Twink
Part 1
Breeds of Hastings
by Tony Hyde - Husband of the grandaughter of James Breed
The first Breeds came to Hastings about 1760, and it was about this time that Hastings began a very long period of change and development especially in the years after the Napoleonic wars (about 1815). Boykett Breeds, (strange Christian name, but it was his mothers family name), was born in Rye in 1735 and came from a Seafaring family and for about 50 years from about 1790 through to 1840 his sons were very deeply involved in the development of Hastings, and from then until 1931 they ran one of the main businesses in the Old Town - The Hastings Brewery.
Buildings connected with the family - High Street, number 23, 33, Breeds Yard, 95 High Street, Nelson Buildings, several buildings in Hill Street and the Swan Inn, In the new part of the town Breeds place, Wellington Square and the America Ground, Out of the town is the Bohemia Estate, Hole Farm, Lithen Farm in Guestling.
In 1762 Boykett Breeds married Sara Wilkes from Battle at All Saints Church. The first reference in the secular records of the time appears in 1764 and is ‘Feb. 22nd, received from Boykett Breeds for two windings (of the Capstan) to London 16/-’, but the entries increased in number over the succeeding years; other entries include things as ‘spent with Captain Breeds 1/11½d and 1 pint for the Carpenter’- obviously from future entries the Carpenter is a thirsty fellow.
By the time he reached 50 years of age, Boykett had already established a close trade association with London, he was a mariner and also a merchant, and in 1767 he moved to St Clements parish in Hastings and purchased 1, 2 and 3 Hill Street, and at the same time he purchased on the Stade a warehouse. When he started in 1784 he owned not only the three houses in Hill Street, and a former brew house which was now a school house at the top of Church Street, but he also owned No 4 and 24. He also owned 95 High Street, 2 other houses in Hastings, 2 houses in Rye and 2 other deeds in Hastings.
The dwelling houses were not all required for his relatively small family and so they were let out as Lodging Houses. That enterprise continued certainly up to the 1840’s in the family, and at times they had as many as 20 houses around Hastings for letting to Summer visitors. Boykett also let two trading sloops.
Boykett died in 1784 and left 3 sons and 5 daughters.
The three sons, Thomas, James and Mark where all young (all the daughters were younger, so Sarah had a large family to take care of on her own) when their father died - Thomas and James took over their fathers two Sloops immediately and they bought a third Sloop for Mark when he reached the age of 14. Thomas and James were traders in association with London and both married girls from London and also had houses there; but in fact lived in Hastings. Thomas lived at Seagulls just up George Street, and James at 95 High Street which he had purchased from his mother.
In 1804 Thomas bought number 23 High Street, James then moved to Seagulls.
Their Coasting trade flourished (mostly Sloops) and by 1789 despite the fact that Hastings trade was going up hugely, both through imports and exports, the Breeds were the sole shippers from the Stade right up until about 1801.
All was not easy going on the South Coast in the 1790’s because of Embargo’s from our own isles, fear of invasion, and French Privateers preying on our trading vessels, and on 14th March 1795 the Breeds partitioned the King and Council stating that “on account of the embargo and intense weather, only 1 vessel out of the 3 that are regularly employed in the Coasting trade between London and Hastings had arrived since Christmas and consequently the inhabitants were very much distressed”.
Chris in 1066Land