Born at Bedale, Yorkshire; after leaving the Manchester Grammar School he was educated at St George's Hospital, London, and in Paris. He began practice in Manchester, and in about 1853 returned to Bedale, where he became known for his skill, especially in the treatment of diseases of the eye. He was Medical Referee to the Royal Prudential and Scottish Equitable Assurance Companies. Besides being a cultivated man, Spence was a musician who for many years sang in the church choir. He engaged in questions of agriculture and the health of animals, writing in the local press. He died, after about six weeks of illness, on June 16th, 1878, and was buried in Bedale Churchyard.