Hastings Photographers

In 1858, Frederick Stephen Mann (c1822-1904) established a Photographic Depot at his picture-framing business at 13 Wellington Place, Hastings. From his "Photographic Depot" in Wellington Place, Frederick S. Mann supplied "a great variety of first class photographic and stereographic views of Hastings and St Leonards and surrounding neighbourhood". In the mid-1860s, Frederick S. Mann added a photographic portrait studio at 13 Wellington Place, Hastings, but, although he did take standard carte-de-visite portraits at his Wellington Place studio, Frederick S. Mann is better known today for the stereographic slides and topographical cartes he produced in the 1860s and 1870s. Over a period of twenty years or more, Frederick Stephen Mann built up an extensive catalogue of photographic views, featuring a wide range of scenes both in and around Hastings, including picturesque shots of Hastings Castle, Fairlight Glen, Old Roar, Ecclesbourne Glen and the legendary "Lovers' Seat" near Hastings.

To read a detailed account of the life and photographic career of Frederick Stephen Mann, click on the link below:

Frederick Stephen Mann

[ABOVE] A photograph of "Lovers' Seat, near Hastings", issued as a carte-de-visite by F. S. Mann of 13 Wellington Place, Hastings during the1860s. Frederick Stephen Mann issued a large number of topographical cartes and stereoscopic slides from his Photographic Depot in Wellington Place, Hastings, throughout the 1860s and 1870s.

The Story of "Lovers' Seat", near Hastings

The Hastings photographer Frederick Stephen Mann (c1822-1904) produced numerous views of "Lovers' Seat", a stone ledge set in the cliffs overlooking the sea near Hastings.

The story of "Lovers' Seat" dates back to the 18th century. Charles Lamb, the son of a timber merchant of Rye, fell in love with Elizabeth Boys (born 1762), the only daughter of Samuel Boys of Hawkhurst, a wealthy landowner and High Sheriff of Kent. Samuel Boys (d. 1795) strongly disapproved of the match and, to keep his daughter away from Charles Lamb, then a lieutenant in the Royal Navy, he sent his daughter to live at Fairlight Place, near Hastings in Sussex.

In the meantime, Lieutenant Lamb was placed in command of a revenue cutter called The Stag, a vessel which patrolled the seas off the Sussex coast as part of an anti-smuggling campaign. Whenever Captain Lamb's vessel was in the area of Hastings, patrolling the Sussex coast, the two lovers met in secret at a secluded place in the rock cliffs near Fairlight. A stone bench on a natural ledge in the rocks, the spot where the couple used to meet, became known as "Lovers' Seat".

As Elizabeth's father refused to grant them permission to marry, the lovers eloped to London. Elizabeth Boys married Captain Charles Lamb at St Clements Church in the Strand, on 16th January 1786.

[ABOVE] Captain Charles Lamb pictured in 1786

[ABOVE] Miss Elizabeth Boyes (Boys) pictured in 1786

How the Story Ended

After their marriage, Captain Lamb and his young wife settled at Higham, near Salehurst in Sussex. Even though Elizabeth was his only child and sole heir, Mr Samuel Boys refused to acknowledge his daughter's marriage to the young naval officer. Mr Boys refused to see the couple and threatened to disinherit his daughter. When Samuel Boys died in 1795, his large estate passed to a nephew.

The union of Charles Lamb and Elizabeth Boys produced one child, Elizabeth Dorothy Lamb (born c1788, Higham, Sussex). After their daughter's marriage to Rev. Thomas Ferris in 1809, Captain Lamb and his wife moved to Southampton. In 1814, after 28 years of marriage, Captain Charles Lamb drowned in a yachting accident in Southampton Water.

The Growth of a Legend

A tale of forbidden love, secret assignations, and the death by drowning of a beloved partner was bound to be significantly changed in the re-telling; the basic elements of the love story being intensified by the injection of romance and tragedy. Several versions of the "Lovers' Seat" story were circulated. One account has Elizabeth Boys waiting for her lover at their secret meeting place amongst the rocks and looking on in horror as she sees the boat, which carries him towards her, capsize in heavy seas. Realising that her sweetheart has drowned, Elizabeth throws herself off from the cliff-top. The true story of the love match between Elizabeth Boys and Charles Lamb had a much happier outcome.

[ABOVE] The Lovers' Seat , a coloured print based on an original lithograph by the artist George Rowe (1796-1864). Produced some 40 years after the event, this popular print ensured that the story of the love match between Captain Lamb and Elizabeth Boys and their secret meetings at "Lovers' Seat" was kept alive in the public imagination.

[ABOVE] Frederick Stephen Mann's photograph of "Lovers' Seat, near Hastings", issued as a carte-de-visite in the mid-1860s. "Lovers' Seat" was a popular spot for tourists and holidaymakers over a period of 90 years, but, sadly, this landmark was destroyed when rocks on the cliff collapsed in 1979.

[ABOVE] A photograph of "Lovers' Seat, near Hastings", issued as a carte-de-visite in the 1870s by Frederick S. Mann of 13 Wellington Place, Hastings.

[ABOVE] A carte-de-visite photograph by F. S. Mann of 13 Wellington Place, Hastings showing "Lovers' Seat, near Hastings" together with a scenic view of the cliffs and hills that overlooked Hastings (c1872). Lovers' Seat was situated in Fairlight, an area of natural beauty about three miles (5km) east of the seaside town of Hastings. Frederick Stephen Mann, took many photographs of Fairlight and the neighbouring area of Ecclesbourne.

