▶Date of birth:   6 February 1793       Place of birth: Norwich, Norfolk

▶Father:  Hammond Fisk     Mother:  Elizabeth Boardman

▶Spouse(s):   Mary Margaret Eaton   Date(s) of marriage:   4 July 1825    Place(s) of marriage: Norwich, Norfolk

▶Occupation: Clergyman (Anglican); Philanthropist

▶Lifestory: John Hammond Fisk was known for his philanthropy, both towards educational and social causes; he remained at the level of Deacon in the Anglican Church’s hierarchy. Fisk was born in Norwich in 1793, the son of Hammond Fisk, carpenter and joiner and sometime Sheriff of Norwich, and his wife Elizabeth, daughter of John Boardman, of Norwich. He matriculated at St John’s College, Cambridge in 1811, Scholar 1812, BA 1815, and was ordained Deacon (Norwich) in 1816, but he did not proceed to the priesthood. In 1825 he married Mary Margaret, only daughter of Thomas Eaton Esq., of Norwich; they had one daughter.

He was licensed Curate of Ranworth with Panxworth, Norfolk in 1818; his Norwich residence was in Bracondale, where he was a Vice-President of the Institution for the Indigent Blind, and in general a generous supporter of charitable causes. In 1839 he donated £1,000 to King’s College Hospital in London (he became a Governor of the Hospital); the source of his wealth was property in Norwich and investment in public funds. Until 1840 he also had a house at Bottisham, Cambridge, and he sold numerous antiquarian books at auction when he left the village. In 1841 he donated over £500 to the Paisley Subscription, for the relief of “the existing distress” in Paisley, Glasgow.

Between 1847 and 1850 Fisk was listed as living at Trevellis House (now 66 Prestbury Road), Pittville, and then or soon after he removed to Hastings. Fisk kept his own company much of the time, and was known to be frugal in his lifestyle, so that others might better benefit from his wealth. At New Year in Hastings he would distribute coins to the boys who followed him on his walks. He lived at various addresses, and in 1854 he moved into East Cliff House, a Deacon with cure of souls, and his acts of benevolence continued up to the time of his death, by which time his wealth was sworn at under £1,120.

Fisk died at his home, East Cliff House, Hastings in 1886, at the age of ninety-three.

▶Moved to Pittville from:   [uncertain]     Moved from Pittville to: Hastings

▶Date of death:   4 June 1886     Place of death: East Cliffe House, Hastings

▶Date of burial:         Place of burial:

▶Notes: See http://wiki.historymap.info/Brett_Volume_3:_Chapter_XXXVIII_-_Hastings_1847       ID: 8279

Contributor(s):  John Simpson/Alan Munden