Richard Somers Gard, MP for Exeter

Richard Somers Gard was born at North Tawton in 1797, the son of James Gard Esq., woollen manufacturer, and Elizabeth, his wife. His career began as a clerk in the City Bank in Exeter run by Messrs Sparkes, but later he went into business in London where he made a fortune investing in £1 shares in the Devon Great Consols Copper Mine when they rose to the record price of £600 per share. Subsequently he became a partner in the stockbroking firm of Messrs Sanderson & Sandeman. In 1853 he retired from business and returned to Exeter to what the writer of his obituary called “the well-earned leisure of a life of enterprise and hard work”.