Notable people
The following people either lived and worked in Saxmundham or had
some bearing on the town.
Henry Bright
Thomas Thurlow
Richard Garrett
Long family
Others
Henry Bright
(1810-1873) Landscape painter and member of the Norwich Society
of Artists or 'Norwich School' (John Sell Cottman and J B Chrome
are the most well-known of this group). Born in Saxmundham in 1810
in Ashford House (now the offices of Flick & Sons), son of famous
clockmaker Jerome Bright.
After periods in London, during which he gained commercial and
critical success, he returned to Saxmundham in 1858 to live at Park
Lodge in South Entrance. Following further periods in London and
abroad he settled in Ipswich, where he died in 1873.
Thomas Thurlow
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The sculptor Thomas Thurlow was born
and lived in Saxmundham
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(1813-1899) Renowned sculptor who created memorials in various
churches in the area, including a bust of the poet George Crabbe
in Aldeburgh Church. His father, John Thurlow (b. c1784),
was a builder and stonemason who built 'The White House' (now Holly
Lodge) in the High Street. Both are buried along with other members
of the Thurlow family in the churchyard of the parish church.
Thomas Thurlow was born in North Entrance in Saxmundham and went
to a school in Brook Cottage; Henry Bright went to the same school,
and in Thurlow's memoirs he also claims Newson Garrett (who later
built Snape Maltings) as a school friend. As a teenager he would
turn his hand to anything such as wood and plaster carving, polishing
stones, and he even made a violin, succeeding at the second attempt.
At the age of 23 he left home for London where he was engaged by
a monument manufacturer in Regents Street. During his spare time
he took lessons in oil painting, something he pursued throughout
his life (some of his paintings are in the Moot Hall in Aldeburgh).
After a time employed with the London Marble Works, where he gained
valuable experience of stone carving, Thurlow returned to Suffolk
first opening a business in Halesworth and then settling back in
Saxmundham in 1839.
During his life, Thurlow completed many works for local people
and various churches, including a memorial to Sir C. Blois in Yoxford
Church, a life-size statue of Samuel Clouting in Kelsale Church,
a marble bust of Richard Garrett III in Leiston Church, and a commission
from William Long of Hurts Hall to carve a rose and spray for the
entrance to his mansion. As well as paid works, he exhibited widely
including at the Royal Academy and the Ipswich Fine Art Club.
He was active in the town being appointed the Secretary and manager
of the Saxmundham Gas Works (which was in Gas Hill now New Cut),
he was an Overseer for the Parish making and collecting the Rates,
he was the town Surveyor supervising the building of Gurneys bank
in Market Place amongst others, and in 1847 he acquired the License
for Photography for the County of Suffolk which he practised for
a time. He is reported to have given 'Penny Readings' in the Market
Hall reciting from Dickens to packed audiences.
The webmaster is grateful to Les Higgs, editor
of the Heritage Coast Gazette (available in H.G. Crisps in the High
Street), who published a very interesting account of Thomas Thurlow
and granted permission for parts of it to be used here.
Richard Garrett
Richard Garrett III was the successor to the world-renowned Richard
Garrett & Co., Engineers of Leiston in Suffolk. He was a pioneer
of the assembly line method of production when he built the 'Long
Shop' in 1853 for the large scale manufacture of traction engines.
His connection with Saxmundham is that he lived at Carlton Hall
(1/2 mile north of Saxmundham) during the 1860s at the height of
the success of Garretts. The Hall overlooks Carlton parish church
where Garrett is buried with his wife. An invoice from J Woolterton
of Saxmundham in 1867, shows that he commissioned the jeweller to
'wind & keep going' four clocks at Carlton Hall and a further
four clocks at the Leiston Works for the annual sum of £5.0.0.
Long family
The Long family have been associated with Saxmundham from the 17th
century, originally coming from Wiltshire; there are several memorials
to the Long family in the parish church. Samuel Long (1638-1683)
was appointed secretary to the Jamaica Commissioners immediately
after the conquest of that island, and on his return to England
purchased Hurts Hall and the manor. The much older sub-manor of
the Swan family was absorbed into the Long manor in about 1778.
The Rt. Hon. Sir Charles Long was MP for Dunwich and created Baron
Farnborough in 1826.
According to the 1840 census, William Long lived in Hurts Hall
with his wife Ellenor, their five children, a governess, five male
servents and ten female servents. It was William who built the Market
Hall (originally a corn exchange), the school rooms next to the
parish church, and he donated the Town Pump. Hurts Hall was the
seat of the Long family until the 1950s.
Jerome Bright (1770-1846), a distinguished
clockmaker who is included in Bailey's [Baillie's?] Watchmakers
and Clockmakers of the World. At some time he worked at 23 High
Street (now Kerseys) where one of his clocks made around 1790 can
be seen today. He was Henry Bright's father.
Richard Stopher (b.1767) held many
positions in Saxmundham including Overseer, constable, and assistant
commissioner of taxes; he was auctioneer and postmaster.
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