Edward Capel and East Cliff House - Successive Occupants
172 H
Interpolatory
Whilst writing in 1886 of the events of 1847,a nonagenarian clergy-man who came to Hastings in the earlier year, takes his final departure in the later one and that whilst The Postman in his metrical reminiscences describes the principal local events of 1797, he comes across a note in his diary which presumably refers to the sale of a mansion in which the said nonagenarian has died, after a residence therein of thirty-two years. This linking of the past and present, although somewhat digressive, is nevertheless the sequence of those mutable and memorial associations which I venture to think are not devoid of interest. The house in which the Rev. J. H. Fisk has for a long time resided, and from which he has been recently removed by death, is almost the only one remaining of the several grand old mansions once existent in All Saints’ street and its adjacencies. Of this mansion — successively known as Capell’s House, Scott's House, and East-Cliff House — I have now something to say; and, while reproducing what has been related of its eccentric founder, I purpose giving my readers some original particulars of his successors down to the equally eccentric, but more venerable and more benevolent gentleman who has been the latest owner and occupier of East-Cliff House.
The mansion at the nether end of All Saints’ street (once known as Fishers’ street) was built for Mr. Edward Capell — a professional barrister, an amateur architect, and a Shakesperian commentator. It was erected from his own designs at a cost of about £5000, during the period 1761-3; when James Bruderel and William Ashburnham were the parliamentary representatives of Hastings; when Edward Milward and Thomas Evitt held the mayoralty in turns; when Hastings joyously celebrated the nuptials of George III. and Queen (Charlotte; when the canopies at the Coronation were supported by Edward Milward and William Ashburnham of Hastings, John Pelham and Richard Rideout of Lewes, Luke Spencer of Malling, and Rose Fuller, M.P for Maidstone; when Harvey’s powder-mills at Battle were accidentally destroyed by five tons of powder; when four Hastings smugglers (John Colbran, Reuben Colbran, Stephen Bourner and Robert Inkley) were drowned while running contraband; when a French privateer was beaten off from chasing a Hastings sloop; when cambrics, muslins and lawns were first manufactured by foreigners at Winchelsea, under the protection of squire Nesbit; when the opening of the new harbour at Rye was witnessed by three thousand persons and inaugurated with a banquet, after a French privateer had been wrecked against the pier; when grocer Lintott, of Hastings, sold the best white brandy at 6/- per gallon, and was wanting to re-let the ancient ”Maidenhead” inn (now 43 High street), together with the furniture, fixtures. and brewing utensils at a fair valuation; and when, after Mr. Capell’s mansion was finished, the sea threatened its destruction by flowing to a greater height than theretofore had been witnessed by living man. In Illustrations of the Literary History of the Eighteenth Century, as quoted by Moss, it is said of Mr. Capell that
”As he must show a taste for something, he chose architecture, and built a house on the faith of his own skill in that science, for which be paid dearly, to the disappointment of those who succeeded to his fortune. This house was placed in a situation of all others the most uninteresting to a man of taste who looks for diversity of prospect in lawns, groves, rivulets, &c. Here he was so much cramped that he was obliged to hire several adjacencies or pay for them ‘inch-meal,’ This whim cost him by his own account nearly £5,000 and, lamentable to tell, did not, after his decease, realize much more than £1,300. Here, for the last twenty years of his life, he passed his hours from May till October, equally unknowing and unknown, for he was of too haughty a temper to associate with the inhabitants, and too much of a humourist to be sought for by the neighbouring gentry. At first, indeed, he used to make morning visits to the Earl of Ashburnham and the Bishop of Chichester (Sir William Ashburnham, who had a patrimonial seat in the neighbourhood), but even these wore away, and he became as much a hermit at Hastings as in his chambers at the Temple. Having never seen his house at Hastings, I am entitled to say very little about it, but that it is now [1790] a lodging-house is a circumstance which, could he have foreseen, he would, no doubt, have pulled it down, and not left one stone upon another.”
It seems to me that in many cases writers and reviewers are too prone to express opinions on insufficient evidence, and that adverse criticisms are thus not unfrequently the result.
