- Whitaker Wright
James Whitaker Wright (
9 February 1846 inStafford ,England -26 January 1904 inLondon ) was an English mining company owner.He was the son of James Wright, a Methodist Minister, and Matilda Whitaker, a tailor's daughter. He spent his early years in various parts of England with his father. In 1861, according to the
census of that year, he was a printer inRipon . Between 1866-1868, he was a Methodist preacher himself, but retired due to ill-health.On the death of his father in 1870, the family emigrated to
Toronto ,Canada . Wright then travelled toPhiladelphia , where he met and married Anna Edith Weightman in 1878. Wright made a fortune by promoting silver-mining companies inLeadville, Colorado andLake Valley, New Mexico , although none of the companies made money for the unfortunate shareholders. [ [http://www.miningswindles.com/html/whitaker_wright.html Whitaker Wright ] at www.miningswindles.com]Wright returned to England, and promoted a multitude of Australian and Canadian mining companies on the London market.
In 1890 Wright purchased an estate named Lea Park in
Haslemere ,Surrey and the adjacent South Park Farm from the Earl of Derby, which included the Lordship of the Manor and control ofHindhead Common and theDevil's Punch Bowl . Whitaker Wright began to develop his new properties as a single estate namedWitley Park and his wide-ranging landscaping works raised local concerns regarding the impact they were having on the natural landscape.Wright’s financial empire crashed in December 1900. On 26 January 1904, Wright was convicted of fraud at the
Royal Courts of Justice and given a seven year prison sentence. He committedsuicide immediately afterward. He is buried in the cemetery atWitley .Following his death, his estate was divided into lots for sale, and funds raised locally enabled the purchase of
Hindhead Common , which was transferred to the National Trust. He was popularized along with his fictional great-grandson in a 2006 episode of "Hustle".External links
* [http://www.mininghall.com/minerals/people/database/details.htm?section=Entrepreneurs_and_Promoters&id=wrightw&sort=name&loc= Australian Prospectors & Miners Hall of Fame entry on Whitaker Wright]
* [http://www.guardian.co.uk/Columnists/Column/0,5673,1136841,00.html "The Guardian" profile on Whitaker Wright]
* [http://www.bbc.co.uk/southerncounties/content/articles/2006/03/21/whitaker_wright.shtml BBC Southern Counties on Whitaker Wright]
* [http://www.lostheritage.org.uk/houses/lh_surrey_witleypark.html Lost Heritage - Witley Park - History and Gallery]References
Dan Plazak – "A Hole in the Ground with a Liar at the Top" ISBN 978-0-87480-840-7 (includes a chapter on Whitaker Wright)
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