The Cotman Collection | Brightwell, Thomas, 1787 - 1868

Thomas Brightwell

1787 - 1868


A non-conformist solicitor, he was the mayor of Norwich in 1837, a man of scientific tastes, a good microscopist, and contributor to many scientific journals. He published Notes on the Pentateuch (1840), a compilation, with original notes on natural history: and printed 100 copies of Sketch of a Fauna Infusoria for East Norfolk (1848). In the preparation of the latter work he was assisted by his daughter Cecilia Lucy Brightwell (a pupil of John Sell Cotman), who drew and lithographed the figures of the various species noted. He was the executor for Mrs Amelia Opie (née Alderson) (1769-1853), the novelist, poet, a leading abolitionist in Norwich, and the wife of John Opie, the artist.