The writer above quoted admits that he had never seen Mr. Capell’s house, yet he declares that it was placed in a situation of all others the most uninteresting; although at the same time he observes, ”The spirit of nicety and refinement prevailed in it.” Now, even in my time the house in question has had the reputation of being a well-built and comfortable habitation, With a spacious and protected terrace in front, and commanding an uninterrupted view of the sea and its shipping from Dungeness to Beachy Head. If these then were the conditions sought for by Mr. Capell, surely his efforts were not so misdirected as his critic would have us believe. Indeed, as viewed by, many persons of ”taste and refinement,” even down to within the last half-century, Hastings itself was regarded as being even more picturesque than the same persons would admit her to be in the present day. So much was this the case that it: would have been difficult on any day in suitable weather to walk the beach contiguous to Capell’s house without seeing two or three artists at work with their pencil and brush, It was the very next house to Capell’s that Mr. Hunt, the artist used to select tor his periodical, dwelling. The annexed illustration represents an artist sketching the form and face of an immensely fat girl, named Finch, who, whilst being anything but intellectual, was perfectly gentle gentle, and might be met with almost daily on the parade or on the beach.
But let my readers picture to themselves what All Saints’ street was like at the time and for many years after Mr. Capell built his house. The front of his own mansion was not obstructed, as is now the case, with fishing-boats and rope-shops, those utilitarian objects being confined to the stade between Mercer’s Bank and the Battery, whilst from his garden in the rear of the house (where Garrick planted Shakespeare’s mulberry tree, still existing and bearing fruit), Mr. Capell had easy access to “Mount Idle,” and thence to the summit of the East Hill, which commanded a view of landscapes and seascapes — dioramic and panoramic — not surpassed by any others on the south coast. At a few rods from Capell’s house was the Crown Inn, which although now by comparison is only a minor tavern, was then one of the two principal hotels of the town, and was frequented by aristocratic families to such an extent as sometimes to necessitate the hiring of thirty or forty beds in private houses. It was from here that a thrice-a-week, and afterwards a daily coach was despatched to London. On each side of the street was a range of houses, with long gardens sloping up to what is now the Tackleway, on the East Hill, and on the other side a similar range, with gardens extending down to the Bourne stream. Here and there the line was relieved and diversified by rich foliage overhanging the gates which led into a spacious garden, and thence to a large mansion like that of Wenham’s, known as East-hill House, where many a rich family sojourned in turns, or like that known as Hastings House, which served as a residence for the Duke of Wellington, Lord Byron and other distinguished persons. Some idea of the extent of the old “Hastings House” and its garden may be obtained from the fact that the site is now occupied by the new “Hastings House,” and the twenty-four houses known as the Old Humphrey Avenue; whilst a similar inkling of ”Wenham’s House” and garden (now presenting a desolate appearance) may be gained from the following advertisement, which appeared in September, 1793.
”To be sold by private contract, in All Saints’ street, (lot 1) a well-built tenement, 50 feet frontage and 41 feet depth, with walled-in garden in front of the house, a terrace, 60 feet by 18 feet, commanding en unbounded view of the sea, built within twenty. years, in a superior manner, Also (lot 2) a small tenement, 19 feet by 27 feet, adjoining lot 1 Underneath this are capital wine vaults, lately constructed, Also (lot 3) a tenement, 15 ft. by 29 ft., now occupied by Nicholas Simmonds. Also (lot 4) a tenement of two dwellings, 27 ft. by 14 ft., occupied by Bevins and Southouse, Also (lot 5) coachhouse and stable near lot 1. Also (lot 6) an unfinished building, intended for a house, adjoining lot 1, 12 ft. by 36 ft. Apply to William Wenham, the proprietor, or to Mr. Shadwell, attorney.”
The above property, not finding a purchaser by private treaty, was afterwards sold by auction, but whether at the request of the owner or his family, or of some other authority I do not know. I may say, however, that “Will Wenham, the bold smuggler,” was a household word in Hastings, and attached to his death, as an exile in France, is a tale of heroic, but melancholy interest. In the year 1798 a mariner named Thomas Barry — a brother, I believe, of James Barry, the librarian — employed as a pilot in the unfortunate expedition against Ostend, on seeing the danger of the British troops being surrounded by the French army, dashed into the sca, swam through the surf, and gave the warning which saved them from the fate to which the misfortunes of war had consigned so many of their brave countrymen. He regained his vessel without molestation or serious injury, although much exhausted by his efforts. He had been previously in the service of Mr. Wenham, and possessed much of his employer’s confidence and courage as a smuggler; and when asked by order of Government in what manner he preferred to be rewarded for his heroic conduct at Ostend, he replied that the only recompense he cared for was the pardon of Mr. Wenham, his old master, in whose service he had gained the knowledge which he had been able to apply for the benefit of his country, Wenham’s outlawry, it was stated, was thereupon reversed, but the man died before the glad tidings reached him.
