Thomas Hyde Hills
Thomas Hyde Hills, painted by JE Millais in 1873
Having worked as an apprentice with John Bell, Jacob's father, Thomas Hyde Hills joined Bell's pharmacy business as junior assistant in 1837. Hills became superintendent pharmacist at John Bell and Co in 1845. On John Bell's death in 1849, Jacob Bell and Hills became joint proprietors.
Hills was the first associate member of the Pharmaceutical Society. He became a Pharmaceutical Chemist in 1848. He was elected to the Society's Council in 1860, was its Vice-President 1863-68, its Treasurer 1868-1873, and its President 1873-1876.
Hills formed a close friendship with Jacob Bell. In fact, he moved into Bell's house in the late 1830s and stayed there until Bell's death in 1859. On his death, Bell left Hills two-thirds of the pharmacy business.
Hills also became involved in Bell's art patronage. Hill's obituary in 1891 described him as Bell's "alter ego": 'Nearly all Bell's art friendships were continued by his successor, who had already become closely connected with Landseer, to whom he acted as a business adviser, and finally as executor; with Millais, who painted a wonderful slap-dash full-length portrait of his friend, with, I believe, only one sitting; with Frith, Hart, Mulready, and other lights of the time.'