Dr William Beeston Coyte, F. L.S. of 'Coyte's Gardens'

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DR WILLIAM BEESTON COYTE, F . L . S . O F 'COYTE'S G A R D E N S '

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DR. WILLIAM BEESTON COYTE, F.L.S., OF 'COYTE'S GARDENS'. D r . C o y t e ' s Ipswich Botanical G a r d e n was f o u n d e d by his great uncle, William B e e s t o n ( 1 6 7 2 - 1 7 3 2 ) , an e m i n e n t physician and botanist of Ipswich. W h e n D r . B e e s t o n died at Bentley he left his g a r d e n and Ipswich house to his n e p h e w D r . William C o y t e , with instructions that the garden should be m a i n t a i n e d and replenished as necessary with physick plants. A f t e r his death in 1765 t h e p r o p e r t y passed to his eldest son, D r . William Beeston Coyte. D r . C o y t e e x t e n d e d the ränge of plants cultivated f r o m rare exotics to s o m e quite c o m m o n British species. In 1796 G e o r g e J e r m y n of the B u t t e r m a r k e t , Ipswich, printed for the D o c t o r , an a n n o t a t e d catalogue of 158 pages giving details of the plants cultivated in this g a r d e n . ' H o r t u s Botanicus Gippovicensis or a Systematical E n u m e r a t i o n of t h e Plants cultivated in D r . C o y t e ' s Botanic G a r d e n at Ipswich, in t h e C o u n t y of Suffolk, also T h e i r Essential G e n e r i c C h a r a c t e r s — English N a m e s — T h e Natives of Britain particularised—The Exotics w h e r e best p r e s e r v e d , and their D u r a t i o n with Occasional Botanical O b s e r v a t i o n s to which is a d d e d , A n Investigation of the Natural P r o d u c e of s o m e GrassL a n d s in H i g h S u f f o l k ' . In 1807 was published t h e first and only v o l u m e of his 'Index Plantarum'. D r . C o y t e died in 1810 a n d was buried in St. Nicholas C h u r c h , Ipswich, w h e r e his y o u n g e r b r o t h e r , J a m e s C o y t e , was for 27 years p e r p e t u a l curate. Francis S i m p s o n .

Trans. Suffolk Nat. Soc. 19


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