Wenham's property, which has led me into this digression, was situated at a short distance from what was still known as Capell’s house, to which latter I must now return in my contribution next week.
For twenty years Mr. Capell oscupied his marine residence, bounded on the east by huge cliffs, on the west by the Pulpit gate and part of the town-wall, on the south by the open sea, and on the north by the town and country. As an editor of Shakespeare, he spent the greater part of that twenty years on his work, and is said to have copied the writings of the dramatic bard no fewer than ten times, He obtained the place of deputy-inspector of plays, with a salary of £200 a year. He also edited and wrote some other literary compositions, but his style has not received commendation from his critics. He died on the 4th of January, 1781, at the age of 68, and was buried at his native place, near Bury St. Edmunds, in Suffolk. For about eight years after Capell’s decease, the house appears not to have had any recognised or responsible tenant, but in 1790 it was let as a first-class lodging-house. in 1796 the following advertisement appeared:-
“To be sold by auction at the Swan Hotel (lot 1) a superior freehold brick-built house, 31 feet deep and 72 feet long, with sea-view and a good garden, (lot 2) a site for building at Maser's (Mercer's) Bank, now occupied as a deeze by Mr. Ball, (lot 8) a stable fronting the sea, in possession of Mr. Weatherman, and (lot 4) a shop, 13 feet frontage, in possession of Mr. Hutchinson, tenant at will.“
Mr. Edward Milward, I believe, was the purchaser at this time, and the house, with coach house and stables in the rear, leading out into the Crown Lane, was in his ownership or occupancy until some time after 1807. The premises which cost Mr. Capel, a sum of not less than £5,000, only realised £1,300 for his surviving relatives or trustees.
In the late John Campbell's autobiography, edited by myself, the house is referred to as being in the possession of Sir Horace Mann, the period, I presume, being from about 1811 to 1817. In the year 1818, even if not before, the owner and occupier was a Mr. John Scott, a gentleman who, prior to the death of Edward Milward, senior, in 1811, was the occupant of Torfield House. Capell’s house then became known as “Scott's house,” and continued under that appellation until 1823, at about which time Mr. Scott appears to have died. The executors, together with a niece of the deceased, then carried the house on as a lodging-house until about 1836, when Mr. John Goldsworthy Shorter was either the owner or the hirer or the agent, although not the actual occupant. It was then that Mr. Shorter had some goblets made from the mulberry-tree — a cutting from Shakespeare’s — which Garrett planted by the garden-seat in one of his visits to Capell; and it is not improbable that mulberry wine from fruit of the same tree was quaffed from the same goblets by Mr. Shorter and his. friends. Miss Scott, the niece of Mr. Scott, already referred to, was, I believe, afterwards a governess in Mr. Shorter’s family. At the death of Mr. Scott, the house was re-christened, and has ever since been known as East-cliff House. It was at one time in the Court of Chancery, but whether that occurred after the death of Mr. Capell or Mr. Scott, I have not ascertained; the probability is in favour of the latter. In 1852, and some time after, the resident at East-hill house was the Rev. William Margesson, whose daughter, Frances, in 1853, became the second wife of Sir Charles Lamb, of Beauport ,and died on the first of July, 1884, she having survived the death of her husband twenty four years. In 1850, Mr. Wastel Brisco was owner of East-hill houses, when for a year or two it was tenanted by Harry Chester, Esq. Mr. and Mrs. Winter then had charge of the same until 1854, when they transferred their services to the Rev. J. H. Fisk, who at that period purchased the mansion from Mr. Brisco. Mr and Mrs. Winter remained with Mr. Fisk about five-and-twenty years, when the death of Mrs. Winter necessitated a change. And now that the latest owner and occupier is no more, it behoves me, as is my wont in such cases, to give an obituary notice of one who has lived so long and died so respected in our midst.
East Cliff House and Rev. J. H. Fisk
The Rev. John Hammond Fisk appears to have come to Hastings in 1847 (the year in which this History has reached), and to have taken up his abode at the Castle Hotel, where he remained about six years He then went into private apartments, at Mr. William Smith’s, 4 Cobourg place, where he continued until July, 1854, when he removed to East-cliff house, his newly acquired property. He gave Mr. Brisco. I believe, about £2,000 for it, al-
