THE
GREAT BRIGHT
by Richard Banks
There
are many sorts of fame, a subject on which many folk have expressed an opinion.
To inaccurately paraphrase Shakespeare some people are born famous, some
achieve fame and some have fame thrust upon them. Three hundred years later
Oscar Wilde, yet to make his mark on the literary world, established the
concept of being famous for being famous, a concept much practised in present
times by celebrities such as Kim Kardashian. In the 1960s Andy Warhol declared
that in future everyone would be famous, but only for fifteen minutes. No
doubt, Socrates would have disagreed with the lot of them, for him fame was, ‘the
perfume of heroic deeds’.
None of these definitions, however,
seem to fit Edward Bright of Maldon who became famous for being the stoutest
man in England.
Two hundred and seventy two years after his death his fame shows no sign of
fading, like Edward during his lifetime it grows ever larger; if you don’t
believe me look at the many web-sites about him. Better still keep reading, for
what follows is the life story of Edward who entered this world on 1st March
1721 in Great Waltham, Essex.
He was one of five children born to
William and Mary Bright of whom little seems to be known beyond that they were
prosperous, middling sort of folk who were probably non-conformist in religion.
They did, however, have a nearly famous person in their family tree, a Mrs Jane
Disbrowe, sister to Oliver Cromwell.
Having been born, the next sighting we have
of Edward is of him working as a post boy delivering mail on horseback, an
occupation that ended when at the age of twelve and already twelve stone in
weight someone took pity on the horse. Well, there were many lighter boys and
the poor horse also had letters and parcels to carry. However, it may be that
Edward’s family decided to call time on this employment preferring to secure
his future prosperity by buying him an apprenticeship, which they did in 1733
when, age thirteen, he was apprenticed to Joseph Pattison, a grocer living and
trading in Maldon. Pattison was a very wealthy man and, like Edward’s family, a
non-conformist. Possibly it was this religious connection that persuaded
Pattison to take Edward on but it would seem that Edward had already established
a reputation for being able and trustworthy. If so, this would account for him,
still only thirteen, being called upon to witness the will of one of Maldon’s
best know citizens, the Reverend Joseph Billio.
Edward lived in Pattison’s house learning
his trade until the completion of his apprenticeship in 1740 at which time he
weighed around twenty-four stone. In 1743 he became a freeman of Maldon and, in
the same year, his father died leaving him £200. This was the second of a
number of legacies he received enabling him to set-up in business on his own
account and marry one Mary Browne of Enfield,
the family home being above a shop he purchased in Maldon High Street. The
business prospered and Edward bought or leased a further property in Maldon at
which he manufactured candles. Edward’s business interests sometimes took him
to London where
his great stature attracted much attention, no doubt helping to spread his fame
throughout the country. It certainly attracted the attention of artist, David
Ogborne who painted Edward’s portrait and two engravers who produced etchings
from it. I don’t know if the picture still exists but a painting based on one
of the engravings featured in an episode of the Antiques Roadshow televised in
2016.
Although Edward’s weight increased
steadily during his lifetime he was strong and active until a year or so before
his death. It is reputed that he was 5’9” tall, measured 5’ 6” around the chest, and 6’ 1” around the stomach. Known affectionately as the ‘Fat Man of Maldon’
or the ‘Great Bright’ he was a popular and well-regarded man in his community.
In 1750 he suffered a long illness during which he was sometimes bled of as
much as thirty-two ounces of blood. On 10 November 1750, age twenty-nine, he
died. The primary cause of death was not his great weight, then forty-four
stone, but typhoid. However, a contemporary report states that ‘his corpulence
so overpowered his strength, that his life was a burden and his death a
deliverance’.
In
order to remove his body from the upstairs bedroom where he died it was
necessary to demolish the staircase of his house and part of a wall. His
specially constructed coffin was conveyed to All Saints Church, Maldon for
burial by carriage and then on rollers to its final resting place. He was
interred on 12 November. The parish records contain the following tribute to
him – ‘He was a very honest tradesman, a facetious [witty] companion, comely
[handsome] in his person, affable in his temper, a tender father and valuable
friend.’ His death and burial were widely reported in newspapers about the
country.
His fame, which otherwise might have
been short lived, soon became the stuff of legend due to two extraordinary
wagers that took place shortly after his death.. In the first an inveterate gambler
accepted a bet that seven men could fit into Edward’s waistcoat. No doubt he
thought he was onto a sure thing but the sly fellow proposing the bet actually
won it when, on 1 December 1750 at the Black Bull Inn in Maldon seven unnamed
men of the Dengie Hundred were buttoned into the waistcoat. Two months later a
second wager took place at the Kings Head, also in Maldon, when nine men of the
town were easily fitted into Edward’s waistcoat. This time we have their names
and occupations. Surprisingly they include the vicar, parish clerk, a customs
officer and six prominent tradesmen, including a Joseph Pattison, presumably
Edward’s old master.
Like me you may be wondering if these
two events actually happened. If they did they seem extraordinarily
insensitive, if not insulting, to the recently bereaved. Having not seen the
original records I am unable to say one way or the other but why spoil a good
story that has done much to boost Maldon as a visitor destination.
Go to Maldon. I recommend it. And if
you do be sure to see the sights – the bronze reliefs commemorating the wager
outside the Continental Cafe in Maldon High Street, a sculpture of the wager
and a replica of the famous waistcoat in Maldon Museum,
and Edward’s grave in All Saints Church where he is also commemorated in the
Maldon Embroidery. Unfortunately, both Edward’s shop and candle-making factory
have been replaced by more modern buildings. The sites are presently home to a
nail parlour and Maldon
Town Hall but a house
built and lived in by his son, another Edward, has survived. Known as Church
House it is now ‘Mrs Salisbury’s Famous Tea Rooms’. George Junior was also
corpulent although at a mere twenty stone less than half the man his father
was. He continued the family businesses adding to them the manufacture of
Maldon salt. He took an active part in politics, becoming leader of Maldon’s
Whigs. Descendants of both men continue to live in Maldon as evidenced by the
business premises of Bright & Sons, solicitors.
One thing that will not be found in
Maldon is the main exhibit, Edward’s waistcoat. At the time of his death it
was, apparently, at the tailor’s for letting out. In the next one hundred and
ninety years it seems to have had various owners before ending up in Maldon Museum
where soon after the start of WWII it was put into storage. Alas, it was never
seen again.
To end with another quote about fame,
Samuel Johnson, who was a contemporary of Edward Bright said – among many other
things – ‘time quickly puts an end to artificial and accidental fame.’ If he
had Edward in mind he could not have been more wrong.
Compiled by Richard Banks
Bibliography:
Youtube
video by Lynne Raymond and, the websites of:
Visitmaldondistrict;
Wikipedia;
BBC
- Essex - History;
All
Saints with St Peter, Maldon; and
Maldon
Nub News – Historic Maldon.
