John Edward Lee
John Edward Lee
| John Edward Lee FSA | |||||||||||
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| Born | 1808 | ||||||||||
| Died | 1887 | ||||||||||
| Residence |
Priory Caeleon Monmouthshire [1870] Villa Syracusa, Torquay [1872] | ||||||||||
| Occupation | business | ||||||||||
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Contents
Notes
Office Notes
House Notes
FSA Caerleon Antiquarian Association
Notes From Elsewhere
Lee was born in Hull in 1808 and worked from the age of sixteen in his two uncles’ shipping office. He developed an early interest in geology, natural history and archaeology, and in accumulating and organising museum collections (he amassed a fine collection of over 21,000 geological specimens, presented to the British Museum in 1885).
He came to Caerleon in 1841, drawn by the opportunities offered by the industrial expansion of South Wales, and became a partner in the firm of J.J. Cordes & Co. of Newport, manufacturers of nails, spikes and rivets. He settled in The Priory in the centre of the town (it is now a hotel and restaurant) and married in 1846.
The Priory, Caerleon
Caerleon came to dominate Lee’s life. His services to the town were many, including the provision of an adequate water supply, but his main interest proved to be the remains of the Roman fortress, within the walls of which The Priory lay.
...the foundation of the Caerleon Antiquarian Association, the earliest local archaeological society in Wales. The inaugural meeting of the Association was held at Lee’s house on 28 October 1847: he became Secretary
...Lee left Caerleon for Devon in 1868 for the sake of his wife’s health and died in Torquay in 1887.
Publications
External Publications
Delineations of Roman antiquities found at Caerleon (the ancient Isca Silurum) and the neighbourhood (1845).