[ABOVE] A photograph of "Lovers' Seat, near Hastings", issued as a carte-de-visite in the 1870s by F. S. Mann of 13 Wellington Place, Hastings. The Hastings photographer Frederick Stephen Mann used this photograph as the basis for a series of cartes-de-visite and stereographic cards, changing the dimensions from horizontal to vertical and removing extraneous features (such as the elderly man on the stone ledge) where necessary.

[ABOVE] A postcard dating from 1939 (published by Shoesmith & Etheridge of Hastings) which reproduces an 18th century engraving showing the two lovers and the seat set in the rock-cliffs at Fairlight, near Hastings which came to be known as "Lovers' Seat". In the original picture caption, the surname of Miss Elizabeth Boys has been given the alternative spelling of "Boyes". Miss Boys' lover "Captain" Charles Lamb was probably only a humble lieutenant when he first met Elizabeth at a County Ball.


[ABOVE] The trade plate of Frederick Stephen Mann, Photographic Artist of 13 Wellington Place, Hastings which was printed on the reverse of his carte-de-visite photographs during the 1860s.	[ABOVE] A carte-de-visite photograph of the countryside on the outskirts of Hastings by Frederick Stephen Mann, Photographic Artist of 13 Wellington Place, Hastings (c1875).	[ABOVE] *Hastings Castle, a carte-de-visite photograph by Frederick Stephen Mann, Photographic Artist of 13 Wellington Place, Hastings* (1877). "Hastings Castle, April 30th, 1877" is inscribed in pencil on the reverse.	[ABOVE] *Fairlight Glen, a carte-de-visite photograph by Frederick Stephen Mann, Photographic Artist of 13 Wellington Place, Hastings* (1877). Inscribed in pencil on the reverse of the carte is the caption "Hastings 1877".

[ABOVE] *Dripping Well, Hastings, a carte-de-visite photograph by Frederick Stephen Mann, Photographic Artist of 13 Wellington Place, Hastings* (c1870).	[ABOVE] The Ruins as Hastings Castle, a carte-de-visite photograph by Frederick Stephen Mann, Photographic Artist of 13 Wellington Place, Hastings (c1870).	[ABOVE] The trade plate of Frederick S. Mann, Photographic Artist of 13 Wellington Place, Hastings, which was printed on the reverse of his carte-de-visite photographs during the 1870s.	[ABOVE] *A Waterfall at Ecclesbourne, a carte-de-visite photograph by Frederick Stephen Mann, Photographic Artist of 13 Wellington Place, Hastings* (1877).

[ABOVE] A carte-de-visite photograph of the countryside on the outskirts of Hastings by Frederick Stephen Mann, Photographic Artist of 13 Wellington Place, Hastings (c1888).	[ABOVE] A waterfall in the countryside around Hastings, a carte-de-visite photograph by Frederick Stephen Mann, Photographic Artist of 13 Wellington Place, Hastings (c1888).	[ABOVE] The trade plate of Frederick S. Mann, Photographic Artist of 13 Wellington Place, Hastings, which was printed on the reverse of his carte-de-visite photographs during the late 1880s.	[ABOVE] *Ecclesbourne Glen, a carte-de-visite photograph by Frederick Stephen Mann, Photographic Artist of 13 Wellington Place, Hastings* (1877). Inscribed in pencil on the reverse of the carte is the caption "Hastings 1877".


[ABOVE] A carte-de-visite photograph of "Lovers' Seat", taken around 1862 by an unidentified photographer. The photographer has tried to suggest a narrative by showing two young women studying a letter (from a lover?), while a man in a top hat looks on. A large number of cartes-de-visite featuring "Lovers' Seat" were produced during the 1860s and 1870s. There is some evidence that photos of "Lovers' Seat" were sold as souvenirs at the spot.	[ABOVE] A photograph of "*Lovers' Seat, Fairlight", taken by Arthur Charles Heilbronn* around 1874 and published by John Henry Fox of 295 Edgware Road, London as one of a series under the title of "The Views of Hastings, Photographed by A. C. Heilbronn ". The photographer Arthur Charles Heilbronn (1850-1917) produced a set of 20 different views of Hastings during the early 1870.	[ABOVE] A photograph of "Lovers' Seat", issued as a carte-de-visite by John Allum of Ore, near Hastings. John Allum of Ore, who published this carte-de-visite around 1880, was not a photographer by trade. In fact, there were two men with this name living in the village of Ore in 1880. John Allum senior (c1825-1881) was a licensed hawker and his son John Allum junior (c1856-1889) worked as a "wood dealer".	[ABOVE] An account of the "true story" of "Lovers' Seat", which appeared on the reverse of the carte-de-visite published by John Allum of Ore (see photo, at left). John Allum has combined historical fact with a fictional story about a thwarted suicide attempt. This variation on the story of Elizabeth Boyes (Boys) and Captain Charles Lamb ignores the fact that the couple were married for nearly 30 years.



[ABOVE] A carte-de-visite photograph of Battle Abbey Garden by Frederick Stephen Mann, Photographic Artist of 13 Wellington Place, Hastings (Oct 5th 1869).	[ABOVE] Normanhurst Court, Catsfield, the residence of Thomas Brassey (1836-1918), a cdv by Frederick S. Mann, Photographic Artist of 13 Wellington Place, Hastings (c1875).