Born in Cardiff on March 22nd, 1818, the son of Hugh Hughes, a well-known Welsh preacher. He was educated at St Bartholomew's Hospital, and practised at Carmarthen for forty years. He was one of the first Medical Officers of Health, and held office until 1892. Early in his career he was a civil surgeon in charge of the garrison in which, during the Irish potato famine, there was an outbreak of scurvy, ably countered by Hughes, who was thanked in General Orders by the Commander-in-Chief, the Duke of Wellington. Later Hughes became Lieutenant-Colonel of the Royal Carmarthen Artillery Militia, Surgeon to the Carmarthen Infirmary and Police, Certifying Factory Surveyor, Chairman of Boards of Guardians and of the School Board, Commissioner of Income Tax, and JP for the County and Borough of Carmarthen. Five years before his death he retired from practice to Penrheol, Barry, where he died on October 27th, 1897. He left a widow, three daughters, and two sons, one of whom, Hugh Price Hughes (d1912), was a distinguished preacher, the other Town Clerk of Barry.