of Admiral Sir Richard Onslow, the father 

 of the present lady Hyde Parker, in January, 1818, 

 was appointed lieutenant general of the royal mar- 

 ines; and upon the accession of his late Ma- 

 jesty to the throne, was made general of that meri- 

 torious corps, which had been held some years by 

 the king while duke of Clarence. 



On the 24th of May, 1823, in compliance with the 

 will of his maternal uncle, lieutenant-general Vere 

 Warner Hussey, Sir Richard Bickerton took the 

 name of Hussey in addition to his own. He mar- 

 ried, Sept. 25th, 1788, Ann, daughter of the late Dr 

 James Athill, of Antigua, who survives him. Sir 

 Richard Hussey Bickerton expired at Bath, 9th of 

 February, 1832, in the seventy-third year of his age. 

 There being no issue, the baronetage became ex- 

 titict. 



BIDEFORD; a sea-port in the county of De- 

 von, 202 miles from London. It is situated on the 

 river Torridge, a short distance above its conflu- 

 ence with the Taw, which falls into the hay of 

 Barnstaple. The greater part of the town is built 

 on a steep acclivity on the western side of the river, 

 and the remainder is at the foot of a hill on the 

 eastern side. These are connected by a stone 

 bridge, consisting of twenty-four arches, and 220 

 yards in length, below which vessels of sixty tons 

 burden can pass. It was erected in the fourteenth 

 century, and is endowed with lands for keeping it 

 in repair. There is a considerable trade carried on 

 at this port, which includes within its jurisdiction 

 the harbours of Clovelly and Hartland. Sails, cor- 

 dage, oak-hark, fruit, earthenware, corn p.r.d flour, 

 are among the exports; American and Baltic tim- 

 ber, and coal from Bristol and Wales, form now 

 the chief imports. There is a convenient quay, 

 upwards of 1200 feet in length, which, except at 

 ebb-tide, can be approached by vessels of 500 tons 

 burden. Vessels of 300 tons burden in full-tides 

 can come up as far as the bridge, above which lessei 

 vessels can pass to a considerable distance, and 

 enter the Torrington canal through a sea lock at 

 the distance of two and a half miles. Ship-build- 

 ing forms the principal business of the place. Pop- 

 ulation in 1831. 484C; in .841,5211. 



BIGLAND, JOHN, was a native of Skiilaugh, iw 



