Landjobber - John Morley

John Morley was born in Worthies Place, 11 Chapel Hill, Halstead in 1655 and from a humble beginning rose to be one of the greatest landjobbers in the kingdom. While he was a young butcher with a shop, thought to have stood at the entrance to Parsonage Street, where the church gateway is, he met two Quakers who were to change his life. The looked after the Bois Hall estate and Morley slaughtered hogs and deer for them, tansporting the carcases to Wanstead by horse and cart. It was here that he was persuaded to take all his money (£100) to successfully invest in the East India Company. First he purchased the Guildhall, which stood at the site of Martins newsagents shop for £50, sell a few weeks later at a profit. He continued to buy and sell land and property making much money. In 1700 he came into the possession of Blue Bridge House, where his coat of arms remain over the porch and the iron gateway still bears his initials. He became a matchmaker too, negotiating the marriage of Edward, Lord Harley, later 2nd Earl of Oxford with Lady Henrietta Halles, heiress of the 4th Duke of Newcastle, for which he received £10,000. In spite of his great wealth Morley remained proud of his original trade and ceremoniously killed a pig annually on the Market Hill, receiving a groat for his trouble.