Lewes History Group March Talk: John Kay: The Life and Times of John Whitfield, Cliffe Merchant

By Victoria Moy
Contributor
Published 4th Mar 2024, 14:52 BST
Updated 4th Mar 2024, 15:05 BST
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John Kay explores the life and times of John Whitfeld, a Cliffe Merchant who first appears in Lewes as a young merchant in 1720 and remained a significant member of the town community for the next 35 years.

Whitfield married the daughter of a Huguenot clock maker working in the town, and he acquired the business premises and wharves that now accommodate Harvey’s Brewery.

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He dealt in a range of commodities, rescued cargoes from ships wrecked on the coast, and engaged in the Wealden iron industry in its dying days.

He played an active role in the town’s politics, and could be a tricky man to deal with. Some alleged he was a smuggler.

He was certainly not an ideal next door neighbour, and was unusually litigious.

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He made a strong impression on his fellow citizens and has left his mark on the town.

By the 1740s he had become prosperous enough to build himself a country house called Corsica Hall in Wellingham, Ringmer.

The house in Cliffe that he built for his family survives today. In the winter of 1755-6 he abruptly sold all his Sussex property and moved to Vlissingen (Flushing) in the Low Countries, where he continued his career as a merchant.

Date and Time: Monday 11th March 2024, 7.30pm on ZoomMembers free | Non-members £4 via ticketsource.co.uk/lhg

Contact Lewes History Group via:

W leweshistory.org.ukE [email protected]