though, some years before, in consequence of the rapid extension of St. Leonards eastward, and of Hastings westward, the depreciation of the larger Property in the old part of the borough was such that East-cliff house might have been bought for £900, and would have been 80 bought by a near neighbour but for the lack of means. That it was very substantially built its present durable appearance after an exposure to 120 years of storm and sunshine is a sufficient proof, And if further evidence were wanting that in olden times, as distinguished from modern times, houses were built for durability rather than for sale, one has only to look for it at the corner house opposite to the late Mr. Fisk’s, which is now 300 years old. It belongs to Mr. and Mrs. Richardson, and is situate at the top of East Bourne-street, erroneously described in the Archeological Collections as “Court-house street.”
From what has been stated it will be seen that Mr. Fisk resided in Hastings altogether about forty years, thirty-two of which found him an occupant of East-cliff house. Here he dispensed his charities with a liberal hand, very rarely, if ever, declining to contribute to any worthy object. One of his recent acts was to add to the Infirmary funds by a donation of £500. He had been known to give even larger sums than this to philanthropic institutions in other towns, whilst to the Norwich Cathedral fund he contributed as much as £3,000. To the poor of Hastings, and especially to poor fishermen, he was always kind and charitable, and this benevolence naturally evoked a manifestation of friendly feeling towards him, so that flags were flaunted at half-mast by every fisherman from the time their benefactor died until the day of his interment, when such fishermen as could get away from their mackerel-catching followed his remains to the grave. Although an ordained clergyman of the Church of England, Mr. Fisk had withdrawn from clerical duties for many years and had derived his income from property at Norwich and from investments in public funds. He kept but little company, although on his birthday anniversaries, in the month of February, I believe it was his custom to invite a few friends to dinner, on which occasion there would be a dish of salmon, cost whatsoever it might, So far as I know he was frugal and unselfish in his mode of living; and this would enable him the better to contribute to others’ necessities. Until feebleness arising from the decay of nature confined him to the house and finally prostrated him, the good old gentleman took almost daily exercises on foot, and on Sundays in particular he might have been seen in all sorts of. weather walking to aid from one or other of his favourite churches, particularly those of St. Mary-in-the Castle and St. Leonards. One of Mr. Fisk’s peculiarities was to scatter copper money to the crowds of boys who clustered round him in his walks on New-year’s day — a practice which old Hastingers would regard as not so much an eccentricity as a survival of an ancient custom in a slightly different form, With a stooping gait (which might be looked for in so old a man), Mr. Fisk was always neatly attired, although the wearing of an old-fashioned high collar gave the fishermen an opportunity of recognising him by what they thought was a suitable sobriquet. This familiarity was in no sense the out-come of derision, but merely the force of habit — a habit that for generations has given nicknames to all of their own fraternity At ninety-four years of age Mr. Fisk could read without the aid of spectacles, and was so well served by his mental faculties as to be able to take an interest in much of the world’s affairs, although evincing but little concern in party politics. His death occurred on the 5th of June[a]and his interment on the 9th. The latter was at the Borough Cemetery, in close proximity to the remains of another good old clergyman, the Rey. William Twiss Turner. The funeral rites were performed by the Rev. G. A. Foyster, rector of All Saints, in the presence of a large number of persons, among whom may be specially mentioned, Mr. John Marshall Fisk (cousin of deceased), the Rev. W. B. Bennett, (late assistant minister at St. Clement’s), Councillor Bradnam (Mayor of Hastings), Mr. R. Kent (pierwarden), Messrs Bumstead and Clark (boat-owners), Mr. and Mrs. H. Richardson, Mr. H. Richardson, jun., Mr. H, Starr, Mr. H. Chapman, the servants of the deceased, two family solicitors, and a number of fisherman(sic).
Some time since, Mr. Fisk was observed to be in mourning for his wife, whose death was duly announced in the Times newspaper An only daughter (Miss Fisk) survives her parents, but was not sufficiently in good health to attend her father’s funeral. A will of the deceased dates as far back as 1848, and whether a later will exists has not yet been, I believe, conclusively ascertained.
I have said that Mr. Fisk was always kind and charitable to the fishermen, and as he did not for himself make use of the flight of steps which by which the terrace in front of his house was approached from the beach, the following sketch will show to what purpose he allowed it to be put.
After the death of Mr. Fisk, in 1886, the grand old house was purchased by Mr. E. Smith, who converted what formed the steps and terrace of the mansion (portions of which are seen in the engraving) into an extensive show-room for new and second-hand furniture.
Cite error: <ref> tags exist for a group named "Notes", but no corresponding <references group="Notes"/> tag was found
